Climate Trailblazer: EPA leader Carol Browner receives ELI award, honoring life's work to protect public health, environment

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62 | THE ENVIRONMENTAL FORUM Reprinted by permission from The Environmental Forum®, January/February 2022.

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Climate Trailblazer: EPA leader Carol Browner receives ELI

award, honoring life’s work to protect public health, environment

This year’s ELI environmental

achievement award was

presented to Carol Browner,

a true climate champion

and the longest-serving EPA

administrator. An award

ceremony was held in person

on October 19 at the Omni

Shoreham Hotel in Washington,

D.C., and streamed live on

YouTube. The annual event

convenes law, management, and

policy professionals to honor

outstanding achievements in

environmental protection.

Proceeds support ELI’s

research and education

programs and publications.

Browner is best known for

her work as administrator of

EPA from 1993 to 2001 — the

only person to ever hold the

position for two consecutive

terms. Among many accom-

plishments, she led the agency

to adopt the most stringent air

quality standards in U.S. history

at the time, to help reauthorize

the Safe Drinking Water Act

and Food Quality Protection

Act, and strengthen enforce-

ment operations.

Former President Bill Clin-

ton offered congratulations via

video, calling Browner “one of

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ever to serve.” He highlighted

Browner’s achievement of

the 1997 National Ambient

Air Quality Standards, which

created more stringent ozone

standards and introduced rules

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These standards, as noted

by Clinton, “led to 43 million

more Americans breathing

clean air.” For this, and for

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program and “elevating envi-

ronmental justice as a crucial

agency priority,” Clinton praised

Browner as “one of America’s

most knowledgeable and trusted

voices on environmental policy

and sustainability.”

Providing in-person remarks,

former EPA General Counsel

Jon Cannon spoke to the ex-

traordinary character and deter-

mination that drove Browner’s

leadership. During intense oppo-

sition toward strengthened air

quality standards, when “she was

thought to be out of line, and

her job was on the line — she

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Cannon added that among

her many achievements, Brown-

er embedded equity measures in

the Superfund program, expand-

ed the toxics release reporting

measures, and “sowed the seeds

for climate change policy in this

country.” Following her tenure

at EPA, Browner continued her

work on climate as director of

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ergy and Climate Change Policy

in the Obama administration.

Browner’s acceptance of the

award was celebrated in the

form of an on-stage interview

with incoming ELI President

Jordan Diamond. The two dis-

cussed challenges and successes

of Browner’s long career, includ-

ing her focus on environmental

health and communicating the

importance of EPA’s work to

the public.

The ceremony also fea-

tured a farewell to outgoing

ELI President Scott Fulton and

a welcome to Diamond, who

will take over the presidency in

January. Board member Hilary

Tompkins thanked Fulton for his

ELI President Scott Fulton (right) and former EPA General Counsel Jon Cannon present the award to

Carol Browner, who said everyone “has a set of opportunities and tools to work on climate change.”

many contributions throughout

six years of service, and for “put-

ting ELI on the map, not only

domestically but also globally.”

She emphasized his tireless ef-

forts to lead the organization

to serve the rule of law, the en-

vironment, and diversity, equity,

and inclusion.

The Institute will build on

a strong track record for the

past year as it moves into new

leadership. Educational programs

continued to expand, while

the research and policy divi-

sion earned record-breaking

investments in ELI’s analysis and

capacity-building work from

foundations and donors.

Acknowledging the tremen-

dous challenges that remain,

Fulton encouraged the audience

to “take this moment that we’re

in as a catalyst to carry us to

where we need to go.”