Board of Directors
Ken Westlake retired in 2022 after a 44-year career with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Chicago. For 22 years, he managed the environmental review program for the Great Lakes Region, implementing the National Environmental Policy Act, engaging federal actions involving transportation and energy infrastructure, federal land management, mining, and the Upper Mississippi River. Previously, he served for 13 years on the Regional Administrator’s staff in intergovernmental relations. He began his EPA career in the solid and hazardous waste programs. He has a bachelor’s degree in public policy from Michigan State University, a master’s in urban planning from the University of Illinois, and a master’s in management from Northwestern University.
Ken is a member of Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in Arlington Heights, Illinois, where he has served as congregation president, and has chaired the Social Ministry, Adult Education, and Endowment Committees and the Green Team. He has been a member of the Metro Chicago Synod’s Environmental Concerns Working Group since 1994, and its chair since 2015. He is a long-time volunteer with Scouting America and currently serves as a scoutmaster and district chair. He enjoys hiking, canoeing, camping, skiing, playing the trumpet, and writing.
He lives in Mount Prospect, Illinois, with his wife, Kate. They have three adult children and two grandsons.
For more about Ken Westlake’s work in the Metro-Chicago Synod, watch this video.