A Columbia law school grad, Quarterman worked for Steptoe and Johnson LLD representing oil, gas and pipeline companies before several federal regulatory agencies. One of her clients was Enbridge Energy Partners, the owner of Line 6b. She has recused herself from hearings on the massive spill to prevent the appearance of a conflict of interest because of her ties to the same company that caused the spill.
Before her appointment by President Obama in 2009, she was Director of the Minerals Management Service from 1995 to 1999. The agency administered programs to manage offshore natural resources, including leasing, exploration, development, and production of oil, natural gas, among other things. The MMS was broken up after the Deep Water Horizon Oil Spill in 2010 due to charges of lax oversight and cozy relationships with oil companies that led to the explosion, triggering the oil spill.
