EDF Names Journalist Eric Pooley as SVP, Strategy and Communications

NEWS RELEASE

Contact:
Tony Kreindler, 202-445-8108, tkreindler@edf.org

(New York – April 18, 2011) Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) has named Eric Pooley, the deputy editor of Bloomberg Businessweek and author of an acclaimed 2010 book about the politics of climate change, as its Senior Vice President for Strategy and Communications. He will work with program staff throughout the organization to develop and implement strategies to achieve its environmental advocacy goals, with a special emphasis on finding new ways to break through the partisan gridlock on climate action.

A well-known writer and commentator on climate and clean energy issues, Mr. Pooley has served as managing editor of Fortune, editor of Time Europe, and national editor, chief political correspondent, and White House correspondent for Time. He chronicled the struggle to pass federal carbon legislation in The Climate War (Hyperion, 2010), which former President Bill Clinton hailed as “a riveting tale” and “the very first account of the epic American campaign to get serious about global warming.” The book focuses in part on the National Climate Campaign at EDF.

“Eric is clearly one of the most accomplished journalists and communicators ever to join the American environmental movement ,” said EDF President Fred Krupp. “At a time when we are rethinking our approach and searching for fresh ways to connect with people from across the political spectrum, his unique perspective—as an expert on climate change, business, and media—will be an invaluable asset.”

“EDF is a special place,” said Pooley. “I got to know its people while reporting my book and was frankly inspired by their passion, commitment, and ideas. But let’s be frank: EDF and its allies failed to rally the country in support of the last climate bill. We have to do better. I don’t claim to have all the answers, but I’m determined to help find them.”

Pooley’s work has been recognized with many journalism honors, including the Gerald R. Ford Prize for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency and a National Magazine Award for Time’s special issue on the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. He studied press coverage of the climate issue at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, where he was a 2008 fellow at the Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy. He has appeared on Nightline, Charlie Rose, Frontline, CBS Evening News, NBC Nightly News, Anderson Cooper 360, All Things Considered, and many other programs. A magna cum laude graduate of Brown University, he lives with his wife and two daughters in New York.