By David Jackson
USA TODAY
President Obama picked business executive Sally Jewell for Interior secretary on Wednesday, citing both her environmental and economic experience.
“She knows the link between conservation and good jobs,” Obama said during an event at the White House. “She knows that there’s no contradiction between being good stewards of the land and our economic progress, that, in fact, those two things need to go hand and hand.”
Jewell. president and CEO of Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI), said she is “energized” by the opportunity to be steward of the nation’s public lands.
“I have a great job at REI today, but there’s no role that compares than the call to serve my country as secretary of the Department of Interior,” said Jewell, whose $2
billion-a-year company sells clothing and gear for the outdoors and is headquartered in Kent, Wash.
