Cook County Department of Environment and Sustainability Announces New Director
President Preckwinkle appoints Suzanne Malec-McKenna to lead department
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle has appointed Suzanne Malec-McKenna, Ph.D. to lead the County’s Department of Environment and Sustainability (DES). Malec-McKenna begins her tenure today as director of DES.
Malec-McKenna brings more than three decades of experience in climate mitigation and resilience, regulatory efforts, workforce development, ecological restoration, urban forest management, industrial redevelopment as well as management and governance practices.
“I am pleased to have Suzanne at the helm of this critical department and look forward to working with her on behalf of our residents,” said President Preckwinkle. “Her decades of experience and dedication to public service are vital to ensuring sustainability and environmental justice throughout our County and specifically in some of our most under-resourced communities.”
Malec-McKenna led strategies and programs for over 17 years at the Chicago Department of Environment, starting as a deputy director and rising to lead the department as commissioner. Key accomplishments included the launch and oversight of Greencorps Chicago,. Chicago Center for Green Technology,. Green Tech University, Chicago Conservation Corps. aAnd Calumet Initiative. She also undertook comprehensive stormwater management, air, and soil and rubble reuse legislation. She spearheaded restoration and expansion of the North Park Village Nature Center and Action H2O while recruiting and leading a talented cohort of environmental leaders who continue to make a difference across the region and the world.
Malec-McKenna has an additional 15 years of experience in nonprofit and private sectors in a variety of roles incorporating leadership, management, academic and on-the-ground expertise in the Chicago region. She most recently served as senior director in the President’s Office of the University of Illinois System, focusing on sustainability solutions through a One Health approach; collaborative decision-making; energy, water and food infrastructure; and innovative tools like artificial intelligence. She led the June 2025 Sustainability Research and Innovation Congress in Chicago, bringing in 1,700 scientists and practitioners from 66 countries.
Malec-McKenna worked for Openlands, establishing the TreeKeepers and community gardening programs, ConTextos, establishing an office and programming in Chicago as expansion of its original work in El Salvador and served as executive director for Chicago Wilderness. Most recently, Malec-McKenna consulted for Audubon Great Lakes on climate outreach, the MAAFA Redemption Project in West Garfield Park on job training and the Chicago Community Loan Fund on climate resiliency strategies for development. She has consulted for additional organizations such as Jasculca Terman, Quercus Consulting, the Morton Arboretum and the Chicago Community Trust. She also served as Interim CEO for the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative.
She holds a Bachelor of Science in Horticulture from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and a Master of Science and Ph.D. in Communication from Northwestern University.
Malec-McKenna resides in Chicago.