Jared Blum Becomes EESI’s Board Chairman

For Immediate Release: December 10, 2010
For more information contact EESI at (202) 662-1884 or communications [at] eesi.org

Washington, DC – Jared Blum is the new Chairman of the Board of the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI), effective December 3, 2010. Blum succeeds Dick Ottinger, who founded EESI while serving as a Congressman from New York in the 1980s.

Blum is the president and chief executive officer of the Polyisocyanurate Insulation Manufacturers Association (PIMA), a trade association for energy efficient insulation manufacturers and suppliers. During his tenure at PIMA, the organization has received two awards from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for climate and ozone protection. Blum has developed award-winning governmental affairs and technical educational programs, and has become a nationally recognized leader on such critical issues as energy efficiency, sustainable construction, and atmospheric environmental initiatives. He also is a member of the Board for the Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE) and the Sustainable Buildings Industry Council (SBIC), and previously served as counsel to a Member of Congress and the Federal Trade Commission.

“I am excited about the challenges awaiting EESI,” said Blum. “In our fundamental role of educating policy makers, we will confront rapidly changing science that supports positive action on topics ranging from climate change, to biofuels to smart growth. That science requires that EESI continue to provide the balanced forum for which it has become so well regarded and in which innovative policy solutions are developed.”

Ottinger, who will continue on EESI’s Board as Chairman Emeritus, said, “It has been a great honor to serve as one of EESI’s founding members and as long-time Chair of its Board. I am delighted that Jared Blum, President of PIMA, long and ably serving as EESI Secretary-Treasurer, will be taking over as Chair of the Board. I am sure that under his leadership EESI will continue to be an important factor in advancing sound environmental and energy legislation and regulation in these very challenging times.” In honor of Ottinger’s long service to the organization, EESI has renamed its internship program the Richard L. Ottinger Internship Program.

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) is a non-profit organization founded in 1984 by a bipartisan Congressional caucus dedicated to finding innovative environmental and energy solutions. EESI works to protect the climate and ensure a healthy, secure, and sustainable future for America through policymaker education, coalition building, and policy development in the areas of energy efficiency, renewable energy, agriculture, forestry, transportation, buildings, and urban planning.