Bureau of Reclamation Acting Commissioner David Palumbo today named Jennifer J. Carrington regional director for the bureau’s Columbia-Pacific Northwest Region. Carrington has more than 27 years of Reclamation experience and officially assumed her duties as regional director May 8, 2022.
“Jennifer has been deeply immersed in the issues and operations of the Columbia-Pacific Northwest Region for much of her Reclamation career,” said Palumbo. “This extensive experience, combined with her executive leadership experience and collaborative approach, will serve our stakeholders well. Further, Jennifer is recognized as a consummate public servant dedicated to managing the complex issues and challenges across the region including climate change, aging infrastructure, endangered species, and drought while working closely with water users, power contractors, Tribes, and non-governmental organizations.”
Carrington will provide leadership for the management, development and protection of water and related resources in Idaho, Washington, most of Oregon, and parts of Montana and Wyoming. She will oversee an annual program of more than $350 million and 1,200 employees that includes operating Reclamation's regional water projects for irrigation and power generation, maintaining a rigorous Safety of Dams program, and managing a robust environmental sustainability program.
Carrington has served as the deputy regional director for the Columbia-Pacific Northwest Region since 2015. In that role, she focused on integrating business service functions to create program efficiencies as well as management oversight of complex water issues in Washington and Oregon. She actively engaged with water users and other affected stakeholders to balance competing demands and resolve conflicts.
Carrington began her federal career in 1988 serving in the United States Air Force. She joined Reclamation in 1992 and has served in variety of staff and management positions in the Columbia-Pacific Northwest Region. She is a graduate of the Department of the Interior’s Senior Executive Services Candidate Development Program where she served a detail as special advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Water and Science focusing on matters associated with the Columbia River Treaty. She also served in acting positions of Columbia-Pacific Northwest Regional Director and Reclamation’s Director, Mission Support Organization.
Carrington is a native of Idaho. She holds a bachelor’s degree in political science as well as a master’s degree in public administration—both from Boise State University.
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