Pinnix-Ragland Named Chair of EPA’s First HBCU-MSI Federal Advisory Council

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (Oct. 3, 2024) – The Environmental Protection Agency announced the members of the inaugural Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority Serving Institutions (HBCU-MSI) Federal Advisory Council, with North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University alumna Hilda Pinnix-Ragland as chair.

This council marks a significant milestone in EPA's commitment to fostering diversity, equity and inclusion within environmental policymaking and workforce development. It supports President Joe Biden’s Executive Order 14035, which underscores the importance of a federal workforce that reflects the full diversity of the American people. The HBCU-MSI FAC aligns with this vision, ensuring that diverse voices contribute to shaping the EPA's policies and practices.

“We are honored to have such a distinguished group of leaders join the first-ever HBCU-MSI Advisory Council,” Esaid EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan, a 1998 N.C. A&T alumnus. “Each member brings a wealth of experience, knowledge, and a deep commitment to advancing environmental justice and helping to diversify contributions to environmental policies. Their unique perspectives will be invaluable as we continue to ensure that all communities have a voice in our shared work to protect public health and the environment, to empower the next generation of environmental leaders, and to support these vital institutions for generations to come.”

Pinnix-Ragland graduated magna cum laude with a B.S. in accounting from A&T in 1977. She also holds an MBA from Duke University Fuqua School of Business and completed graduate studies in taxation at St. John’s University and the Executive Program at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.

“Communities of color across the country have long felt the impact of environmental transgressions, and no one understands those communities and impacts better than historically Black colleges and universities and other minority serving institutions. It makes good sense to turn to them for counsel as the Environmental Protection Agency seeks to make a greater difference than ever in environmental justice," said Pinnix-Ragland. “Administrator Regan is taking a significant and historically important step in establishing the EPA’s first-ever HBCU and MSI Federal Advisory Council, and I am deeply honored to have been selected to be part of the council. I look forward to joining with my fellow council members in making a difference for our universities and the communities they serve.”

A retired Duke Energy corporate affairs and business executive acknowledged for building best-in-class organizations that consistently achieve aggressive revenue and profit objectives, Pinnix-Ragland serves as chief financial officer at AHK Global Resources. She is a dedicated board member or advisor to many industry, educational and community organizations, and was nominated by President Barack Obama to serve on the board of the National Park Foundation.

Pinnix-Ragland has served her alma mater as a member of its Board of Visitors, as immediate past chair of its Board of Trustees and as chair of the search advisory committee that led to the appointment of James R. Martin II as its newest chancellor. She also has shown her love of A&T and its students with two scholarships that bear her name: the Hilda Pinnix-Ragland Endowment, administered through the North Carolina Community Foundation, and the Hilda Pinnix-Ragland Endowed Scholarship, established in her honor by her husband and sister.

Pinnix-Ragland was awarded the Triangle Business Journal’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Women in Business in 2017 and inducted into the Willie A. Deese College of Business and Economics Hall of Fame in 2020.

The HBCU-MSI Federal Advisory Council consists of 20 members, including a chair and three vice chairs, who each hold two-year appointments. It will provide independent advice and recommendations to Regan on strategies to help diversify the agency’s workforce, support the professional development of environmental leaders, and ensure that HBCUs and MSIs receive the resources and support they need to thrive. The council’s insights will be crucial in guiding the EPA’s efforts to address environmental justice issues and enhance community engagement.

“Including the voices of HBCUs in the EPA’s new Federal Advisory Council reflects EPA’s commitment to achieving real results that empower students and support the communities that HBCUs serve, and delivers on the Biden-Harris Administration’s whole-of-government investment efforts in HBCUs,” said Congresswoman Alma Adams of North Carolina, who earned a B.S. and M.S. from A&T in 1969 and 1972, respectively. “These actions ensure those who have firsthand experience with environmental justice issues like asthma and lead service line replacement will have a say in how we clean up the nation’s air and water, and will help build a clean energy economy that benefits everyone.”

A&T hosted an environmental symposium with the EPA on Sept. 9 that drew about 200 students and faculty involved in environmental programs at the university and officials from the EPA’s Office of Research and Development in Research Triangle Park. The event was the first to be held under a five-year Memorandum of Understanding, signed in November 2023, intended to increase cooperation between the university and the federal government agency in areas of mutual interest.