The New Jersey Pinelands Commission has appointed Nancy B. Wittenberg of Toms River as the agency’s new executive director.
According to a press release from the commission, Wittenberg has served as the Assistant Commissioner of Climate and Environmental Compliance for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) since May 2006. She will officially begin her new post on Jan. 3 at an annual salary of $135,000.
“I am honored to be chosen as the new executive director of the Pinelands Commission, and I look forward to working with the commission and its staff to carry out the Pinelands Protection Program,” Wittenberg said. “I will always look fondly on my experiences working with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and its talented staff of professionals who share my passion and commitment for preserving New Jersey’s environment.”
Wittenberg will replace John C. Stokes, who is retiring from the Pinelands post effective Jan. 1.
Stokes was appointed as the commission’s executive director in April 2003, after serving 23 years as the panel’s assistant director.
“As much as we regret losing John Stokes, we feel that Nancy Wittenberg is highly qualified and will fill the position of executive director admirably,” said Candace Ashmun, the Pinelands Commission’s acting chair.
In her position at the DEP, Wittenberg is responsible for all aspects of direction and oversight of statewide programs covering air quality permitting and planning, climate change, energy, solid and hazardous waste planning and regulation, pollution prevention, radiation protection, nuclear safety and pollution and release prevention. She is responsible for a staff of 530 people and a budget totaling approximately $60 million.
Wittenberg served as the Director of Environmental Affairs for the New Jersey Builders Association from August 1994 to April 2006, providing technical support, training and guidance to the association’s membership relative to environmental, land use and other related matters.
Wittenberg holds a master’s degree in environmental engineering from Duke University and a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Vermont.
The Pinelands Commission is an independent state agency that is governed by a 15-member board of directors. It is charged with protecting the million-acre Pinelands Area, which includes parts of Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester and Ocean counties.
The executive director is responsible for the daily operations of the commission and its staff of approximately 45 planners, scientists, environmental reviewers, educators and others.
The Nov. 30 action by the Pinelands Commission does not take effect until 10 days after a copy of the minutes of the meeting have been delivered to the governor to allow time for his review and consideration.