• ParkBulletinCover - The Park School

A lifelong public servant, Mike Deland is both an
environmentalist and an advocate for people with
disabilities. Under his leadership as the New
England Regional Administrator for the
Environmental Protection Agency from 1983‒89,
the Agency filed the landmark federal lawsuit to
clean-up Boston Harbor, as well as precedentsetting
wetlands protection and hazardous waste
litigation. In 1989, Mike was nominated by
President George H. W. Bush to serve as the
Chairman of the White House Council on
Environmental Quality and was unanimously
confirmed by the U.S. Senate. In 1993, with
President Bush’s encouragement, Mike Deland
began working with the National Organization on
Disability, which represents 54 million disabled
Americans. Over six years, he spearheaded the
successful campaign to add a statue of President
Roosevelt in his wheelchair at the FDR Memorial.
From 1993‒2000, he worked in the energy and
power distribution field at American Flywheel
Systems, Inc (now AFSTrinity Power). More
recently, Mike has worked with Robert and
Jonathan Kraft ’79 to make Gillette Stadium the
most accessible venue in the NFL.
Mike and his wife, Jane, live in
Washington, D.C. However, the Delands lived in
Boston for many years, and their twin daughters,
Holly and Melissa are members of the Park School
Class of 1995.
FOR MIKE DELAND, the paths that have
shaped his career are easy to trace. “I’ve spent a
lifetime in public service—a commitment that
was instilled at home.” Growing up in Brookline,
Mike remembers his father, an attorney, attending
the weekly meetings of the Brookline Town
Meeting and the Planning Committee. “From an
early age, I admired his service to the Town.
Later, as the Board Chair of Affiliated Hospitals,
he was patient and tenacious in merging four
hospitals into what is now Brigham and
Women’s.”
“We were brought up in the out-of-doors;
sailing in Marion and subsequently hiking and
skiing. Looking back, I know that fostered my
interest in the environment.” Mike spent Kindergarten
through Grade III at Park’s Kennard Road
campus before going on to Dexter. He graduated
from Noble & Greenough School and Harvard,
and served as an officer in the U.S. Navy before
obtaining his law degree from Boston College in
1969. In 1964, Mike’s life changed drastically
when he severely injured his back while playing
football in the Navy. For nearly 30 years, he has
used a wheelchair, but that hasn’t slowed him
down a bit. “I still love sailing and until recently,
raced competitively against world-class sailors,”
Mike says. (Twice, he won the national championship
in the Shields Class.) “Now, I have special
winch that lifts me onto the boat.”
Following law school, Mike served in the
enforcement division of the newly formed Environmental
Protection Agency, fighting to clean
up New England’s air, water, and land. After
working at a private environmental consulting
company, he received a call from William Ruckelshaus
in 1983. Mike recalls, “The EPA was in
crisis due to mass resignations over the mishandling
of the Superfund clean-ups, and President
Reagan had appointed Ruckelshaus to restore
public trust in the Agency. I knew we had to do
something to stimulate morale in a hurry – the
Agency needed to be resuscitated.” Mike’s first
move was to file a criminal action against the
City of Boston and the Archdiocese for asbestos
in the schools. Then, working with Doug Foy of
the Conservation Law Foundation, the EPA took
on the mammoth task of cleaning up Boston
Harbor. “It’s wonderful that people are fishing
and swimming again in the Harbor,” Mike
remarks. “Winning that battle was tremendous
and I’m proud to say that, unlike the Big Dig, it
was the largest public works project to be completed
ahead of schedule and under budget!”
“But likely my most far-reaching endeavor,”
he continues, “Was adding the statue of President
Roosevelt in a wheelchair at his memorial in
Washington.” The original, 7.5-acre memorial
dedicated in 1997 omitted any depiction of President
Roosevelt’s disability. Mike credits President
Bush for re-kindling his interest in disability
issues. In January 1993, Mike went into the Oval
Office to say goodbye to the President at the end
of his term. Mr. Bush said, “Mike, you have a
responsibility to do something for people with
disabilities.” He replied, “I know, Mr. President,
but you have to get involved, too.” The former
President did assume a lead role in the FDR
Wheelchair statue campaign. “I’ve been blessed
to work with caring and committed leaders like
Elliot Richardson ’35, George H.W. Bush, and
Christopher Reeve,” Mike comments.
Upon reflection, Mike remembered speaking
up for a Park School classmate who had polio
and had a difficult time getting around the playground.
“Even then, I knew that it was
important to treat all people equally. Some of the
other kids in my class were picking on him
because he couldn’t run. Intuitively, I understood
that equality applied to everyone – able-bodied
or disabled.” Years later, he initiated and led a
six-year battle to add the statue because he
believed “It would be unconscionable for children
not to know that FDR had led this country
through the Depression and World War II from
his wheelchair.”
Mike Deland ’56 will speak with Park’s current
ninth graders on Friday, October 9, 2009.
The Park Bulletin | Fall 2009 37