Lester R. Brown is President of Earth Policy Institute, a nonprofit, interdisciplinary research organization based in Washington, D.C., which he founded in May 2001. The purpose of the Earth Policy Institute is to provide a plan for sustaining civilization and a roadmap of how to get from here to there.
Brown has been described as “one of the world’s most influential thinkers” by the Washington Post. The Telegraph of Calcutta called him “the guru of the environmental movement.” In 1986, the Library of Congress requested his papers for its archives.
Some 40 years ago Brown helped pioneer the concept of environmentally sustainable development, a concept embodied in Plan B. He was the Founder and President of Worldwatch Institute during its first 26 years. During a career that started with tomato farming, Brown has authored or coauthored 53 books and been awarded 25 honorary degrees. With books in more than 40 languages, he is one of the world’s most widely published authors.
Brown is a MacArthur Fellow and the recipient of countless prizes and awards, including the 1987 United Nations Environment Prize, the 1989 World Wide Fund for Nature Gold Medal, and Japan’s 1994 Blue Planet Prize for his “exceptional contributions to solving global environmental problems.” More recently he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Italy. He has been appointed to three honorary professorships in China, including one at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Janet Larsen is Director of Research and one of the incorporators of Earth Policy Institute. She manages the institute’s research program and covers a range of trends from an interdisciplinary perspective, including energy, climate, population, water, and food. Previously she worked at Worldwatch Institute. Larsen holds a degree in Earth Systems from Stanford University.
J. Matthew Roney, Research Associate, joined Earth Policy Institute in 2007. He holds a BS in Environmental Conservation from the University of New Hampshire and an MS in Environmental Sciences and Policy from Johns Hopkins University. In addition to renewable energy and nuclear power, Roney’s research topics include transportation, fisheries, and fish farming.
Emily E. Adams, Staff Researcher, joined Earth Policy Institute in 2012. She received a Master of Environmental Management degree from Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment with a focus on the intersection of science and policy. Adams completed her undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies at American University.