William D. Ruckelshaus Center hosts 10th annual Ruckelshaus Circle Luncheon

By the Ruckelshaus Center

The William D. Ruckelshaus Center is hosting its 10^th annual Ruckelshaus Circle Luncheon, formerly Chairman’s Circle Luncheon, on Sept. 11 through the Ruckelshaus Center’s YouTube channel. The event will feature two former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrators, Lisa P. Jackson and William K. Reilly, and will celebrate the Ruckelshaus Center’s Founder and Chair Emeritus, Bill Ruckelshaus.

Since 2011, the Ruckelshaus Center has hosted its Ruckelshaus Circle Luncheon as a means to express gratitude to its most dedicated supporters, Ruckelshaus Circle donors, and as a forum of knowledge for the public on topics relevant to the center’s mission. Over the years, the event has featured noteworthy authors, politicians, journalists, and political analysts, from former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair to author and historian Douglas Brinkley and former NPR All Things Considered host Robert Siegel.

This year’s event features former EPA Administrators, Lisa P. Jackson and William K. Reilly, who will discuss “The Past, Present, and Future of Environmental Protection.” Both speakers have experience in the public and private sectors. Jackson currently serves as Apple’s VP of environment, policy and social initiatives, overseeing Apple’s efforts to minimize its impact on the environment. From 2009 to 2013, Jackson served as administrator of the EPA. Appointed by President Barack Obama, she focused on reducing greenhouse gases, protecting air and water quality, preventing exposure to toxic contamination and working for environmental justice. Reilly served four U.S. Presidents: Presidents Nixon, George H.W. Bush, Clinton, and Obama, and was EPA Administrator from 1989 to 1993, during which he led efforts to pass a new Clean Air Act and headed the U.S. delegation to the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio. From 1970 to 1972, he was a senior staff member at the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

This event will also commemorate the EPA’s 50^th anniversary, and celebrate the life and career of Bill Ruckelshaus, the EPA’s first and fifth administrator. Born in the wake of elevated concern about environmental pollution, the EPA was established on Dec. 2, 1970 to consolidate a variety of federal research, monitoring, standard-setting and enforcement activities relating to environmental protection. Bill Ruckelshaus was committed to addressing environmental issues and public policy challenges through collaborative approaches. This commitment would lead him to become founder and advisory board chair of the William D. Ruckelshaus Center.

In 2004, Ruckelshaus created the William D. Ruckelshaus Center as a partnership between our state’s two premier research institutions, Washington State University and the University of Washington. The Ruckelshaus Center works to bring the expertise of these two institutions to help community members, business leaders and government decision makers collaboratively tackle complex, and often, controversial, policy challenges. The Ruckelshaus Center brings people together to sort through information, build understanding and solve problems to improve communities and the state of Washington. RSVP to the Ruckelshaus Circle Luncheon by Sept. 10. Visit the Ruckelshaus Circle Luncheon website or call 206-428-3021 for more information.