About EPA

About EPA's Deputy Chief of Staff

John E. Reeder

John Reeder
John E. Reeder

John E. Reeder serves as EPA’s Deputy Chief of Staff. He is the designated Senior Resource Official, Senior Information Official, and Deputy Civil Rights Official for the Office of the Administrator. He also serves in leadership roles for a range of agency-wide initiatives and programs.

Mr. Reeder began his public service as a volunteer for active duty in the US Army in 1979, serving overseas with distinction until his honorable discharge in 1981. He was awarded the Army Commendation Medal for “exceptionally meritorious service” in the military police. After returning from military service, he graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture and Applied Economics (1985), and a Master of Arts degree in Public Policy from the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs (1987).

Mr. Reeder was selected as a Presidential Management Fellow and served at both the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and EPA. He also twice served on special assignments to assist U.S. Senate committees during consideration of legislation to reauthorize the Farm Bill and the Safe Drinking Water Act. Mr. Reeder received the Administrator’s Gold Medal Award in 1997 for his work on legislative reform of the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Prior to his appointment as Deputy Chief of Staff in 2010, Mr. Reeder held several positions throughout EPA, including special assistant in EPA’s Office of Water, director of EPA’s cleanup and restoration program for federally-owned Superfund sites, and deputy of EPA’s Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations. He has been a member of the career Senior Executive Service since 2002.