Department of energy and environment

Becky W. KeoghCabinet Secretary

Becky W. Keogh serves as the Secretary of the Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment (E&E) and the Director of the Division of Environmental Quality (DEQ). She has been engaged in a unique range of technical, managerial, and consulting roles across government and private industry throughout her career. Secretary Keogh previously held positions as Vice President and Senior Consultant for an international environmental and engineering firm. She has served as the Director of DEQ since 2015 and the Deputy Director from 1996– 2006. She was subsequently appointed to serve on the Arkansas Geological Commission from 2006–2009. Immediately prior to her appointment by Governor Asa Hutchinson as DEQ Director, she was employed in an environmental and regulatory management role for an international energy corporation.

Secretary Keogh has been an active member and alumni member of the Environmental Council of the States (ECOS) since 1997. A well-respected leader among her counterparts in other states, she was elected by her peers to serve as the 2018–2019 President of ECOS.

Secretary Keogh has testified before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, the House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, and the Senate Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety. At those Committees, she testified about the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s relationship with the states—specifically noting the atmosphere of coercive federalism in 2016 and remarking on the evolution and improvement of the relationship in 2019.

An Arkansas native, Secretary Keogh has a degree in chemical engineering from the University of Arkansas. She is married, has three children, and has four grandchildren.