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Sally Jewell

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Sally Jewell
51st United States Secretary of the Interior
In office
April 12, 2013 – January 20, 2017
PresidentBarack Obama
DeputyDavid J. Hayes
Michael L. Connor
Preceded byKen Salazar
Succeeded byRyan Zinke
Personal details
Born
Sarah Margaret Roffey

(1956-02-21) February 21, 1956 (age 68)
London, England
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseWarren Jewell
Children2
EducationUniversity of Washington (BS)
Sally Jewell's voice
Sally Jewell speaks on repatriation of Native American Cultural Heritage
Recorded October 25, 2016

Sarah Margaret "Sally" Roffey Jewell (born February 21, 1956) is a British-American business executive and environmentalist who served as the 51st United States secretary of the interior in the Obama administration from 2013 to 2017.

Jewell was born in London and moved to the United States at age three. She grew up in the State of Washington and attended the University of Washington. After college, Jewell briefly worked as an oil engineer before transitioning to the banking industry. A position on the board of Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI), a Seattle-based retailer of outdoor gear, in 1996, eventually led to her becoming the company's chief operating officer, from 2000 to 2005, and then chief executive officer from 2005 to 2013.

Jewell is a lifelong outdoors enthusiast and while at REI became known for her involvement in conservation and environmental protection. These efforts brought her to the attention of the Obama administration, and she was nominated as Secretary of the Interior to succeed Ken Salazar in 2013. Her nomination received substantial bipartisan support and she was handily confirmed by the Senate in April 2013. Jewell is the second woman to hold the position of Secretary of the Interior, after Gale Norton.

Early life and education

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Sarah Margaret Roffey was born in London, England, the daughter of Anne (née Murphy) and Peter Roffey.[1][2][3] She was three when her family moved to the United States in 1959; her father, an anesthesiologist, took up a fellowship at the University of Washington.[3] Her mother was a nurse practitioner whose specialty was women's health.[4] The Roffey family, including Sally and her three siblings, enjoyed the outdoors, and Sally went sailing and hiking from a young age.[2][3] A two-week camping trip to teach children ecology inspired her love of the outdoors when she was nine years old.[5] She attended Seattle Country Day School during her elementary years, and in 1973 graduated from Renton High School.[3]

Roffey attended the University of Washington, first planning to become a dental hygienist. She switched to pre-dental at the encouragement of a roommate. After Roffey started dating an engineering student, Warren Jewell, she discovered an aptitude for engineering and changed her major.[6] As an engineering student she worked for General Electric on components for the Alaska Pipeline.[5] In 1978, she received her degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Washington.[7][8]

Soon after graduation, Roffey married Jewell. The couple moved to Oklahoma, both having accepted engineering jobs with Mobil.[3]

Career

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Early career

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Sally Jewell worked for Mobil oil company on oil fields in Oklahoma from 1978 through 1981, when she joined Rainier Bank and returned to the Pacific Northwest.[3][9] Jewell's background was attractive to Rainier Bank, which was considering gas and oil investments and wanted industry engineers to help evaluate possible assets.[3][9] Jewell advised against investments in oil and gas, and the bank's adoption of this recommendation was good for their business.[9] She stayed with Security Pacific after it acquired Rainier Bank, until 1992.[3][7] Jewell worked for WestOne Bank from 1992 through 1995, and for Washington Mutual from 1995 through 2000.[3][7] In total, she worked for nearly 20 years in the banking industry.[3]

In 1996, Jewell joined the board of Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI). In 2000 she was named chief operating officer. REI is a retailer of outdoor gear that operates as a member-owned cooperative.[10][11]

In 2005, she succeeded Dennis Madsen as chief executive officer (CEO).[3] In 2006 Jewell was named Puget Sound Business Journal CEO of the Year.[12] By 2012, Jewell noted that the REI co-op had facilitated 3 million hours of volunteer work in parks and other natural outdoor spaces and spent three percent of its annual profits on outdoor stewardship.[11] During her tenure at REI, annual sales grew from $600 million in 2005 to more than $2 billion in 2015, and the company doubled the number of its retail stores.[9] Jewell remained CEO of REI until she was named Secretary of the Interior in 2013.[4]

Civic involvement and awards

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While working in the private sector, Jewell became known for her involvement in conservation and environmental protection efforts.[13][14] Jewell has sat on the boards of Premera, the National Parks Conservation Association, the University of Washington Board of Regents (2001–2013), and the Retail Industry Leaders Association.[5][13][15] She helped found the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust and served as a board member and president of the group.[16][17] She started making campaign contributions in 2008, giving almost "solely to Democratic candidates" according to USA Today.[13]

In 2009, Jewell received the National Audubon Society's Rachel Carson Award for her leadership in, and dedication to, conservation.[18][19] She was also named a 2012 Woman of Distinction from the Girl Scouts of Western Washington, and that same year was awarded the Woodrow Wilson Center's Award for Public Service.[13] That same year, the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust named Jewell to its hall of fame for 21 years of leadership with Greenway Trust, encouraging people to participate in outdoor activities.[14][20] The University of Washington honored Jewell with its 2016 Alumni Lifetime Achievement Award.[5] In 2017, the Teton Science Schools, a Wyoming-based non-profit, awarded her the Murie Spirit of Conservation Award recognizing a lifetime achievement in conservation through civil discourse.[21]

Secretary of the Interior

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On February 6, 2013, Jewell was nominated by President Barack Obama to succeed Ken Salazar as United States Secretary of the Interior.[15] Her nomination was approved by the United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on March 21, with only three of the committee's 22 members opposed.[22] On April 10, 2013, the Senate confirmed Jewell to be Secretary of the Interior in an 87–11 vote.[23][24] She was sworn in as Secretary of the Interior on April 12, 2013. As Secretary of the Interior she oversaw the Interior Department, which has a budget of $11 billion, employs 70,000 people, and acted as steward for twenty percent of the United States of America's land.[4]

Jewell (center) aboard Marine One with (left to right) President Barack Obama, Bill Nye, and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz for Earth Day, April 22, 2015
Sally Jewell at Mission San Jose

Jewell's first order as secretary, issued in October 2013, established a process for the Department of the Interior to offset large development projects with conservation efforts.[25] The effort was an extension of existing programs that use fees for offshore drilling permits to expand or build parks.[9] At the same time, Jewell publicly pledged to work with President Obama to preserve mountains and rivers, with or without Congressional action. Existing laws, such as the 1906 Antiquities Act, give the president broad authority to preserve land, a power Jewell indicated she and the President were prepared to use as part of a balanced approach between development and conservation.[26]

Expanding access to parks was a feature of many initiatives Jewell undertook as secretary.[27] A 2014 Secretarial Order set benchmarks to increase youth involvement, seeking to create opportunities for young people to play, learn, serve, and work in national parks.[28] Jewell led the kickoff of the Every Kid Every Park program by leading fourth graders on a hike through Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. The Every Kid initiative made every fourth grade student, and their families, eligible for a free one-year pass to every national park.[27][29] Jewell also backed a 2016 initiative to expedite permitting for youth organizations to explore public wildlands on overnight or multi-day trips, particularly in less popular parks.[27]

On August 28, 2015, Jewell used her authority as Secretary to rename the tallest mountain in North America Denali.[30][31][32] The United States federal government had adopted the name Mount McKinley for the peak in 1917 although the Koyukon Athabascan, a group native to Alaska, had traditionally called the peak Denali. President Obama supported Jewell's decision to change the name.[31][32]

As Secretary, Jewell approved the first phase of the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP).[33][34] The DRECP focuses on renewable energy and land conservation in California's desert. At the signing ceremony, held September 16, 2016, at the Santa Rosa & San Jacinto Mountains National Monument Visitor Center, Secretary Jewell stated phase one was intended to streamline approval for solar, wind, and geothermal projects. The DRECP also aimed to preserve 4.2 million acres of land. Conservation groups viewed the initiative more favorably than did wind and solar developers, who criticized the DRECP for removing some public land designated for development.[33]

Jewell was the 51st Secretary of the Interior, and the second woman to hold the position. Unlike many of her predecessors, Jewell never held elected office.[10] Because she acquired her U.S. citizenship by naturalization rather than being a natural-born citizen, Jewell was not eligible to hold a place within the presidential line of succession.[35]

Post-secretaryship

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After leaving government, Jewell returned to Seattle and the University of Washington as an advisor to the College of the Environment's EarthLab, which coordinates solutions to climate change and environmental issues.[36][37] She also joined the boards of The Nature Conservancy[38] and Bellevue-based life insurance company Symetra.[39] Jewell served as the interim CEO of The Nature Conservancy from September 3, 2019 to May 18, 2020.[40][41] In January 2020, she joined the board of Costco.[42]

In 2015, Jewell was selected as the ship's sponsor for USS Montana (SSN-794). She christened the vessel 12 September 2020 at Huntington Ingalls Industries Newport News Shipbuilding amid a virtual ceremony because of restrictions due to COVID.[43]

Personal life

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Jewell is married to Warren Jewell, also an engineer.[3] They have two adult children: a son, who works as a pediatric intensive care nurse, and a daughter, who works as a revenue agent for the federal government.[4][7] Both resided in Seattle as of 2013.[4][7]

In her spare time, Jewell enjoys snowboarding and kayaking. She also enjoys mountain climbing, and has climbed Vinson Massif, the highest mountain in Antarctica,[15] and Mont Blanc, Western Europe's highest mountain, and has scaled Mount Rainier seven times.[10] She is an overall outdoor enthusiast.[5]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  2. ^ a b "Anne Roffey Obituary: View Anne Roffey's Obituary by The Seattle Times". Legacy.com. August 19, 2011. Retrieved February 9, 2013.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Ouchi, Monica Soto (March 23, 2005). "A profile of REI's Sally Jewell: Team player at her peak". Seattle Times. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
  4. ^ a b c d e Broder, John M. (April 29, 2013). "Interior Secretary Sally Jewell Savors a Steep Learning Curve". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 2, 2016.
  5. ^ a b c d e Sudermann, Hannelore. "Sally Jewell: Recipient of the 2016 Alumni Lifetime Achievement Award". University of Washington. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  6. ^ "Executive Q & A: Sally Jewell, President and CEO of REI | Seattle Business Magazine". Seattle Business Magazine. February 21, 2012. Archived from the original on January 17, 2021. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  7. ^ a b c d e "Biographical information for Sally Jewell". SFGate. Associated Press. Archived from the original on February 7, 2013. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
  8. ^ Deutsch, Sally Jewell; As Told To Claudia H. (August 19, 2007). "Engineer on Two Wheels". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 20, 2017.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ a b c d e Wieners, Bradford (July 3, 2014). "Sally Jewell: Obama's Pro-Fracking Climate Czar". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved October 2, 2016.
  10. ^ a b c Bernstein, Lenny (December 25, 2013). "Sally Jewell at a different kind of summit: Head of the Department of the Interior". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  11. ^ a b Gross, Daniel (February 7, 2013). "REI CEO Sally Jewell Nominated for Interior Secretary Post". The Daily Beast. Retrieved October 2, 2016.
  12. ^ Executive of the Year 2006, CEO Sally Jewell, Puget Sound Business Journal, December 24, 2006
  13. ^ a b c d Malcolm, Hadley (February 6, 2013). "Sally Jewell is environmentalist, business exec". USA Today. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  14. ^ a b "President Obama has nominated Sally Jewell as Secretary of the Interior". VOICE of the Valley Online News. February 7, 2013. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  15. ^ a b c Ros Krasny (February 6, 2013). "interior secretary: Obama nominates REI chief Sally Jewell". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on January 1, 2014. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
  16. ^ "Greenway Founders — Mountains to Sound Greenway". mtsgreenway.org. Archived from the original on January 5, 2016. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  17. ^ Elderkin, Sue (February 6, 2013). "Sally Jewell Nominated to Head Interior — Washington Trails Association". www.wta.org. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  18. ^ "Audubon Women In Conservation". web4.audubon.org. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  19. ^ "WomenInConservation.org". Audubon.org. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
  20. ^ "Greenway awards — Mountains to Sound Greenway". mtsgreenway.org. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  21. ^ Associated Press (April 24, 2017). "Ex-Secretary Sally Jewell to be honored by Wyoming nonprofit". The Billings Gazette. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
  22. ^ Broder, John M. (March 21, 2013). "Senate Panel Approves Sally Jewell for Interior Dept. Post". The New York Times.
  23. ^ "Roll Call Vote". Senate.gov. August 12, 2014. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
  24. ^ Eilperin, Juliet (April 10, 2013). "REI's Sally Jewell wins confirmation as Interior secretary". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  25. ^ Bernstein, Leonard (October 31, 2013). "Interior Secretary Sally Jewell lays out conservation strategy". Washington Post. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  26. ^ Rucker, Patrick (October 31, 2013). "Obama will use executive powers to conserve lands: Interior secretary". Reuters. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  27. ^ a b c Arnold, Katie (March 18, 2016). "How Sally Jewell Is Opening Wild Lands to Underprivileged Kids". Outside Online. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  28. ^ "Secretary Jewell Announces Order to Implement Youth Initiative Connecting Millions of Young People to America's Great Outdoors" (Press release). Department of the Interior. March 20, 2014. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  29. ^ "News (U.S. National Park Service)". National Park Service. September 1, 2015. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  30. ^ Jewell, Sally (August 28, 2015). "Order No. 3337" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 5, 2015. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  31. ^ a b "Secretary Jewell Announces Nation's Highest Peak Will Now Officially Bear Native Name". August 30, 2015. Retrieved October 2, 2016.
  32. ^ a b Davis, Julie Hirschfeld (August 30, 2015). "Mount McKinley Will Again Be Called Denali". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  33. ^ a b Danelski, David. "Here's how Interior Secretary Sally Jewell made desert environmentalists happy and upset energy developers". Press Enterprise. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
  34. ^ Wilson, Dana (September 14, 2016). "Secretary Jewell, State of California Announce Landmark Renewable Energy, Conservation Plan for 10 Million Acres of California Desert" (PDF). U.S. Department of the Interior. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
  35. ^ Kamen, Al. "Sally Jewell can't be president". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 22, 2014.
  36. ^ "Former Interior Secretary Sally Jewell will guide UW's new climate initiative". The Seattle Times. October 18, 2018. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
  37. ^ "Former Interior Secretary Sally Jewell brings leadership to UW community, new EarthLab initiative". UW News. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
  38. ^ "Sally Jewell Biography". www.nature.org. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
  39. ^ "Former REI CEO Sally Jewell has a new gig in Bellevue". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
  40. ^ "The Nature Conservancy Announces Jennifer Morris as CEO". nature.org. Nature Conservancy. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  41. ^ Connelly, Joel; SeattlePI (June 11, 2019). "Ex-Interior Sec. Jewell will head troubled Nature Conservancy". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
  42. ^ "Board of Directors - Costco Wholesale Corporation". Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  43. ^ KECI Staff (September 12, 2020). "Virtual USS Montana submarine christening ceremony held". KECI. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
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Political offices
Preceded by United States Secretary of the Interior
2013–2017 		Succeeded by
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded byas Former US Cabinet Member Order of precedence of the United States
as Former US Cabinet Member 		Succeeded byas Former US Cabinet Member
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