Blog
LaJuana Wilcher elected to Kentucky Chamber Board of Directors
by Mandy Hicks
Partner LaJuana Wilcher was recently elected to the Board of Directors of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce. She is one of eight newly elected members of the board. For more information on the board, visit the Kentucky Chamber’s news web site, Bottom Line, here.
The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce supports a prosperous business climate in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and works to advance Kentucky through advocacy, information, program management and customer service in order to promote business retention and recruitment.
LaJuana is one of several ELPO attorneys to serve on the Kentucky Chamber’s Board of Directors. Most recently, Buzz English served two terms on the board, including serving on the executive committee and chairing the Education and Work Force Council from 2016 to 2018. Charles English served on the board, including a stint on the executive committee and serving as vice chair. Partner Mike Owsley also served on the board, chairing the Education and Workforce Development Committee.
About LaJuana Wilcher
LaJuana Wilcher is a nationally known environmental attorney who has served in top-level environmental policy positions in federal and state government. At ELPO Law she focuses on environmental law, litigation and legislation.
In 1989 Wilcher was nominated by the President and confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve as the nation’s senior regulatory official for water programs at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Washington, DC, managing a staff of over 600 employees and a $2 billion annual budget. During her tenure she also led EPA’s involvement in the $1.1 billion Exxon Valdez oil spill litigation negotiations.
Following her work at EPA, she was a partner in the Washington D.C. offices of two large international law firms, working with Fortune 100 companies, municipalities and startup firms.
After working in Washington for 19 years, Wilcher moved back to her hometown of Bowling Green, Kentucky to work at ELPO Law and to farm in 2002. From 2003-2006 she served as the Secretary of Kentucky’s Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet, which included almost 3,000 employees in the Kentucky Departments of Labor, Environment, Natural Resources and Public Protection, and diverse offices ranging from Housing, Building and Construction and Insurance to Horse Racing and Financial Institutions. She returned to ELPO Law following her state government post, where she heads the firm’s environmental law group. She has been listed in America’s Best Lawyers since 2009.
She was an adjunct professor of law at Vanderbilt Law School, and for many years taught summer courses on environmental law and policy at the top-ranked Vermont Law School. She also served on the National Park System Advisory Board and the U.S. Commission to UNESCO.
