Elizabeth Browne has been named director of the Materials Management Division (MMD) at the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), the agency announced. Browne, who has served as acting division director since July 2020, assumed her new role February 21.
MMD is responsible for program areas that deal with solid, liquid, medical and hazardous waste; hazardous products; energy; and radioactive materials. The division also leads statewide efforts regarding pollution prevention, recycling, sustainability, scrap tire management, electronic waste takeback programs and radon safety.
Managing the various waste and sustainability efforts within EGLE has prepared Browne for this next step. She is a New York City native who was raised in northeastern New Jersey. She earned a Bachelor of Science in wildlife management from Michigan State University, and has lived in the Lansing area since her arrival in the state in 1974.
Browne has spent her entire career working for the State of Michigan, hiring in as a water quality technician for the Department of Natural Resources in 1980. During her tenure at the Department of Environmental Quality (now EGLE), Browne most recently has led efforts in the hazardous and solid waste programs, in addition to scrap tire management, medical waste and radiological protection, along with energy and sustainability-related efforts.
Published in the March 2021 Edition