Past Honorees & Keynote Speakers

Since 1984, the faces and voices of ELI’s constituents have come together in a convention of environmental professionals: the annual ELI Award Dinner. By honoring individuals who have demonstrated a lifetime commitment to environmental protection and exemplary public service, ELI helps set the standards for the environmental profession. The Dinner is a signal opportunity for environmental professionals to forge new bonds of cooperation, while supporting the agenda-setting research, education, and training programs of the Institute. The event now attracts attention year-round, making it a unique gathering of the nation’s environmental leaders, with more than 750 professionals from across the country.

Past Honorees:

2007
Kathryn Fuller, World Wildlife Fund

2006:
Governor George E. Pataki, New York

2005:
John Quarles, Morgan Lewis LLP

2004:
Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., Wayne and Gladys Valley Professor of Marine Biology and Distinguished Professor of Zoology at Oregon State University

2003:
William K. Reilly, Administrator (1989-93), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and President and Chief Executive Officer, Aqua International Partners

2002:
Hon. Sherwood L. Boehlert, U.S. House of Representatives, Chairman of the House Science Committee

2001:
Lee M. Thomas, Administrator (1985-1989), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and President - Consumer Products, Georgia-Pacific Corporation

2000:
Hon. Patricia McGowan Wald, Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia

1999:
James Gustave Speth, Council of Environmental Quality and Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies

1998:
His Excellency, Valdas Adamkus, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region V (1981-1997) and President of the Republic of Lithuania

1997:
Françoise Burhenne-Guilmin, Director, Environmental Law Centre, IUCN
Wolfgang Burhenne, Legal Adviser, IUCN (World Conservation Union)

1996:
Hon. Richard S. Arnold, Chief Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit
Lady Bird Johnson

1995:
William Ruckelshaus, Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (1970-1973 and 1983-1985) and CEO, Browning-Ferris Industries

1994:
Hon. George J. Mitchell, Majority Leader, U.S. Senate

1993:
Morris Udall, Chairman, House Interior and Insular Affairs Committee
Stewart Udall, Secretary, Department of the Interior

1992:
Gro Harlem Brundtland, Prime Minister of Norway
Maurice Strong, Secretary General, United Nations Environmental Programme

1991:
Hon. John H. Chafee, Chairman, Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works

1990:
Russell W. Peterson, Chairman, Council on Environmental Quality and DuPont

1989:
Hon. James L. Oakes, Chief Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit

1988:
Robert T. Stafford, Chairman, Senate, Environment and Public Works Committee

1987:
Hon. Edmund S. Muskie, U.S. Senate

1986:
Russell Train, Chairman, Council on Environmental Quality and Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (1973-1977)

1985:
Joseph L. Sax, University of Michigan

1984:
David Sive, Sive, Paget & Riesel, P.C.

Past Keynote Speakers:

Previous keynote speakers include: U.S. Attorney General, Janet Reno, Vice President Al Gore, Dr. Stephan Schmidheiny, Founder of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, Senator Dale Bumpers, Mohamed T. El-Ashry, Chairman and CEO of the Global Environment Facility, Carol Browner, Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Senator Birch Bayh, Linda Fisher, Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Senator James M. Jeffords, Representative Christopher Shays and Leon E. Panetta, co-director, The Panetta Institute.