Christine Todd Whitman was the 50th Governor of the State of New Jersey, serving as its first woman governor from 1994 until 2001. Governor Whitman served in the cabinet of President George W. Bush as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency from January of 2001 until June of 2003. As Governor, Whitman earned praise from both Republicans and Democrats for her commitment to preserve a record amount of New Jersey land as permanent green space. She was also recognized by the Natural Resources Defense Council for instituting the most comprehensive beach monitoring system in the nation. As EPA Administrator, she promoted common-sense environmental improvements such as watershed-based water protection policies. She championed regulations requiring non-road diesel engines to reduce sulfur emissions by more than 95 percent. She also established the first federal program to promote redevelopment and reuse of "brownfields", that is, previously contaminated industrial sites.
Whitman now serves as President of The Whitman Strategy Group (WSG), a consulting firm that specializes in energy and environmental issues. She is also co-chair of the Republican Leadership Council (RLC). The RLC’s mission is to support fiscally conservative, socially tolerant candidates and to reclaim the word Republican. The RLC was created in March of 2007 by joining forces with Governor Whitman’s political action committee, It’s My Party Too. She is the author of a New York Times best seller by the same name, which was published in January of 2005 and released in paperback in March 2006.