TG --

Tuesday Group on July 22, 2025 featured Kathryn Hoffman, CEO of the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy (MCEA). She presented Sulfide Mining, Executive Order, & Democracy: How the Trump Administration's May Affect Minnesota.


Since Inauguration Day, President Trump has signed a flurry of Executive Orders. Many of these address mining directly or indirectly. The Executive Orders aim to speed up permitting, limit federal environmental regulations, and override state laws. What is the overall effect of these orders, and how do we separate the legal impact from the rhetoric? Kathryn Hoffman, CEO at MCEA, the preeminent environmental law organization in the state, will walk us through the Executive Orders, what they do and do not mean, and what to expect for Minnesota’s sulfide mining proposals moving forward.

Kathryn graduated from the University of Minnesota Law School in 2006 magna cum laude, and earned a Masters in Public Policy from the Humphrey Institute at the same time. After working in complex litigation in Zelle LLP in Minneapolis for four years, she joined MCEA as a staff attorney in 2010. She stepped into the CEO role in 2017, and she is proud of the way the organization has grown and changed since then. She has worked as adjunct faculty at the University of Minnesota Law School, and is also a former Chair of the Environment, Natural Resources, and Energy Law Section of the Minnesota State Bar Association. Kathryn celebrated 10 years at MCEA in 2020.