2015-18608. Announcement of the Board of Directors for the National Environmental Education Foundation

AGENCY:

Office of External Affairs and Environmental Education, Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The National Environmental Education and Training Foundation (doing business as The National Environmental Education Foundation or NEEF) was created by Section 10 of Public Law 101-619, the National Environmental Education Act of 1990. It is a private 501(c)(3) non-profit organization established to promote and support education and training as necessary tools to further environmental protection and sustainable, environmentally sound development. It provides the common ground upon which leaders from business and industry, all levels of government, public interest groups, and others can work cooperatively to expand the reach of environmental education and training programs beyond the traditional classroom. The Foundation promotes innovative environmental education and training programs such as environmental education for medical healthcare providers and broadcast meteorologists; it also develops partnerships with government and other organizations to administer projects that promote the development of an environmentally literal public. The Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, as required by the terms of the Act, announces the following appointment to the National Environmental Education Foundation Board of Directors. The appointee is Dr. Martin Philbert, Dean, School of Public Health at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (UM).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For information regarding this Notice of Appointment, please contact Mr. Brian Bond, Senior Advisor to the Administrator for Public Engagement, U.S. EPA 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460. General information concerning NEEF can be found on their Web site at: http://www.neefusa.org.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Additional Considerations: Great care has been taken to assure that this new appointee not only has the highest degree of expertise and commitment, but also brings to the Board diverse points of view relating to environmental education. This appointment is a four-year term which may be renewed once for an additional four years pending successful re-election by the NEEF nominating committee.

Dr. Martin Philbert is the Dean, School of Public Health at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (UM). In addition, Dr. Philbert is well known to the EPA, especially through Dr. Ken Olden, EPA's Director of the National Center for Environmental Assessment. Martin Philbert became Dean of the UM School of Public Health on January 1, 2011, having previously served as Senior Associate Dean for Research at the school since 2004. He arrived at UM in 1995 from Rutgers University's Neurotoxicology Laboratories, where he was a research assistant professor. He has maintained a continuously federally funded portfolio of basic research activities throughout his career. Most recently his work has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Department of the Air Force and the National Cancer Institute. At the national level, he is recognized for his expertise in neurotoxicology and experimental neuropathology. He is the author of numerous research publications in top peer-reviewed journals, and one book. Dr. Philbert received his Ph.D., Neurochemistry/Experimental Neuropathology from London University in 1987, and his B.Sc. (Honors), Biology/Chemistry, CCAT from Cambridge in 1984.

This appointee will join the current Board members which include:

• Decker Anstrom (NEEF Chairman), Former U.S. Ambassador, Retired Chairman, The Weather Channel Companies
• Diane Wood (NEEF Secretary) President, National Environmental Education Foundation
• Carlos Alcazar, Founder and Chairman, Culture ONE World
• Megan Reilly Cayten, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Catrinka, LLC
• David M. Kiser (NEEF Treasurer), Vice President, Environment, Health, Safety and Sustainability, International Paper
• Wonya Lucas, President and CEO, Public Broadcasting Atlanta
• Shannon Schuyler, Principal, Corporate Responsibility Leader, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)
• Jacqueline M. Thomas, Vice President of Corporate Responsibility, Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc.
• Raul Perea-Henze, MD, MPH, Managing Director, HORUS Advisors, Washington, DC
• George Basile, Ph.D., Professor, School of Sustainability, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
• Jennifer Harper-Taylor, Siemens Foundation (in process)

Background: Section 10(a) of the National Environmental Education Act of 1990 mandates a National Environmental Education Foundation. The Foundation is established in order to extend the contribution of environmental education and training to meeting critical environmental protection needs, both in this country and internationally; to facilitate the cooperation, coordination, and contribution of public and private resources to create an environmentally advanced educational system; and to foster an open and effective partnership among Federal, State, and local government, business, industry, academic institutions, community based environmental groups, and international organizations.

The Foundation is a charitable and nonprofit corporation whose income is exempt from tax, and donations to which are tax deductible to the same extent as those organizations listed pursuant to section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. The Foundation is not an agency or establishment of the United States. The purposes of the Foundation are—

(A) Subject to the limitation contained in the final sentence of subsection (d) herein, to encourage, accept, leverage, and administer private gifts for the benefit of, or in connection with, the environmental education and training activities and services of the United States Environmental Protection Agency;

(B) to conduct such other environmental education activities as will further the development of an environmentally conscious and responsible public, a well-trained and environmentally literate workforce, and an environmentally advanced educational system;

(C) to participate with foreign entities and individuals in the conduct and coordination of activities that will further opportunities for environmental education and training to address environmental issues and problems involving the United States and Canada or Mexico.

The Foundation develops, supports, and/or operates programs and projects to educate and train educational and environmental professionals, and to assist them in the development and delivery of environmental education and training programs and studies.

The Foundation has a governing Board of Directors (hereafter referred to in this section as `the Board'), which consists of 13 directors, each of whom shall be knowledgeable or experienced in the environment, education and/or training. The Board oversees the activities of the Foundation and assures that the activities of the Foundation are consistent with the environmental and education goals and policies of the Environmental Protection Agency and with the intents and purposes of the Act. The membership of the Board, to the extent practicable, represents diverse points of view relating to environmental education and training. Members of the Board are appointed by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Within 90 days of the date of the enactment of the National Environmental Education Act, and as appropriate thereafter, the Administrator will publish in the Federal Register an announcement of appointments of Directors of the Board. Such appointments become final and effective 90 days after publication in the Federal Register. The directors are appointed for terms of 4 years. The Administrator shall appoint an individual to serve as a director in the event of a vacancy on the Board within 60 days of said vacancy in the manner in which the original appointment was made. No individual may serve more than 2 consecutive terms as a director.

Dated: July 20, 2015.

Gina McCarthy,

Administrator.