Margo T. Oge is the former Director of the Office of Transportation and Air Quality (OTAQ) at the United States Environmental Protection Agency, a position that culminated a 32-year career with the EPA.
As Director of OTAQ, Margo led the development of some of the nation’s most consequential air pollution and climate policies. Under her leadership, EPA programs reduced harmful emissions from gasoline and diesel vehicles by up to 99 percent and established the first national greenhouse gas standards for cars and heavy-duty trucks.
Her work also helped shape global clean transportation policy. She established the United Nations process for harmonizing global vehicle emissions standards and led the development of the U.S. federal Renewable Fuel Standard.
Earlier in her EPA career, Margo led implementation of the 1986 Community Right-to-Know law, expanding public access to information about toxic chemical releases. As Director of EPA’s Office of Radiation and Indoor Air, she oversaw the agency’s landmark 1993 assessment of the health risks of secondhand smoke. She has received numerous awards, including Presidential Awards from Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
She currently serves as Board Chair Emeritus of the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), a member of the Board of Directors of the Union of Concerned Scientists, a Distinguished Fellow at ClimateWorks Foundation, and an advisor to the UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies and the Climate Imperative Foundation.
Her previous leadership and advisory roles include serving on Volkswagen Group’s Global Sustainability Council, the National Academies’ Board on Energy and Environmental Systems, the U.S. Global Change Research Program’s Advisory Committee, and as Chair and member of the Deloitte Center for Sustainable Progress Advisory Council.
Margo is the author of Driving the Future: Combating Climate Change with Cleaner, Smarter Cars, and a frequent contributor to Forbes and other leading media outlets on climate, transportation, energy, and environmental policy.
She holds BS and MS degrees in engineering from the University of Massachusetts in Lowell.