Heather McTeer Toney

During her legal career, she primarily handled employment discrimination and medical malpractice cases.^[7]

In 2004, Toney became the first woman, first African American, and youngest person to serve as mayor of Greenville^[8] defeating Democratic incumbent mayor Paul Artman Jr. in the primary^[9] and then independent DeWitt "Buddy" Tucker with 4,393 votes compared to 393 for Tucker in the December 8, 2003 general election.^[10] Located in the Mississippi Delta, the poverty rate of Greenville is almost three times the national average.^[11] During her tenure as mayor, she was credited with helping the city resolve its debt crisis.^[12] Toney is a past president of the National Conference of Black Mayors.^[1] As mayor, she prioritized environmental issues, specifically with regards to protecting the local water supply.^[13] She did not seek reelection in the December 2011 election instead deciding to run for Mississippi's 2nd District congressional seat in the November 2012 election.^[14] She was succeeded by Chuck Jordan who defeated Carl McGee.^[14]

She was defeated by Bennie Thompson in the March 2012 Democratic primary for Mississippi's 2nd congressional district seat.^[15]

In 2009, Toney was nominated by then-EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson to serve as chairwoman of the EPA's Local Government Advisory Committee.^[16] Jackson was impressed by Toney's work combatting water pollution in Greenville.^[17] In 2014, Toney was nominated by President Obama to serve as Regional EPA Administrator for Region 4,^[18] consisting of Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and six tribal nations. Region 4 has been referred to as a "historically troubled" region plagued by "energy apartheid,"^[19] and the promotion of former Regional Administrator Gwen Keyes Fleming to the position of EPA Chief of Staff led to the position being vacant for a time prior to Toney's appointment.^[20]

Toney has been mentioned as a potential future administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.^[21][22][23]

Since leaving the EPA in 2017, Toney has involved herself in environmental justice organizing.^[24] Toney is the national field director for Moms Clean Air Force,^[25][12] which focuses on combatting air pollution. In 2019, Toney authored an op-ed for The New York Times where she argued that the need to combat climate change and protect the environment is a racial justice issue.^[26] Toney has criticized the mainstream environmental movement for ignoring the concerns of communities of color.^[27]

Toney is married to Dexter Toney and has three children.^[2]