Mary Lou Soscia worked for the US Environmental Protection Agency in Washington DC and the Pacific Northwest for 38 years. Protecting human health and ecosystem restoration in Indian Country throughout the US and especially in the Pacific NW was a key foundation for her work: she provided leadership for the Oregon human health criteria to protect high tribal fish consumers, the most protective state criteria in the nation at that time.
She also created and led the Columbia River Basin Restoration Program which became a Clean Water Act amendment and received $79 million from Congress in 2021 to reduce toxics to protect human health and increase ecosystem resilience. A leader for over 25 years on Columbia River water temperature issues and decisions—which have become more critical and complex with a warming climate—she’s also worked for the States of Maryland, Wyoming, and Oregon; and the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission.
Mary Lou has a Bachelor’s in Geography from Virginia Tech and a Master’s in Geography from University of Maryland.