(Washington, DC): The Environmental Law Institute (ELI) is delighted to announce four new members have joined its Leadership Council: Mason Emnett; Brian D. Israel; John Lovenburg; and Wei “Kevin” Wei. “We are so fortunate to have these outstanding individuals join the ranks of our Leadership Council,” said ELI Leadership Council Chair Kathy Robb. “ELI’s vision is a healthy environment, prosperous economies, and vibrant communities founded on the rule of law. As esteemed thought-leaders in the field of environmental law and policy, these newest members will bring valuable guidance and expertise to our organization as we continue our path making law work for people, places, and the planet.”
- Mason Emnett is Vice President of Competitive Market Policy at Exelon Corporation. Mason oversees the development and implementation of federal regulatory strategy for Exelon—the nation’s largest regulated utility and biggest producer of zero-emission electricity—and is responsible for achieving the corporation’s policy objectives in matters before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He previously served as Senior FERC Counsel for NextEra Energy, providing legal support and strategic advice on federal regulatory matters. Between 2006-2014, Mason served as Deputy Director of the Office of Energy Policy and Innovation at FERC, leading the development of regulations and rules governing wholesale electric markets and the provision of interstate transmission service.
- Brian D. Israel is chair of Arnold & Porter's Environmental practice group in Washington, D.C. Mr. Israel's practice focuses broadly on environmental litigation and counseling and he is one of the nation's leading lawyers for Natural Resource Damages (NRD) claims. Mr. Israel is lead counsel to BP in relation to the Deepwater Horizon NRD claim and was one of the trial attorneys at the Deepwater Horizon Clean Water Act penalty trial. Mr. Israel represents several Fortune 500 companies at some of the largest and most complex NRD matters across the country. He also represents clients in regulatory enforcement matters and contaminated properties, including toxic tort lawsuits.
- John Lovenburg is the Environmental Vice President for BNSF Railway. In this role, he leads a team of employees responsible for environmental strategy and communication, sustainability, permitting, compliance, remediation, hazardous materials, environmental litigation, and industrial wastewater. Mr. Lovenburg also has 20 years’ experience in environmental consulting with CH2M, most recently as Vice President, Global Site Remediation and Revitalization.
- Wei “Kevin” Wei is Chairman and CEO of Bay Environmental Technology Corp. (Bayeco), a leading clean-tech company dedicated to combatting air pollution and climate change in China. Bayeco has been named as “Global Cleantech 100” in 2016-2018, and also won the “Asia Pacific Company of Year (2017)” award. Mr. Wei also serves as the chairman of the National Technology Center for Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) Control in China, which is the only national-level VOCs control technology center authorized by the China Ministry of Ecology and Environment. He is also vice president of the Chamber of Environmental Services of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce.
The ELI Leadership Council is the Institute’s group for the most prominent environment, energy, and natural resource leaders in the nation. The Council recognizes leaders for their commitment of resources and time to the Institute’s vision of a healthy environment, prosperous economies, and vibrant communities founded on the rule of law. Members participate in events and have a chance to network and engage other leaders in discussions about key environmental law and policy issues.