Areas of Expertise: Endangered Species Act, land conservation, agriculture, chemical regulation, energy 

Jake has worked on a variety of environmental issues for advocacy groups, federal agencies, and industry. In September 2025, he returned to Defenders as the V.P. of Conservation Policy, where he leads teams working on biodiversity, federal lands, and energy issues.

Jake previously served as the Assistant Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Ecological Services program, which leads the agency’s national work on endangered species conservation, environmental review of federal projects, and other functions. Jake also served in the Biden-Harris administration as a deputy assistant administrator in EPA’s chemical safety office, where he worked with industry, environmental advocates, states, and others to find practical solutions to chemical regulation, particularly pesticide use. Before joining EPA in 2021, Jake worked at the Environmental Policy Innovation Center and at Defenders of Wildlife. Jake started his career as an environmental lawyer at Latham & Watkins.

Jake holds a J.D. from Cornell University, where he also completed graduate courses in conservation biology and herpetology, and a B.S. from Drexel University. He is the co-editor of Endangered Species Act: Law, Policy, and Perspectives (3rd ed, 2021) and over a dozen peer-reviewed papers on wildlife conservation issues.

Outside of work, Jake is an avid rock climber, mountain biker, amateur herpetologist, and appreciator of biodiversity.