(Washington, DC) — ELI board Chairman William M. Eichbaum is pleased to announce the appointment of five outstanding individuals to the Institute’s Board of Directors for the 2011-2013 term of service. ELI’s Board of 34 includes environmental leaders from all sectors, including private law practice, corporate management, state government, non-governmental organizations, and academia.
Phyllis P. Harris serves as the Vice President for Environmental, Health and Safety Compliance for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. In this capacity she is responsible for developing and overseeing environmental, logistics, fire and OSHA compliance programs for 4300 facilities in the US and Puerto Rico. Prior to joining Wal-Mart, Ms. Harris served as the Deputy Assistant Administrator for the United States Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, DC, where as the senior career official for the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA), she directed the development and execution of national enforcement, compliance assurance, NEPA, and environmental justice programs.
Rob Kirsch, a partner at the law firm of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, focuses his practice on helping clients to anticipate, manage and litigate their environmental liabilities. His work includes representing clients in all forms of legal controversies, including the criminal, civil and administrative proceedings used by federal and state enforcement officials. In 2008, he was named one of three “Lawyers of the Year” by the Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly for his efforts on behalf of pro bono clients.
William K. Rawson is a partner in the Washington, DC office of Latham & Watkins and chairs the firm’s Environment, Land & Resources Department in that office. Mr. Rawson has represented companies and industry groups in petitions, agency rulemaking proceedings and litigations covering a wide variety of topics, including the Toxic Substances Control Act, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Safe Drinking Water Act. In addition to testifying before a Senate committee on TSCA reform, he has co-authored a handbook on TSCA published by ELI Press. Prior to joining the firm in 1982, he served as a law clerk to the Hon. Jerome J. Farris of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Deborah K. Tellier, a partner at the law firm of Farella Braun + Martel, counsels business and industry clients on compliance with federal, state and local environmental laws, with an emphasis on hazardous waste and water quality laws and regulations. Ms. Tellier is an Executive Committee member of the Environmental Law Section of the Bar Association of San Francisco and currently serving as its Vice-Chair. As former Associate General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer for the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, she was primarily responsible for the foundation’s day-to-day legal matters, compliance programs, organizational and Board governance and regulatory filings.
Benjamin F. Wilson is Managing Principal of Beveridge & Diamond, where his practice encompasses a wide range of activities in both state and federal courts, including commercial litigation matters and environmental litigation. He has been lead counsel in several complex litigation matters for major corporations and developers, and has represented cities and local government agencies on Clean Water Act enforcement, wetlands development, Superfund and Environmental Justice matters. He serves as an Adjunct Professor in Environmental Law at the Howard University Law School, teaching courses on Environmental Law and Environmental Justice. Mr. Wilson received the 2009 Wiley Branton Award for outstanding achievement in civil rights law by the Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Development.