Mandy Gunasekara is a Christian, a wife, a mother, and principled conservative. She is a seventh generation Mississippian, who over the last decade has been at the center of the nation’s most consequential energy and environmental decisions. She is a veteran Republican climate and energy strategist, communicator, and environmental attorney who has a well-earned reputation for delivering results.
Most recently, Mandy served President Donald J. Trump as Chief of Staff of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Mandy was the chief-architect of the Paris Accord withdrawal and set a record for cutting red tape while minimizing unnecessary interference from the federal bureaucracy. One of Mandy’s proudest moments was working to greenlight the Yazoo Backwater Pumps Project, before it was scuttled by President Biden and Mississippi Democrats.
Prior to her latest EPA post, she founded and ran the Energy 45 Fund, a Jackson, Mississippi-based non-profit dedicated to informing the public about the energy, environmental and economic gains made under the Trump Administration. Mandy also served numerous roles in the U.S. Congress, including as Majority Counsel for the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and Senior Counsel to energy-focused representatives.
Mandy is a frequent guest on television and a prolific print media opinion commentator. She regularly appears on Fox News, Fox Business and Newsmax, and writes opinion pieces for the Daily Caller, Y’all Politics, and USA Today. If you haven’t seen her, you may recognize her voice as she is also a constant guest and guest host for Supertalk Mississippi.
Mandy earned a J.D. from the University of Mississippi School of Law and a B.A. from Mississippi College. She lives with her husband and two children in Oxford, Mississippi.