Secretary Salazar Names Sylvia V. Baca Deputy Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today named Sylvia V. Baca, a senior public and private sector manager in energy and environmental policy and programs, as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management. The appointment does not require Senate confirmation.

“Sylvia brings more than two decades of management experience dealing with natural resource and environmental stewardship issues in both the public and private sectors and at all levels of government,” Secretary Salazar said. “Sylvia understands the value of partnerships and the dynamics of consensus building on difficult issues and her professionalism and detailed knowledge of Interior's land and energy responsibilities will make her a valuable member of our leadership team.”

Baca, who currently is general manager for Social Investment Programs and Strategic Partnerships at BP America Inc. in Houston, has held several senior management positions with the company since 2001, focusing on environmental initiatives, overseeing cooperative projects with private and public organizations, developing health, safety, and emergency response programs and working on climate change, biodiversity and sustainability objectives.

As Director of Global Health, Safety, Environment & Emergency Response for BP Shipping Ltd. in London, Baca led a worldwide team to develop innovative and proactive energy and the environment initiatives. Among her accomplishments, she oversaw health, safety and environmental outcomes for an $8 billion ship building program, resulting in the youngest, greenest and most technically advanced fleet in the world. The project has received numerous awards for its safety and environmental advancements.

As vice president for Health, Safety and Environment, BP North America in Los Angeles, Baca served as policy advisor on environmental initiatives, such as climate change, biodiversity, sustainable development, land restoration and air and water programs. Baca presented BP's Climate Change Program before congressional committees and served as a board member on the California Climate Action Registry, Natural Resources Council of America, NatureServe, and the University of Colorado Natural Resources School of Law. She developed collaborative partnerships with key constituents, trade associations, regulators and other stakeholders on environmental legislative and regulatory issues.

From 1995 to 2001, Baca served as the Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management at the Department of the Interior, where she was the principal policy advisor to the Secretary of the Interior for environmentally responsible stewardship of public lands and resources. She was responsible for the development of national policy and management direction of the Bureau of Land Management, Minerals Management Service and Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement.

Among her achievements, Baca formulated consensus-based federal land and resource management policies and facilitated policy resolution for public land and mineral disputes with competing interest groups. She earlier served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management and was the Acting Director of the Bureau of Land Management.

Baca held several senior positions in New Mexico government, including director of Finance and Management for the City of Albuquerque, Senior Fiscal Analyst with the Legislative Finance Committee and director of the New Mexico Minority and Small-Business Development program.

Baca holds a master's degree in Public Administration and Finance from the University of New Mexico. She has received advanced management training at the University of Cambridge; Rice University School of Management and Stanford Graduate School of Business Education. Among her honors and awards, Baca received the Distinguished Alumni in Career Achievement from the University of New Mexico in 2008.