Dr. Stephanie Bolyard is an environmental engineer, researcher, and strategic advisor specializing in climate strategy, emerging contaminants, and complex environmental systems. She currently serves as the Senior Engineer to the Deputy Secretary for Environment at the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ), where she leads initiatives that connect science, policy, infrastructure, and implementation across air, water, waste, and climate programs.

Her work focuses on translating technical challenges into practical solutions. Dr. Bolyard has led statewide initiatives related to landfill methane reduction, PFAS management, climate planning, beneficial reuse, and environmental policy development. She led the waste sector components of North Carolina’s Comprehensive Climate Action Plan and Climate Pollution Reduction Grant efforts and currently leads DEQ’s initiative evaluating opportunities to improve landfill gas recovery and reduce methane emissions across North Carolina.

Prior to joining NCDEQ, Dr. Bolyard served as a Research Engineer with the North Carolina Department of Transportation and as the Research and Scholarship Program Manager for the Environmental Research & Education Foundation (EREF), where she managed national research initiatives supporting the waste and recycling industry.

Dr. Bolyard has over 18 years of experience spanning solid waste management, wastewater treatment, environmental compliance, transportation infrastructure, and emerging contaminants. She received her PhD and MS in Environmental Engineering from the University of Central Florida and her BS in Chemistry from the University of Florida.