Jim Connaughton, Glenn Hubbard, Barbara Kates-Garnick Join RFF Board of Directors

Resources for the Future (RFF) is pleased to announce the addition of three new members to its Board of Directors. The new board members, Jim Connaughton, Glenn Hubbard, and Barbara Kates-Garnick, join an esteemed group of policy, business, philanthropic, and scientific leaders lending their expertise to provide strategic direction to RFF.

“We’re honored to be working with such distinguished individuals,” said Dr. Richard G. Newell, RFF President and CEO. “All three bring exceptional expertise in a variety of environmental and energy policy areas to RFF. I’m looking forward to engaging with them as we expand our impact and work towards achieving our ambitious institutional goals.”

CEO of Nautilus Data Technologies, Jim Connaughton is a globally distinguished energy, environment, and technology expert; business leader; and prominent White House policymaker. In 2001, the United States Senate unanimously confirmed Connaughton to be Chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, where he served for eight years as a Senior Advisor to President George W. Bush. In that role, he worked directly with the President, the Cabinet, the Congress, and the states to develop and implement energy, environmental, natural resource, and climate change policies. He also held senior executive positions at clean energy companies, Constellation Energy and Exelon, and at the enterprise artificial intelligence company, C3.ai.

“I’ve long been impressed by the work of Resources for the Future to inform beneficial and effective energy, climate, and natural resource policies,” Connaughton said. “I’m pleased to join this group of leading experts to help support the important work of RFF in the transformative period of policy making immediately ahead of us.”

Dean Emeritus of Columbia Business School, Glenn Hubbard served as deputy assistant secretary for tax policy at the US Treasury Department from 1991 to 1993. From February 2001 until March 2003, he was chairman of the US Council of Economic Advisers under President George W. Bush. In addition to writing more than 100 scholarly articles in economics and finance, Hubbard is the author of three popular textbooks and coauthor of two books.

“Now, perhaps more than ever, we must identify the policies and programs that will bolster our economy, repair job markets, and build a resilient financial system as we simultaneously take steps to meet the challenge of climate change,” said Hubbard. “RFF is well-placed to address these varying challenges, and I am pleased to lend my support to this institution for the years ahead.”

Barbara Kates-Garnick, Professor of Practice and senior research fellow at Tufts University Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, has held roles in state government, academia, and the private sector. Throughout her career, Kates-Garnick’s work has been dedicated to energy and the environment. She has served as corporate officer at a major US utility, a consultant on strategic energy initiatives, and as a public utility regulator. Most recently, she guided energy policy as the undersecretary of energy for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

“We stand at an inflection point on our energy future,” Kates-Garnick said. “I am pleased to be joining the Board at a critical time, when RFF’s analytical capabilities across sectors can have direct impact upon decision making.”

In recognizing these three leaders, Dr. Susan F. Tierney, Chair of the Board, said: “We’re thrilled to welcome three incredibly accomplished individuals to the RFF team. Their proven dedication to research-driven decisionmaking will help ensure that RFF continues to be a leader in our field.”

Resources for the Future is an independent, nonprofit research institution in Washington, DC. The organization’s mission is to improve environmental, energy, and natural resource decisions through impartial economic research and policy engagement.

Read more about the members of RFF’s Board of Directors here.