Amanda Lefton (Provided photo — New York State Department of Environmental Conservation)

ALBANY — Nearly a year after longtime state Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos stepped down, the sprawling agency has a new leader.

On Feb. 25, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the appointment of Amanda Lefton to take the reins at the DEC, which is tasked with conserving, improving and protecting the state’s environment and natural resources.

Lefton’s appointment relieves Sean Mahar, who had been serving as the DEC’s interim commissioner since April 15, 2024, following Seggos’ departure. As the interim commissioner, which does not require state Senate confirmation, Mahar could only serve for up to one year in the role. Maher resumed his role as the executive deputy commissioner, which he began serving as in 2022, prior to his elevation to interim commissioner.

Currently, Lefton is the DEC’s acting commissioner — which she began serving as on March 3 — as she awaits state Senate confirmation for the commissioner role. It is unclear if Lefton is without any powers as acting commissioner that she would otherwise have.

State law requires state Senate confirmation within one year of being named acting commissioner for the person to continue serving in the role. Otherwise, the governor is required to make a new nomination. State Senator Dan Stec’s, R-Queensbury, office did not respond by press time Thursday to questions whether he intended to support or oppose the nomination, or if he was undecided at this point.

The DEC is one of the largest state government conservation agencies in the U.S. It has a staff of about 3,000, manages roughly 4 million acres of protected land throughout the state and operates on an annual budget in excess of $2 billion for fiscal year 2024.

Prior to her appointment, Lefton, 39, worked for RWE, a multinational electricity company. She led offshore wind turbine development initiatives. Lefton also served as the Department of the Interior’s director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management under the Biden Administration and previously served as a first assistant secretary for energy and environment for then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo. She was also the deputy director of policy for The Nature Conservancy, an environmental nonprofit organization.

Lefton’s appointment received support from several conservation groups. Adirondack Council’s Director of Communications John Sheehan said the organization was pleased with the nomination.

“We have worked with Amanda for many years while she was with The Nature Conservancy,” he said. “We admired her efforts and her tenacity and we are looking forward to working with her at DEC.”

Lefton is originally from Queens and grew up on Long Island. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University at Albany.