PRESS RELEASE DETAIL

For release: IMMEDIATELY

Release Date: 06/24/2015

Karen Khonsari joins City-Parish as new Director of Environmental Services

Karen Khonsari has joined East Baton Rouge City-Parish as the Director of Environmental Services. In December, the voters in East Baton Rouge Parish approved a change in the Plan of Government to create six new departments to replace the former Department of Public Works. As Director of Environmental Services, Khonsari’s role will be to oversee all aspects of the East Baton Rouge Sewerage and Sanitation Program including all financial and managerial aspects of the City-Parish Wastewater division and City-Parish Sanitation Division.

Khonsari joins the City-Parish with over 20 years of experience in project management, engineering, business development, staffing, budgeting, and fiscal planning. She began her career at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and has extensive experience in the private sector managing environmental permitting programs and working with organizations on compliance efforts and reporting, as well as air permits, wastewater permits, and solid waste management. She has led management teams to oversee site-wide Office of Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) compliance programs and conducted root cause investigations into Environmental Health and Safety incidents. She has extensive training in crisis management, environmental laws and regulations, and is a trained first responder.

Khonsari is a current resident of Baton Rouge. She earned a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from The Ohio State University.

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