Governor Mike Pence today announced that Carol Comer will serve as Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM), effective August 28, 2015. Comer currently serves as Chief of Staff at IDEM. This announcement comes after current IDEM Commissioner Tom Easterly announced his retirement in mid-July.

“Today I’m pleased to announce Carol Comer as Commissioner for the Indiana Department of Environmental Management,” said Governor Pence. “I know that with Carol’s extensive experience, she will continue to serve Hoosiers with integrity and dedication and follow in the footsteps of Commissioner Tom Easterly in ensuring healthier environments in all corners of our state.”

Prior to her role as Chief of Staff, she served at IDEM as General Counsel, where she oversaw approximately thirty attorneys and support staff. Previously, she served as a senior administrative law judge for the Indiana Board of Tax Review and as an Administrative Law Judge with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission.  Comer started her environmental law career at Plews and Shadley in Indianapolis and later at Lewis and Roca in Phoenix.

She is a 2013 graduate of the Richard G. Lugar Excellence in Public Service Series and currently serves on the organization’s Board of Directors.  She also volunteers and serves on the Board of Directors for God’s Bounty Food Pantry. In addition, she assisted the Indiana Pro Bono Commission with the founding of Indiana Operation Enduring LAMP and represented soldiers with legal claims.

Comer received her undergraduate degree from Indiana University School of Business and a joint master’s and law degree simultaneously from Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs and Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law, where she was the law school’s first Environmental Law Fellow.

In addition to Comer’s announcement as Commissioner, Governor Pence today announced that Bruno Pigott will serve as IDEM’s Chief of Staff. Pigott currently serves as Deputy Chief of Staff and Assistant Commissioner in the Office of Water Quality, where he has served since 2005. Previously, Pigott served as Chief of the Permits Branch and as Chief of the Compliance Branch in the Office of Water Quality. He received his undergraduate degree from Michigan State University and his master’s degree from Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis.