EDO-2024-000015

For Immediate Release
Dec. 24, 2020

Contact:
Jennifer Napier-Pearce
Office of the Lt. Governor
[phone], [e-mail]

Photos and full bios attached

Gov.-elect Cox and Lt. Gov.-elect Henderson
announce DEQ, PLPCO posts

SALT LAKE CITY (Dec. 24, 2020) — Gov.-elect Spencer Cox and Lt. Gov.-elect Deidre
Henderson announced two more appointments to their administration. Both appointees will
require confirmation of the Utah Senate.

“Both Kim and Redge have depth of experience and the respect of their colleagues. They each
are uniquely qualified to take on these new roles,” Cox said. “We’re excited to have them join
our team as we get to work for the public good.”

Redge Johnson, a consultant who previously worked for the Utah Department of Agriculture and
the Nature Conservancy, has been nominated as coordinator of the Public Lands Policy
Coordinating Office, or PLPCO.

Kim Shelley, who is currently deputy director of the Utah Department of Environmental Quality,
has been tapped to serve as executive director of the DEQ.

Cox and Henderson, along with other statewide elected officials, will be formally sworn in on
Inauguration Day, Monday, Jan. 4, 2021.

# # #

Cabinet and Staff Appointments
(​in alphabetical order​)
Note: Appointments require Senate approval
Dec. 24, 2020

Redge Johnson, Coordinator of the Public Lands Policy
Coordinating Office

Redge Johnson brings experience and expertise from the
private sector, public sector and the nonprofit world. A native
of Utah, he understands the need for stewardship of our lands,
water and natural resources while providing opportunities for
recreation and economic prosperity.
Most recently, Johnson used his 35+ years of experience in
land management and natural resources to assist all 29 Utah
counties in drafting and implementing County Resource
Management Plans. The plans analyzed and created goalcoos,
policies and objectives for 28 identified natural resources. He
then assisted state agencies in creating and publishing the
State Resource Management Plan.
A self-described ranch hand, Johnson was born in the town of
Lost Creek, Utah, and has lived all over the world, from
metropolitan areas in Yokohama, Japan, Aix-en-Provence,
France and Washington, D.C. as well as rural settings
including Jean Lake, Nevada and Johns Valley, Utah. He has
a bachelor’s degree from Utah State University.

Kim Shelley, Executive Director of the Utah Department
of Environmental Quality

Kim Shelley’s career has focused on Utah’s environmental
priorities.

An engineer by training, she is currently the deputy director
of the Department of Environmental Quality where she
oversees internal operations across five divisions. She is

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responsible for ensuring Utah maintains primacy for the
implementation of federal environmental programs and for
assuring outreach and coordination with industry, federal,
state and local partners. She has a thorough understanding of
the department and a commitment to its mission to safeguard
and improve Utah’s air, land and water through balanced
regulation.

Prior to being named deputy director, Shelley was the
assistant director of the Division of Water Quality and
manager of the Surface Water Discharge Program. She has
also overseen the permitting of complex wastewater and
water projects and was previously appointed by Gov. Herbert
to represent the state on the Colorado River Basin Salinity
Control Forum and Advisory Council. Before joining the
Division of Water Quality, she worked in the Division of
Environmental Response and Remediation’s underground
storage tank program. In addition to her public sector
experience, Shelley has experience in private industry as a
research and development engineer.

Shelley was raised in Salt Lake City and is a graduate of the
University of Utah with a bachelor’s degree in Metallurgical
Engineering. She is married to Jeff Vandel and they have two
children: Madeline and Benjamin.