Marlene De La O, Deputy Secretary for Public Policy
Marlene De La O serves as the Deputy Secretary for Public Policy. She brings over 12 years of experience leading climate, environmental, and community development policy and program design and implementation at the local, state, and national levels across the U.S., including California, as well as Latin America. Throughout her career, she has maintained a commitment to advancing equitable outcomes for the most vulnerable communities. In her current role, Marlene partners with CalRecycle and the Department of Pesticide Regulation and is co-leading the development of the SB 54 Plastic Pollution Mitigation Fund, which is dedicated to repairing the harm cause by plastic pollution to the environment and California’s communities.
Prior to joining CalEPA, Marlene held senior and advisory roles at Chemonics International, the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, the California Strategic Growth Council, and the Inter-American Development Bank. Marlene holds a master’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley.