"The White House’s nominee to head a top US conservation agency lacks her predecessors’ experience, while her political connections raise potential conflicts of interest, a Guardian analysis has found.
Aurelia Skipwith, who started her career at the agrochemical giant Monsanto, has been nominated to lead the interior department’s Fish and Wildlife Service, which oversees endangered species and wildlife refuges.
Most former directors spent many years working at the agency or in similar state agencies before ascending to the top post. But Skipwith’s record shows no background in conservation before she joined the Trump administration less than two years ago as deputy assistant secretary of fish, wildlife and parks.
Skipwith holds degrees in biology, molecular genetics and law and has worked in crop science and corporate affairs. While in law school, she worked with two consulting firms which were founded or co-founded by her fiance, a politically well-connected Montanan who runs in the same circles as the outgoing interior secretary, Ryan Zinke."
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