Wilma Lewis

Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management

From 2001 to 2007, Wilma Lewis, left, was a partner at Crowell & Moring LLP, where she specialized in complex civil litigation and internal investigations. Lewis, a former United States Attorney for the District of Columbia (1998-2001) and Inspector General at Interior, was confirmed Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management by the U.S. Senate on August 7, 2009.

From 1995 to 1998, Lewis was the Inspector General for Interior. Before serving as IG, Lewis was an Associate Solicitor at Interior from 1993 to 1995, managing and supervising the Division responsible for handling equal opportunity compliance, administrative law, personnel, torts, contracts and ethics matters.

From 1986 to 1993, Lewis worked in the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, where she was lead counsel on behalf of the United States in a wide assortment of civil cases in both federal trial and appellate courts, and subsequently served in supervisory and management positions in the Civil Division.

Lewis is a graduate of Harvard Law School, where she received her Juris Doctor degree in 1981. She was awarded her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science, with distinction, by Swarthmore College in 1978, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.

The assistant secretary ensures that the lands and natural resources of the 256-million-acre National System of Public Lands, including the National Landscape Conservation System, and 1.7 billion acres of the Federal Outer Continental Shelf are managed to meet the needs of the American people. The office also provides oversight on federal royalty management, regulation of active coal mining and reclamation, and restoration of abandoned mined areas. Production of federal energy includes renewable resources, coal, oil, and natural gas.

Mineral resources include metals such as gold, industrial minerals such as potash used for fertilizer, and construction minerals such as sand and gravel. A focus of the office is balancing the nation’s need for clean, affordable energy, minerals and other public land resources with a strong program of stewardship and environmental protection while achieving value for American taxpayers. Management goals are accomplished by engaging America’s local communities, partners, volunteers and youth.

Born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, Lewis grew up on the island of St. Thomas, part of the U.S. Virgin Islands. (DOI, WhoRunsGov)