Liz Callahan is retiring from MassDEP after 38 years with the Waste Site Cleanup Program and stepping down from her role as Acting Assistant Commissioner, effective March 2, 2024. Liz joined MassDEP’s Northeast Regional Office in 1986 as an Environmental Analyst I and was thrilled a few years later to be part of the team that drafted and implemented the “new” MCP for the Commonwealth’s privatized cleanup program. Prior to serving as Assistant Commissioner, Liz worked in various BWSC roles in the Boston and Northeast Region, including as Division Director for Policy and Program Development, managing many rounds of MCP amendments.

Millie Garcia-Serrano will be taking over for Liz as BWSC’s Assistant Commissioner on March 2nd. Millie, who holds a Master’s in Public Health, brings a wealth of experience to her new position, most recently as the Regional Director of MassDEP’s Southeast Regional Office. Millie’s past experience includes serving as the President of the Association of State and Territorial Solid Waste Management Officials (ASTSWMO), Chair of the Board of Registration of Hazardous Waste Site Cleanup Professionals (LSP Board), and as the Southeast Regional Office’s Deputy Regional Director for BWSC. Liz Callahan will be working to support this leadership transition and ongoing MCP amendment implementation efforts through the end of March. 

Effective February 14, 2024, MassDEP’s Commissioner Bonnie Heiple appointed BWSC’s Director of the Division of Federal Grants Programs Diane Baxter to serve as the Chair of the LSP Board. Diane brings decades of experience in hazardous waste site assessment and cleanup, holds a Master’s in Environmental Engineering, and is an LSP herself.