ALBANY, N.Y. — Amanda Lefton was recently confirmed by the New York State Senate to serve as commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). She had been serving as acting commissioner of the DEC, New York’s environmental regulatory agency, since February 2025. Lefton’s career spans the public and private sectors, including previously serving […]
ALBANY, N.Y. — Amanda Lefton was recently confirmed by the New York State Senate to serve as commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).
She had been serving as acting commissioner of the DEC, New York’s environmental regulatory agency, since February 2025.
Lefton’s career spans the public and private sectors, including previously serving as the director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) within the U.S. Department of the Interior, according to a May 30 announcement from Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office. Under Lefton’s leadership, from 2021-2023, BOEM developed and implemented a federal offshore wind program during the Biden administration.
Prior to her role as BOEM director, Lefton served as the first assistant secretary for energy and environment for New York, where she led the state’s environmental and climate initiatives overseeing a portfolio of executive agencies including the DEC, per the announcement.
Lefton has also worked for the Nature Conservancy in New York as the deputy policy director and climate-mitigation lead, the Rochester Regional Joint Board of Workers United, and the New York State Assembly and New York State Senate. Lefton comes to the DEC from RWE, an offshore-wind company, where she was the VP of offshore development, U.S. East.
Originally from Queens, Lefton grew up on Long Island and holds a bachelor’s degree from the University at Albany.
