Carlos Evans, the director of Dallas’ environmental department, is leaving the city. Advocates say the resignation is a big loss and are calling on City Hall to involve the community in finding a replacement.
Evans will be joining Dallas-based chemicals company Celanese "as an in-house counsel on January 13 to, in his own words, seek professional growth opportunities," according to a city of Dallas spokesperson.
Evans joined the city in 2022 after served in different roles in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. That includes a legal policy advisor, an attorney advisor for the Cleanup Enforcement Program and the assistant regional counsel for the agency, according to Evans’ Linkedin.
Since then, Evans has overseen the removal of massive amounts of toxic soil in southwest Dallas, the start of a program aimed at remediating possibly contaminated vacant lots around the city and helped launch summits focused on air quality.
“Before I came here…I spent 20 years with EPA, so choosing a job where you want to protect human health and the environment was important to me,” Evans said during Wednesday’s council meeting. “That’s one of the reasons I came here.”
Janie Cisneros is a West Dallas community leader advocating for the closure of a decades-old shingle factory in her neighborhood. Residents have been fighting for years for protection against a decades-old shingle factory they say is harming their health.
She said Evans’ resignation is a major loss to the city.
“Dallas is losing an advocate of environmental justice, and it is a big hit to the city,” Cisneros told KERA in a text. “Director Evans made inroads with communities in need.”
Cisneros added that she hopes “the future director can continue [that] progress.” The city did not immediately return KERA’s request for comment on the timeline for finding a new director and who is running the department in the interim.
Elected officials took time during Wednesday’s meeting to recognize Evans.
“Thank you, Carlos, for your service to Dallas,” District 9 Council Member Paula Blackmon said. “You’ve really put the spotlight on environmental justice…and it matters to the residents of Dallas because for a long time we’ve harmed folks.”
Blackmon was the former chair of the city’s environmental committee. In 2023, after winning reelection for a second term, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson switched the leadership and put newly elected District 10 Council Member Kathy Stewart in charge.
He also changed the name to the Parks, Trails and the Environment Committee.
District 4 Council Member Carolyn King Arnold joined in Evans' praise — but reminded her colleagues and city staff of what's coming down the road.
"We cannot forget the work that has to be done," Arnold said. "We must not allow the injustice to continue because a strong advocate is leaving here today."
Arnold said city staff needs "to get ready, and they need to stay ready because the work has to be done."
Caleb Roberts, executive director of the 30-year-old clean air advocacy group Downwinders at Risk, said the group wishes Evans the best — and called on the city to find a replacement soon.
“Environmental Justice has become a major theme in city policy over the last few years,” Roberts said in a text to KERA. “The city needs to continue this trend by pursuing a director who has experience addressing and implementing environmental justice initiatives.”
Roberts said he hopes the city “moves swiftly” to replace Evans and “also seeks community input in the selection process to determine the best fit for Dallas.”
Currently the city faces at least three major environmental issues: West Dallas resident's battle for protection against a decades-old shingle plant, rezoning the former site of a 70,000-ton mound of toxic roofing materials in southwest Dallas — and the ongoing poor air quality in the area.
Evans’ departure follows a growing list of other high-profile resignations inside City Hall. They started in May 2024 and continued throughout the year.
That includes former Dallas and now Austin City Manager T.C. Broadnax and former Dallas Police Chief and now Austin Assistant City Manager Eddie Garcia.
Many executive positions remain filled by interim city staffers while elected officials figure out how to find permanent replacements. That includes the city manager position – which has been filled by Interim City Manager Kimberly Bizor-Tolbert since May 2024.
There are three finalists being considered for that role.
Got a tip? Email Nathan Collins at ncollins@kera.org. You can follow Nathan on Twitter @nathannotforyou.
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