Education

Mr. Levitas received his J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School. He received his B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, graduating Phi Beta Kappa. He served as a law clerk to the Honorable James B. McMillan, U.S. District Judge for the Western District of North Carolina.

Community and Business Activities

Steve Levitas is a partner at Kilpatrick Stockton, LLC, in the Environment, Energy and Land Use Practice Group. He represents a wide range of corporate and governmental clients on environmental regulatory matters, with an emphasis on wastewater permitting and compliance, wetlands regulation, water resources, and waste remediation.

From 1993 through 1996, Mr. Levitas served as Deputy Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Environment, Health and Natural Resources (DEHNR). As the Department's Chief Operating Officer, he was responsible for day-to-day management, budget development, and strategic planning. He worked closely with the General Assembly on the Department's budget and legislative priorities. Mr. Levitas played a major role in the passage of landmark legislation regulating intensive livestock operations and in the creation of a dedicated source of funding for parks and natural areas.

Prior to his appointment by Governor Hunt, Mr. Levitas served as Director and Senior Attorney of the North Carolina Environmental Defense Fund, which he helped found in 1987. At NCEDF, Mr. Levitas was involved in the development and passage of a number of important environmental laws. He also catalyzed the formation of the Southern Appalachian Mountain Initiative -- a regional effort to improve air quality in the mountains -- and helped design an innovative program for reducing nutrient pollution in the Tar-Pamlico River Basin.

Mr. Levitas was listed in the 2003-2004 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® for Environmental Law and was named to Business North Carolina’s 2004 Legal Elite List.

Memberships

Over the years, Mr. Levitas has served on numerous boards and committees in the environmental area, including the Governor's Blue Ribbon Commission on Environmental Indicators, the Clean Air Act Advisory Council, the Board of Directors of the North Carolina Recycling Association, and the Board of Directors of the Clean Water Fund of North Carolina. While at DEHNR, he chaired the Technical Committee of the Albemarle Pamlico Estuarine Study, the Pollution Prevention Advisory Council, and the Interagency Committee on Low-level Radioactive Waste. He currently chairs the Board of Visitors of the Carolina Environmental Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Mr. Levitas' memberships and activities include: member of the American and North Carolina Bar Associations (Environmental Law Sections); the ABA Standing Committee on Environmental Law; Chairman, Board of Visitors of the Carolina Environmental Program, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and past Chairman, Technical Committee of the Albemarle Pamlico Estuarine Study and North Carolina Pollution Prevention Advisory Council.