Sally Jewell

Sarah Margaret "Sally" Roffey Jewell (née Roffey; born February 21, 1956) is a British-American business executive and environmentalist who served as the 51st United States secretary of the interior in the Obama administration from 2013 to 2017.

Jewell was born in London and moved to the United States at age three. She grew up in the State of Washington and attended the University of Washington. After college, Jewell briefly worked as an oil engineer before transitioning to the banking industry. A position on the board of Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI), a Seattle-based retailer of outdoor gear, in 1996, eventually led to her becoming the company's chief operating officer, from 2000 to 2005, and then chief executive officer from 2005 to 2013.

Jewell is a lifelong outdoors enthusiast and while at REI became known for her involvement in conservation and environmental protection. These efforts brought her to the attention of the Obama administration, and she was nominated as Secretary of the Interior to succeed Ken Salazar in 2013. Her nomination received substantial bipartisan support and she was handily confirmed by the Senate in April 2013. Jewell is the second woman to hold the position of Secretary of the Interior, after Gale Norton.

Early life and education Sarah Margaret Roffey was born in London, England, the daughter of Anne (née Murphy) and Peter Roffey. Her mother was a nurse practitioner whose specialty was women's health. The Roffey family, including Sally and her three siblings, enjoyed the outdoors, and Sally went sailing and hiking from a young age. She attended Seattle Country Day School during her elementary years, and in 1973 graduated from Renton High School.

Roffey attended the University of Washington, first planning to become a dental hygienist. She switched to pre-dental at the encouragement of a roommate. After Roffey started dating an engineering student, Warren Jewell, she discovered an aptitude for engineering and changed her major. As an engineering student she worked for General Electric on components for the Alaska Pipeline.

Soon after graduation, Roffey married Jewell. The couple moved to Oklahoma, both having accepted engineering jobs with Mobil. Jewell's background was attractive to Rainier Bank, which was considering gas and oil investments and wanted industry engineers to help evaluate possible assets.

In 2005, she succeeded Dennis Madsen as chief executive officer (CEO). By 2012, Jewell noted that the REI co-op had facilitated 3million hours of volunteer work in parks and other natural outdoor spaces and spent three percent of its annual profits on outdoor stewardship. Jewell has sat on the boards of Premera, the National Parks Conservation Association, the University of Washington Board of Regents (2001–2013), and the Retail Industry Leaders Association. She helped found the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust and served as a board member and president of the group. She started making campaign contributions in 2008, giving almost "solely to Democratic candidates" according to USA Today. She was also named a 2012 Woman of Distinction from the Girl Scouts of Western Washington, and that same year was awarded the Woodrow Wilson Center's Award for Public Service. The University of Washington honored Jewell with its 2016 Alumni Lifetime Achievement Award.

Secretary of the Interior On February 6, 2013, Jewell was nominated by President Barack Obama to succeed Ken Salazar as United States Secretary of the Interior. On April 10, 2013, the Senate confirmed Jewell to be Secretary of the Interior in an 87–11 vote. She was sworn in as Secretary of the Interior on April 12, 2013. As Secretary of the Interior she oversaw the Interior Department, which has a budget of $11billion, employs 70,000 people, and acted as steward for twenty percent of the United States of America's land. The effort was an extension of existing programs that use fees for offshore drilling permits to expand or build parks.

Expanding access to parks was a feature of many initiatives Jewell undertook as secretary. A 2014 Secretarial Order set benchmarks to increase youth involvement, seeking to create opportunities for young people to play, learn, serve, and work in national parks. Jewell led the kickoff of the Every Kid Every Park program by leading fourth graders on a hike through Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. The Every Kid initiative made every fourth grade student, and their families, eligible for a free one-year pass to every national park. Jewell also backed a 2016 initiative to expedite permitting for youth organizations to explore public wildlands on overnight or multi-day trips, particularly in less popular parks. The United States federal government had adopted the name Mount McKinley for the peak in 1917 although the Koyukon Athabascan, a group native to Alaska, had traditionally called the peak Denali. President Obama supported Jewell's decision to change the name. The DRECP focuses on renewable energy and land conservation in California's desert. At the signing ceremony, held September 16, 2016, at the Santa Rosa & San Jacinto Mountains National Monument Visitor Center, Secretary Jewell stated phase one was intended to streamline approval for solar, wind, and geothermal projects. The DRECP also aimed to preserve 4.2million acres of land. Conservation groups viewed the initiative more favorably than did wind and solar developers, who criticized the DRECP for removing some public land designated for development.

Post-secretaryship After leaving government, Jewell returned to Seattle and the University of Washington as an advisor to the College of the Environment's EarthLab, which coordinates solutions to climate change and environmental issues. She also joined the boards of The Nature Conservancy and Bellevue-based life insurance company Symetra. Jewell served as the interim CEO of The Nature Conservancy from September 3, 2019 to May 18, 2020. In January 2020, she joined the board of Costco.

In 2015, Jewell was selected as the ship's sponsor for USS Montana (SSN-794). She christened the vessel 12 September 2020 at Huntington Ingalls Industries Newport News Shipbuilding amid a virtual ceremony because of restrictions due to COVID.

Personal life Jewell is married to Warren Jewell, also an engineer.