The U.S. Department of Justice has tapped a longtime veteran to serve as the first permanent director of the newly established Office of Environmental Justice.

The department said on Wednesday that it had chosen Cynthia M. Ferguson to lead the office in its mission to address environmental issues affecting low-income and minority communities. Ferguson, a career government attorney, was originally named the OEJ's acting director when Attorney General Merrick Garland established the new office in May. Her promotion makes her the office's first-ever permanent director.

"Communities of color, indigenous communities and low-income communities often bear the brunt of the harm caused by environmental crime, pollution and climate change," Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta said in a statement. "Cynthia Ferguson has demonstrated the exact kind of dedication and vision that we need to address these longstanding inequities and I look forward to her leadership of this new office."

Alongside Ferguson's appointment, the department also said Wednesday it had chosen Daria Neal to serve as liaison to the office from DOJ's civil rights division. Neal joined the civil rights division in 2010 as a deputy chief and has spent much of her career enforcing Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which ensures all qualifying Americans regardless of race, color, or national origin are allowed to receive federal financial assistance.

Ferguson graduated from the Chicago‐Kent College of Law and began her career in 2000 as an honors attorney in DOJ's environmental enforcement section, according to a DOJ announcement. In 2012, she was promoted to senior litigation counsel for environmental justice in the civil rights division.

Ferguson has championed the department's environmental work both affirmatively and defensively, the release said. Besides leading the DOJ's environmental justice planning efforts, she's part of a White House task force tackling global climate change. Ferguson worked together with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to develop some of her office's current policies.

Todd Kim, an assistant attorney general for the DOJ's environment and natural resources Division, said Ferguson's 22 years with the agency made her "especially prepared" to take on her new permanent role.

"Cynthia will play a critical role in the department's efforts to hear and to address the concerns of American communities who have borne a disproportionate burden from pollution for far too long," Kim said in a statement.

A DOJ spokesperson did not immediately respond to request for comment.

--Editing by Alex Hubbard.