On March 31, the Center for Environmental Policy at American University's School of Public Affairs honored Mindy Lubber, President of Ceres, and Bob Perciasepe, President of the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, with the 2016 William K. Reilly Awards for Environmental Leadership.

The awards, named in honor of one of the most respected leaders in U.S. environmental policy, are awarded annually to individuals in environmental careers who demonstrate the qualities of leadership, innovation, engagement of diverse interests, effective problem solving and contributions to future generations of environmental leaders.

“We are delighted to recognize these two outstanding individuals for their contributions,” said Dan Fiorino, director of the Center for Environmental Policy. “Mindy and Bob exemplify the Bill Reilly model of working across political and policy divisions to achieve innovative and measurable results.”

Mindy Lubber is the President of Ceres, a non-profit advocacy organization that mobilizes investor and business leadership to build a thriving, sustainable global economy. She regularly speaks about corporate and investor sustainability issues to high-level leaders at the New York Stock Exchange, United Nations, World Economic Forum, Clinton Global Initiative, American Accounting Association, American Bar Association and more than 100 Fortune 500 firms. She also directs Ceres’ Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR), a group of 110 institutional investors managing $13 trillion in assets focused on the business risks and opportunities of climate change.

Bob Perciasepe is President of the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES), a leading, independent voice for practical policy and action to address our climate and energy challenges. He has been an environmental policy leader in and outside government for more than 30 years, most recently as Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and has built a reputation for bringing stakeholders together to solve issues.

“We at SPA hold ourselves accountable for educating the broadest public about the pressing issues of our time,” said Barbara Romzek, Dean of AU’s School of Public Affairs. “No issue is more urgent than the health of our natural environment.”

Felicia Marcus, Chair of the California Water Resources Control Board, delivered a keynote address about the challenges of working productively across traditional divides to achieve progress in California's water crisis.

In addition, the Center of Environmental Policy also recognized graduate students Maria Manuella Athayde and Maggie McCarey on being selected as this year’s Reilly Scholars. The scholarships are awarded annually to MPA and MPP students in the School of Public Affairs who demonstrate academic achievement and a commitment to forging a career in environment or energy policy.

Please visit the Center for Environmental Policy online for more information about its programs. You can watch the entire William K. Reilly Award event on YouTube.