Erin Curtis, Deputy Secretary for Communications and External Affairs

Erin Cohn Curtis was appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom in March 2020 to serve as CalEPA’s Deputy Secretary for External Affairs and Communications. Prior to this appointment and since 2009, Curtis worked in communications and external affairs in the U.S. Department of the Interior, most recently as Assistant Regional Director for External Affairs for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s Pacific Southwest Region. She spent 2 1/2 years as Public Affairs Officer for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s Mid-Pacific Region, and held top communications positions for the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management in California, Alaska and Idaho. Before federal service, Curtis was Associate Vice Chancellor for External Affairs and Educational Services for the Coast Community College District in Orange County.

Curtis attended American River College, holds a bachelor’s degree in Government/Journalism from California State University, Sacramento and a master’s in Public Administration from California State University, Long Beach. She started her career as a newspaper and radio journalist in the Sacramento area.