Movers & Shakers

Movers

Tawana Bain is the new CEO of the American Clean Resources Group, an environmentally sustainable development platform dedicated to revolutionizing the American supply chain by aiming to deliver goods with a net-zero environmental impact. Spanning a career of over two decades, Tawana has expertise in ESG, business process outsourcing, marketing strategy, DEI initiatives, and building community buy-in.

CropLife America has appointed Alexandra Dapolito Dunn as its new president and CEO. She most recently was a partner at the international law firm of Baker Botts, L.L.P., in its Washington, DC, office, where she worked on pesticide issues, chemical regulation, water quality, enforcement, litigation, environmental justice, and community engagement. She served as assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention from 2019–2021, and served on ELI’s board from 2012–2018.

Natural resources attorney Lawson Fite has joined Schwabe, a law firm based in Portland, Oregon, as a shareholder. He has significant experience helping clients navigate the legal intricacies required in renewable energy development, forestland management, and endangered species and public lands concerns.

Xylem Inc., a global technology company dedicated to solving the world’s most challenging water issues, has appointed Radhika Fox as senior advisor. Fox previously served three years as the EPA assistant administrator for water.

Former ELI President Scott Fulton has joined Marten Law as senior counsel. Fulton has practiced in the public, private, and NGO sectors for more than 30 years. Fulton served as EPA’s general counsel from 2009-2013, where he supervised over 500 agency lawyers and all of the agency’s legal operations.

Erik Kulleseid joins the Open Space Institute as president and CEO. His decades-long conservation career has been built on preserving land for public use and natural resource protection through formative years at the Trust for Public Land and service as deputy commissioner for open space protection at New York State Parks. Since 2019, he served as commissioner.

Jack Raffetto is a new partner at Sidley Austin LLP’s DC office, where he focuses on environmental litigation. He has assisted clients in connection with CERCLA matters, including complex allocation issues, and in complex civil litigation related to contaminated sites. Jack also represents clients in Clean Water Act litigation and advises clients in connection with environmental aspects of transactions. Jack was a member of ELI’s 2020 Emerging Leaders Initiative.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission appoints Andrew Satten as its chief administrative law judge. As chief, Satten will play a pivotal role in overseeing legal proceedings, ensuring fair and impartial adjudication, and upholding the integrity of FERC’s decisionmaking processes.

Reed W. Sirak has been named partner at Benesch Law’s Cleveland office, where he manages a broad range of transactional, compliance, and litigation-based environmental, safety and health matters, primarily in the real estate industry.

Melissa Valle joins Harter Secrest & Emery’s Rochester office as a partner in the firm’s environmental, land use, and zoning practice. She counsels clients with respect to environmental legal issues, including regulatory compliance, permitting, and enforcement.

Shakers

Felice Green, director of programming for the Milwaukee Water Commons, received Milwaukee Magazine’s 2024 Unity Award for her work in addressing social and environmental justice by reforesting underserved neighborhoods. The program, launched in 2022, plants trees in public areas as a practical step toward addressing climate change and improving public health.