Date released: April 19, 2021
Laura Burke, Director General of the EPA, welcomed Sharon onto the Board, where she joins fellow Directors Gerard O’ Leary (Office of Communications and Corporate Services), Dr Micheál Lehane (Office of Radiation Protection and Environmental Monitoring), Dr Eimear Cotter (Office of Evidence and Assessment), and Dr Tom Ryan (Office of Environmental Enforcement).
Sharon has a broad range of senior management experience and policy expertise working across central Government, where she has most recently focused on environmental policy and climate change. Sharon most recently was the Head of the Climate Action Unit in the Department of the Taoiseach. Prior to this, she was Secretary to the Citizens’ Assembly from 2016-2018 and has held a number of roles including Head of Protocol and Head of Economic Policy. Sharon holds a BA from NUI, Galway and an MSc from Trinity College Dublin.
Notes to Editor
Director of the EPA is a full-time executive position, based at the EPA’s headquarters in Johnstown Castle, Wexford, with a five-year term of office. Appointment of Director of the EPA by Government follows from a recommendation made by an independent selection committee convened in accordance with the EPA Act, 1992. The independent selection committee conducts a public recruitment competition to select candidates suitable for recommendations to Government. The Environmental Protection Agency is managed by a full-time Executive Board consisting of a Director General and five Directors.