“If there’s one constant in Lois Schiffer’s professional life it has been care for the environment.” So writes Historical Society member Carl Stern in his summary of the oral history of Lois Schiffer, who held a number of top-level government positions focused on protecting the natural world. In her oral history, taken as part of the American Bar Association’s Women Trailblazers Project, Schiffer recounts her early work on environmental issues in the Justice Department during the Carter Administration.
She then returned to DOJ as head of the Environment and Natural Resources Division during the Bill Clinton years. A third stint in government saw her as General Counsel of the National Capital Planning Commission, followed, in 2010, as General Counsel of NOAA, where she dealt with the disastrous BP oil spill in the Gulf. True to her professional calling, Schiffer has made it a personal goal to hike in every one of the county’s National Parks.