PRESS RELEASE:
Resources Legacy Fund (RLF), a California-based environmental nonprofit organization, welcomes Gina McCarthy to its board of directors. McCarthy served as the first-ever White House National Climate Advisor in the Biden administration and was U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator in the Obama administration. RLF works to solve the crises of climate change, loss of healthy ecosystems and biodiversity, and environmental injustice by partnering with diverse leaders and communities on the frontlines of those fights.
“I support the important work that RLF engages in to protect people and nature and applaud their excellent track record of success,” said Gina McCarthy. “Climate work is intersectional; done right, it has the potential to build economic opportunity, repair racial injustice, protect communities from fires and floods, improve public health, and safeguard our planet’s crucial biodiversity. RLF has the experience and tools to continue expanding this meaningful work across the country.”
As head of the Climate Policy Office under President Biden in 2021 and 2022, McCarthy helped lead the most aggressive action on climate in U.S. history. Prior to joining the Biden administration, McCarthy was President and CEO of the Natural Resources Defense Council, and before that, was a Professor in the Department of Environmental Health at Harvard University. From 2013–2017, McCarthy was Administrator of the U.S. EPA under President Obama, where she led efforts to strengthen clean air standards, establish new rules to protect drinking water sources, set the first national standards for greenhouse gas emissions reductions for fossil-fuel-fired power plants, and advance many other innovative policies and regulatory work to protect public health and the environment.
“Gina is one of the nation’s most respected voices on issues related to climate change, the environment, and public health,” said Avi Garbow, RLF President. “We are honored to welcome her to the board, and I am very much looking forward to her input into our current strategic planning effort and the new partnerships, programs, and projects RLF will pursue in the coming years.”
“I had the privilege of working with Gina for a number of years when we served together at the U.S. EPA under President Obama,” said Garbow. “She is smart, pragmatic, works effectively across ideological lines, and cares deeply about creating a safer, healthier, more just and equitable future for the next generation.”
McCarthy’s term on the RLF board of directors begins effective September 7, 2023.
