Carol Werner Announces Retirement as EESI Executive Director

Carol Werner, who has served as the Environmental and Energy Study Institute's Executive Director for the past 21 years, will step down in summer 2019, once her successor is confirmed.

"Carol has been an amazing asset to the organization, and has played a critical role in making EESI the trusted policymaker resource it is today," said EESI Chair Jared Blum. "Everyone on Capitol Hill and in the D.C. environmental community knows Carol, and knows she's a credible voice and a reliable partner on environmental and energy issues. She will remain in her role until we've confirmed a successor, to ensure a seamless transition. We are fortunate that EESI is in great shape and has a strong staff and board of directors in place. The Board is committed to continuing the impactful leadership role of EESI. The new leader will reflect the commitment and passion that has been a trademark of this organization for over 35 years."

"I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to the board and to my colleagues! I'm retiring from my position as EESI's Executive Director, but I'm not retiring from our work to address climate change and achieve energy sustainability," emphasized Carol Werner. "I intend to continue working on these issues for the foreseeable future. The fight against climate change is too important to walk away from!"

Ms. Werner came to EESI in 1987, to establish its Energy & Climate Change Program. She was a driving force behind EESI's 1988 declaration that addressing climate change is a moral imperative and that all of EESI's work should be looked at through a climate lens. Ms. Werner was named Executive Director in 1998. During her time at EESI, she has organized hundreds of Congressional briefings and many other types of forums on key science, technology, and policy issues, and she has been a frequent speaker at many conferences and workshops. Under her leadership, EESI has advocated for the inclusion of environmental protection, conservation, renewable energy, and efficiency measures in key legislation, including the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) of 1991 and subsequent transportation bills, the Energy Policy Acts of 1992 and 2005, and every Farm Bill since 2002 (EESI played a key role in the development of the Farm Bill's first Energy Title in 2002). EESI has also become a "go-to" organization for rural electric utilities launching on-bill financing programs for clean energy home upgrades. EESI continues to work on a wide range of environmental and energy issues, including an initiative to make our communities and military more resilient to the adverse impacts of climate change.

Before joining EESI, Ms. Werner served as the Legislative Director of the Northeast-Midwest Congressional Coalition, the Legislative Representative for the National Consumer Law Center, and as Legislative Assistant to Rep. Neal Smith (D–IA).

Carol Werner currently serves on the board of the National Center for Appropriate Technology, the board of the NASEO Institute, the Advisory Board of Planet Forward at George Washington University, and the Advisory Board of the President’s Climate Action Project (PCAP), among others.

Always active in a number of coalitions, Ms. Werner started several. She was a co-founder of the U.S. Climate Action Network, the Surface Transportation Policy Project, and the Sustainable Energy Coalition. She served on the Policy Committee of the American Solar Energy Society and the editorial board of BioCycle Magazine. She was a member of the Department of Energy's State Energy Advisory Board for six years, served on the World Council of Churches Task Force on Climate Change, was a stakeholder in the DOE/USDA Bioenergy Initiative, and a member of DOE's Federal Advisory Committee on the Commercialization of Renewable Energy Technologies. She has participated in many international climate forums and worked with numerous embassies on climate issues over the years.

EESI is being assisted in the search for a new Executive Director by Peter Houstle of Mariner Management. Interested applicants should send their resumes and cover letter to [email protected].

Job announcement for the Executive Director position.