Katherine Scarlett

Katherine Scarlett comes to CGCN with almost a decade of experience in federal permitting and environmental policy. Most recently, Scarlett served as President Trump’s Chairman at the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). Under her leadership, CEQ coordinated new agency procedures for implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for more than 60 departments and agencies across the Federal government. She also led implementation of the President’s Memorandum on Updating Permitting Technology for the 21st Century. Prior to being confirmed as Chairman, Scarlett served as Chief of Staff at CEQ.  

She also worked as Senior Professional Staff at the United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) under Ranking Member Shelley Moore Capito, covering a range of issues including permitting, wildlife, conservation, and economic development. During her time at EPW, she demonstrated strong expertise in environmental policy and worked on a number of bipartisan bills that became law, such as the Surface Transportation Reauthorization of 2021, the America’s Conservation Enhancement Act of 2024, and the Economic Development Reauthorization Act of 2024.

During President Trump’s first term, Scarlett started her federal service at CEQ as Special Assistant to the Chairman and Deputy Associate Director for Infrastructure. In that role, Scarlett led implementation of the President’s interagency coordination for major infrastructure projects and worked to align agency policies to streamline permitting decisions.  She also was the first-ever Chief of Staff at the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council where she coordinated the permitting schedules for large-scale critical infrastructure projects across the country.

An Ohio native, Scarlett is a graduate of Ohio University with a B.S. in Organizational Communication.