Frances G. Beinecke (born August 2, 1949) is an environmental activist and politician. She served as the former president of the

Natural Resources Defense Council The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is a United States-based 501(c)(3) non-profit international environmental advocacy group, with its headquarters in New York City and offices in Washington D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Bo ...

from 2006 to 2015.

Early life and education

Beinecke is the youngest of four children born to William Sperry Beinecke and Elizabeth Beinecke. She was born in New Jersey. She received a bachelor's degree from

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

in 1971 and a master's degree from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies in 1974.

Career

Beinecke first joined the

in 1973 as an intern. In 2006, she was nominated to president of the organization, only the second person to ever hold the position. She had previously served as their executive director for eight years. She was appointed by President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

to the

National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling The National Commission on the BP ''Deepwater Horizon'' Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling is a bipartisan presidential commission, established by Executive Order 13543 signed by Barack Obama on May 21, 2010, that is "tasked with providing recommen ...

in 2010. She currently serves on the boards of the

World Resources Institute The World Resources Institute (WRI) is a global research non-profit organization established in 1982 with funding from the MacArthur Foundation under the leadership of James Gustave Speth. WRI's activities are focused on seven areas: food, for ...

, the Energy Future Coalition, the

Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions is one of six interdisciplinary research institutes at Duke University located in Durham, North Carolina. Founded in 2005, it became the first environmental-policy-centered Institute with a Duke ...

, the

Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in 1951, The Nat ...

, and

Conservation International Conservation International (CI) is an American nonprofit environmental organization headquartered in Crystal City, Arlington, Virginia. CI's work focuses on science, policy and partnership with businesses, governments and communities. The org ...

's Center for Environmental Leadership in Business. She previously served on the boards of the Wilderness Society, the China-U.S. Center for Sustainable Development, and the New York

League of Conservation Voters The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) is an American environmental advocacy group. LCV says that it "advocates for sound environmental laws and policies, holds elected officials accountable for their votes and actions, and elects pro-environmen ...

Personal life

Beinecke married Paul Elston in 1977. They have three children. Former classmate and actress

Sigourney Weaver Susan Alexandra "Sigourney" Weaver (; born October 8, 1949) is an American actress. A figure in science fiction and popular culture, she has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Gramm ...

has stated that she uses Beinecke as inspiration when she plays a strong female character.

Awards and honors

In 1990, The Wilderness Society awarded Beinecke the Robert Marshall Award, their highest award presented to a private citizen who has never held federal office. In 2007, Beinecke was awarded The

National Audubon Society The National Audubon Society (Audubon; ) is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation of birds and their habitats. Located in the United States and incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such orga ...

's prestigious Rachel Carson Award, a premier award honoring distinguished American women environmentalists. She was one of five alumni to be awarded Yale's prestigious Yale Medal for outstanding individual service to the university. Lehman College presented Beinecke with an honorary degree in 2013.

Works

*''Clean Energy Common Sense: An American Call To Action On Global Climate Change'', with Bob Deans,

Rowman & Littlefield Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group is an independent publishing house founded in 1949. Under several imprints, the company offers scholarly books for the academic market, as well as trade books. The company also owns the book distributing comp ...

, 2010, , OCLC 460060057 *

References

External links

Profile
at

Column archive
at ''

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

'' *
Frances G. Beinecke
at

SourceWatch The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) is a progressive nonprofit watchdog and advocacy organization based in Madison, Wisconsin. CMD publishes ExposedbyCMD.org, SourceWatch.org, and ALECexposed.org. History CMD was founded in 1993 by prog ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beinecke, Frances 1949 births American women environmentalists American environmentalists Environmental bloggers Living people Natural Resources Defense Council people Yale College alumni Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies alumni American women columnists HuffPost bloggers 21st-century American women