Michelle DePass Joins The New School

The New School has announced that Michelle J. DePass has been named dean of the Milano School of International Affairs, Management, and Urban Policy. Michelle J. DePass will also be the Tishman Professor of Environmental Policy and Management as part of her appointment.

Michelle J. DePass

DePass will join Milano from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), where since 2009 she has served as Assistant Administrator for International and Tribal Affairs. In this presidentially appointed, senate-confirmed position, DePass has been responsible for all dimensions of environmental policy between the EPA and other nations, federally recognized tribal nations, and multilateral institutions and donors.

Prior to joining the EPA, DePass was a Program Officer at the Ford Foundation, with a portfolio focused on the environment and community development, most notably green economy and climate change, environmental health and justice and indigenous environmental rights. In her two-decade career in sustainability and public service, DePass has also served as founding Executive Director of the New York Environmental Justice Alliance, Senior Policy Advisor to the commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, and environmental manager for the City of San Jose.

DePass holds a bachelor’s degree from Tufts University, a Juris Doctor from Fordham Law School and a Master of Public Administration from Baruch College, where she was a National Urban Fellow.
Founded in 1919, The New School has 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students in design and the social sciences, liberal arts, management, the arts, and media. (The New School)