Miles Tolbert is an American lawyer from the state of Oklahoma who served as the

Oklahoma Secretary of the Environment The Oklahoma Secretary of Environment is a member of the Oklahoma Governor's Cabinet. The Secretary is appointed by the Governor, with the consent of the Oklahoma Senate, to serve at the pleasure of the Governor. The Secretary serves as the chie ...

in the Cabinet of

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Brad Henry. Tolbert was appointed by Henry in 2003 and served until his resignation in 2008. Tolbert was succeeded by J.D. Strong, Tolbert's chief of staff, as Secretary.

Early career

Tolbert joined the

Office of the Oklahoma Attorney General The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) is an agency of the Oklahoma state government that is headed by the Attorney General of Oklahoma. The OAG is responsible for supervising the administration of justice across the State, providing legal ass ...

as an attorney to eventually become the chief of the Environmental Protection Unit. He has also practiced law in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, as an attorney for the Environmental and Natural Resources Division of the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United Stat ...

. At the time of his appointment in 2003, Tolbert was the president-elect of the

Oklahoma Bar Association The Oklahoma Bar Association (OBA) is the integrated (mandatory) bar association of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. History The Oklahoma Territory Bar Association and the Indian Territory Bar Association merged in 1904 to form the Oklahoma Bar A ...

's environmental law section and a member of the

Crowe & Dunlevy Crowe & Dunlevy is an American law firm headquartered in Oklahoma. Founded in 1902, it is the second largest law firm in Oklahoma with offices in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and Dallas, and is Oklahoma's second oldest law firm."The Journal Record", 20 ...

, an

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

-based law firm.

Secretary of the Environment

On January 10, 2003,

Governor of Oklahoma The governor of Oklahoma is the head of government of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Under the Oklahoma Constitution, the governor serves as the head of the Oklahoma executive branch, of the government of Oklahoma. The governor is the '' ex of ...

-elect Brad Henry announced that he would appoint Tolbert to serve as his Secretary of the Environment. As the Secretary, Tolbert was charged with the protection and enhancement of Oklahoma's environment and natural resources through preservation, conservation, restoration, education and enforcement in order to maintain and improve the environmental quality and natural beauty of our state and better the standard of living for all Oklahomans. He had supervision over the

Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is a department of the government of Oklahoma under the Governor of Oklahoma. It is responsible for protecting human health and for safeguarding the natural environment: air, water, and land. ...

, the

Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation is an agency of the state of Oklahoma responsible for managing and protecting Oklahoma's wildlife population and their habitats. The Department is under the control of the Wildlife Conservation Com ...

and the

Oklahoma Water Resources Board The Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) is an agency in the government of Oklahoma under the Governor of Oklahoma. OWRB is responsible for managing and protection the water resources of Oklahoma as well as for planning for the state's long-ran ...

. In August, 2008, Tolbert resigned as Secretary in order to return to private practice. Governor Henry appointed J.D. Strong, longtime staffer in the Office of the Secretary and Tolbert's then chief of staff, to serve as Tolbert's successor.

References

State cabinet secretaries of Oklahoma Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Harvard University alumni Stanford University alumni Oklahoma lawyers American environmental lawyers United States Department of Justice lawyers {{Oklahoma-politician-stub