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[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 227 (Wednesday, November 25, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73756-73758]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-29918]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL 9939-27-OA]

Announcement of the Board of Directors for the National 
Environmental Education Foundation

AGENCY: Office of External Affairs and Environmental Education, 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The National Environmental Education and Training Foundation 
(doing business as The National Environmental Education Foundation or 
NEEF) was created by Section 10 of Public Law 101-619, the National 
Environmental Education Act of 1990. It is a private 501(c)(3) non-
profit organization established to promote and support education and 
training as necessary tools to further environmental protection and 
sustainable,

[[Page 73757]]

environmentally sound development. It provides the common ground upon 
which leaders from business and industry, all levels of government, 
public interest groups, and others can work cooperatively to expand the 
reach of environmental education and training programs beyond the 
traditional classroom. The Foundation promotes innovative environmental 
education and training programs such as environmental education for 
medical healthcare providers and broadcast meteorologists; it also 
develops partnerships with government and other organizations to 
administer projects that promote the development of an environmentally 
literal public. The Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, as required by the terms of the Act, announces the following 
appointment to the National Environmental Education Foundation Board of 
Directors. The appointee is Mr. Robert Garcia, is a civil rights 
advocate who engages, educates, and empowers communities for equal 
access to public resources.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information regarding this Notice 
of Appointment, please contact Mr. Micah Ragland, Associate 
Administrator for Office of Public Engagement and Environmental 
Education, U.S. EPA 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460. 
General information concerning NEEF can be found on their Web site at: 
http://www.neefusa.org.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Additional Considerations: Great care has been taken to assure that 
this new appointee not only has the highest degree of expertise and 
commitment, but also brings to the Board diverse points of view 
relating to environmental education. This appointment is a four-year 
term which may be renewed once for an additional four years pending 
successful re-election by the NEEF nominating committee.
    This appointee will join the current Board members which include:
     Decker Anstrom (NEEF Chairman), Former U.S. Ambassador, 
Retired Chairman, The Weather Channel Companies
     Diane Wood (NEEF Secretary) President, National 
Environmental Education Foundation
     Carlos Alcazar, Founder and Chairman, Culture ONE World
     Megan Reilly Cayten, Co-Founder and Chief Executive 
Officer, Catrinka, LLC
     David M. Kiser (NEEF Treasurer), Vice President, 
Environment, Health, Safety and Sustainability, International Paper
     Wonya Lucas, President and CEO, Public Broadcasting 
Atlanta
     Shannon Schuyler, Principal, Corporate Responsibility 
Leader, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)
     Jacqueline M. Thomas, Vice President of Corporate 
Responsibility, Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc.
     Raul Perea-Henze, MD, MPH, Managing Director, HORUS 
Advisors, Washington, DC
     George Basile, Ph.D., Professor, School of Sustainability, 
Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
     Jennifer Harper-Taylor, Siemens Foundation (in process)
    Background: Section 10 (a) of the National Environmental Education 
Act of 1990 mandates a National Environmental Education Foundation. The 
Foundation is established in order to extend the contribution of 
environmental education and training to meeting critical environmental 
protection needs, both in this country and internationally; to 
facilitate the cooperation, coordination, and contribution of public 
and private resources to create an environmentally advanced educational 
system; and to foster an open and effective partnership among Federal, 
State, and local government, business, industry, academic institutions, 
community based environmental groups, and international organizations.
    The Foundation is a charitable and nonprofit corporation whose 
income is exempt from tax, and donations to which are tax deductible to 
the same extent as those organizations listed pursuant to section 
501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. The Foundation is not an 
agency or establishment of the United States. The purposes of the 
Foundation are--
    (A) subject to the limitation contained in the final sentence of 
subsection (d) herein, to encourage, accept, leverage, and administer 
private gifts for the benefit of, or in connection with, the 
environmental education and training activities and services of the 
United States Environmental Protection Agency;
    (B) to conduct such other environmental education activities as 
will further the development of an environmentally conscious and 
responsible public, a well-trained and environmentally literate 
workforce, and an environmentally advanced educational system;
    (C) to participate with foreign entities and individuals in the 
conduct and coordination of activities that will further opportunities 
for environmental education and training to address environmental 
issues and problems involving the United States and Canada or Mexico.
    The Foundation develops, supports, and/or operates programs and 
projects to educate and train educational and environmental 
professionals, and to assist them in the development and delivery of 
environmental education and training programs and studies.
    The Foundation has a governing Board of Directors (hereafter 
referred to in this section as `the Board'), which consists of 13 
directors, each of whom shall be knowledgeable or experienced in the 
environment, education and/or training. The Board oversees the 
activities of the Foundation and assures that the activities of the 
Foundation are consistent with the environmental and education goals 
and policies of the Environmental Protection Agency and with the 
intents and purposes of the Act. The membership of the Board, to the 
extent practicable, represents diverse points of view relating to 
environmental education and training. Members of the Board are 
appointed by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
    Within 90 days of the date of the enactment of the National 
Environmental Education Act, and as appropriate thereafter, the 
Administrator will publish in the Federal Register an announcement of 
appointments of Directors of the Board. Such appointments become final 
and effective 90 days after publication in the Federal Register. The 
directors are appointed for terms of 4 years. The Administrator shall 
appoint an individual to serve as a director in the event of a vacancy 
on the Board within 60 days of said vacancy in the manner in which the 
original appointment was made. No individual may serve more than 2 
consecutive terms as a director.

    Dated: November 10, 2015.
Gina McCarthy,
Administrator.

Mr. Robert Garcia

    Mr. Robert Garcia, is the Founding Director and Counsel of The City 
Project, a non-profit legal and policy advocacy team in Los Angeles, 
California. The City Project works with diverse allies on equal access 
to (1) healthy green land use through community planning; (2) climate 
justice; (3) quality education including physical education; (4) health 
equity; and (5) economic vitality for all, including creating jobs and 
avoiding displacement. He received the President's Award from the 
American

[[Page 73758]]

Public Health Association. PODER Magazine named him one of the Top 100 
Latino Green Leaders. Hispanic Business Magazine has recognized him as 
one of the 100 most influential Latinos in the United States. Green 2.0 
celebrates his work as an accomplished leader of color in the 
environmental field. Robert graduated from Stanford University and 
Stanford Law School, where he served on the Board of Editors of the 
Stanford Law Review. He is an Assistant Professor at Charles Drew 
University of Medicine and Science.
    President Barack Obama and federal agencies are catapulting The 
City Project's work on green access to the national level. As the 
President recognized in dedicating the San Gabriel Mountains National 
Monument, ``Too many children . . . especially children of color, don't 
have access to parks where they can run free, breathe fresh air, 
experience nature, and learn about their environment. This is an issue 
of social justice.'' Conservation isn't about locking away our natural 
treasures. ``It's about working with communities to open up our 
glorious heritage to everybody--young and old, black, white, Latino, 
Asian, Native American--to make sure everybody can experience these 
incredible gifts.''
    The National Park Service and the US Army Corps of Engineers agree. 
Their studies on green access and the Santa Monica Mountains, the San 
Gabriel Mountains, and the Los Angeles River rely on The City Project's 
analyses to document that there are disparities in access to green 
space for people of color and low-income people in Los Angeles, that 
these disparities contribute to health disparities, and that 
environmental justice requires agencies to address these disparities. 
The City Project worked with Ranking Member Raul Grijalva and the House 
Natural Resources Committee to organize the historic forum on 
environmental justice, climate, and health. The forum included seven 
Members of Congress and community advocates at the L.A. River Center in 
2015.
    He has extensive experience in public policy, legal advocacy, 
mediation, and litigation involving complex social justice, civil 
rights, human health, environmental, education, and criminal justice 
matters. He has influenced the investment of over $43 billion in 
underserved communities, working at the intersection of equal justice, 
public health, and the built environment. He served as chairman of the 
Citizens' School Bond Oversight Committee for five years, helping raise 
over $27 billion to build new, and modernize existing, public schools 
as centers of their communities in Los Angeles. He has helped 
communities create and preserve great urban parks and preserve access 
to beaches and trails. He has helped diversify support for and access 
to state resource bonds, with unprecedented levels of support among 
communities of color and low-income communities, and billions of 
dollars for urban parks. He served on the Development Team for the 
National Park Service Healthy Parks, Healthy People Community 
Engagement eGuide. He served on Cardinal Roger Mahony's Justice and 
Peace Committee for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
    He served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern 
District of New York, and an attorney with the NAACP Legal Defense & 
Education Fund. He received the President's Award from the California 
Attorneys for Criminal Justice for helping release Geronimo Pratt, the 
former Black Panther leader, from prison after 27 years for a crime he 
did not commit. He represented people on Death Row in Georgia, Florida, 
and Mississippi. Stanford Law School called him a ``civil rights 
giant'' and Stanford Magazine ``an inspiration.'' He is an immigrant 
who came to the U.S. from Guatemala at age four.
    He has lectured widely on the vision for healthy parks, schools, 
and communities. Recent keynote speeches include conferences at the 
National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA), Johns Hopkins 
Bloomberg School of Public Health, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 
New Partners for Smart Growth, and Smithsonian Anacostia Community 
Museum. Other presentations include Stanford, Yale, Duke, Harvard Law 
School, Howard, UCLA, USC, Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Canada, 
FLAC in Dublin, Ireland, Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and 
National Council of La Raza (NCLR). The City Project [is] working to 
broaden access to parks and open space for inner-city residents and . . 
. to fight childhood obesity by guaranteeing that . . . students get 
enough physical education.''--New York Times.
[FR Doc. 2015-29918 Filed 11-24-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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