Browner, Carol M. (1956–)
Browner, Carol M. (1956–)
American lawyer, politician, and environmentalist. Born Dec 16, 1955, in Miami, Florida; grew up in southern Florida near Everglades; dau. of professors at Miami-Dade Community College; University of Florida, BS, 1977, JD; m. Michael Podhorzer; children: Zachary.
Skilled negotiator, was the longest-serving director of US Environmental Protection Agency in history; served as general counsel for Florida House of Representatives Government Operations Committee (1979–83); worked for Senator Lawton Chiles, helping to negotiate complex land swap expanding Big Cypress National Preserve (1986–89); worked for Senator Al Gore Jr. (1989–90), drafting amendments to the Clean Air Act; returned to employ of state of Florida when Lawton Chiles became governor, serving as secretary of Department of Environmental Regulation, 3rd largest environmental agency in US (1991–93); brokered widely praised agreement between Walt Disney World and state of Florida in which company would be allowed to develop property in exchange for $40 million to reclaim 8,500 acres of endangered land and create wildlife refuge; lauded for common sense, cost-effective solutions to public health and environmental challenges; served as director of US Environmental Protection Agency under President Bill Clinton (1993–2000); elected to Audubon Society's board of directors (2001).