April 2023
(Washington, D.C.)—The Environmental Law Institute (ELI) is delighted to announce that six new members have joined its Leadership Council: Marisa Buchanan, Ann Condon, Jay Duffy, Larry Liebesman, Byron Marchant, and Mark Templeton.
“We are so fortunate to have these outstanding individuals join the ranks of our Leadership Council,” said ELI Leadership Council President Kathy Robb. “ELI’s vision is a healthy environment, prosperous economies, and vibrant communities founded on the rule of law. As esteemed thought-leaders in the field of environmental law and policy, the newest members of our Leadership Council will bring valuable guidance and expertise to ELI as they make law work for people, places, and the planet.”
- Marisa Buchanan is Senior Vice President of Low Carbon Solutions for bp's Trading & Shipping organization, based in London. In this capacity, she leads bp’s Biogas and Low Carbon Trading businesses, working to build a high-quality portfolio of solutions that deliver low-carbon energy and help to avoid, reduce, and remove greenhouse gas emissions globally. Marisa has more than 20 years of experience working at the nexus of business and the environment. Prior to joining bp in September 2022, Marisa was Managing Director and Global Head of Sustainability at JPMorgan Chase & Co., where she led development and implementation of the firm’s enterprise-wide sustainability strategy across its financing activities and operations. She played an integral role in JPMorgan Chase’s efforts to manage environmental and social risks and advise clients on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) trends and industry best practices. Prior to joining JPMorgan Chase in 2012, Marisa was a research analyst at Bloomberg, where she focused on assessing the impacts of U.S. policy developments on the electric power and oil & gas sectors. She began her career with the Surdna Foundation’s environmental team, providing grants to nonprofit organizations supporting sustainable forestry, smart growth, renewable energy, and market-based solutions to climate change. Marisa received a B.A. from Wellesley College and a M.P.A. from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.
- Ann Condon is the Interim President of the Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC), an international nonprofit with the mission of creating equitable climate change solutions around the world. ISC achieves this by forming collaborative, people-focused partnerships that support communities disproportionately impacted by the global climate crisis. Ann has long been a leader in global ESG. During her 34-year career with General Electric Company, she built robust global compliance programs focused on the environment, health, and safety; supply chain ethics; sustainability; and chemical and product stewardship. She is a strategic thinker who brings intellectual rigor, creativity, a strong practical sense, and a deep commitment to developing effective programs that garner internal support and external validation. She has a proven ability to lead multidisciplinary teams and to influence senior leaders, operational teams, and external stakeholders. She has been an ELI Visiting Scholar since 2018.
- Jay Duffy is Litigation Director at the Clean Air Task Force (CATF) in Boston, Massachusetts, where he focuses on reducing greenhouse gas pollution through environmental regulations utilizing his Clean Air Act and administrative law expertise. He was one of the lead drafters of the environmental and public health brief in West Virginia v. EPA and argued a portion of the case below at the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. Prior to joining CATF, Jay worked at the Clean Air Council in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he focused on permitting oversight for natural gas facilities, power plants, and refineries. He now represents the Council and many other nonprofits in Clean Air Act appellate litigation. Jay holds a J.D. from Villanova Law School, where he was associate editor of the Villanova Environmental Law Journal, and a member of the Delaware Valley Environmental American Inn of Court. Jay was recognized by the Environmental Law Institute as an “emerging leader” in 2020.
- Larry Liebesman is a Senior Advisor with Dawson & Associates in Washington, D.C. A nationally recognized environmental lawyer with more than 40 years of experience, including 11 years at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Larry has extensive experience negotiating federal and state environmental approvals, including Clean Water Act (CWA) and Endangered Species Act (ESA) permits for commercial, residential, public works, and mining projects. Larry has testified before Congress on proposed legislation to reform the ESA and is co-author of the Endangered Species Act Deskbook: A Guide to Endangered Species Law for the Environmental Law Institute (2nd ed. 2010). While at DOJ, he was lead counsel in NRDC v. EPA, which upheld major portions of EPA’s national pollutant discharge elimination system program, and Bersani v. EPA, which upheld the Agency’s veto authority under Section 404(c) of the CWA. Larry taught wetlands law at the University of Baltimore Law School and endangered species law at The George Washington University Law School.
- Byron Marchant is a partner in Caldwell’s Tysons Corner, Virginia, and Annapolis, Maryland, offices, leveraging advanced technology and analytics to provide high-level talent solutions at the board and senior executive level across the federal and state public sector, public utilities sector, and the sports and entertainment space. Prior to joining Caldwell, Byron served as president and CEO of the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni and Foundation for over 13 years. His tenure was highlighted by his steady, strategic leadership for the organization through the 2009 recession and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Byron oversaw the most successful campaign in Alumni Association and Foundation history—raising more than $541 million in support of the Naval Academy’s Strategic Plan 2020. Previously, Byron served as the executive vice president, general counsel, and chief administrative officer for Black Entertainment Television (BET). In that role, he was the lead representative in the execution of the $3B acquisition of BET by Viacom Inc. He was a partner with the law firm Patton Boggs, LLP, and previously served as senior vice president and general counsel for Annapolis-based Telecommunications Systems Inc. He also served as senior legal advisor to Federal Communications Commissioner Andrew Barrett and was an attorney with Sidley Austin. Byron is active with several boards, including service as a newly elected member of the Baltimore Gas & Electric Board of Directors, the Naval War College Foundation, the National Sailing Hall of Fame, Baltimore Community Foundation, and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. Byron holds a B.S. in American political systems from the U.S. Naval Academy and earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia Law School.
- Mark Templeton is a Clinical Professor of Law, Director of the Abrams Environmental Law Clinic, and a Research Affiliate of the Energy Policy Institute at Chicago (EPIC) at the University of Chicago Law School. In addition to teaching courses in environmental and energy law, he works with approximately 20 law students each quarter to litigate cases challenging illegal pollution, ineffective enforcement, and inadequate standards and to develop and promote innovative policies to improve the environment, public health, and equity. Professor Templeton has previously served as Trustee and Executive Director of the Office of Independent Trustees for the $20 billion Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Trust, and as the cabinet-level Director of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. From 2005 to 2009, Professor Templeton served as Associate Dean and Chief Operating Officer at Yale Law School. From 2001 to 2005, he developed environmental and sustainability strategies at McKinsey & Company, among other projects. Professor Templeton has also served as Special Assistant and Senior Adviser to the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor and as an adviser to the U.S. Delegation to the U.N. Commission on Human Rights. He was a Financial Analyst at Goldman Sachs from 1994 to 1996. Professor Templeton earned an AB, magna cum laude, in Social Studies from Harvard College and a J.D. from Yale Law School.
The ELI Leadership Council is the Institute’s group for the most prominent environment, energy, and natural resource leaders in the nation. The Council recognizes leaders for their commitment of resources and time to the Institute’s vision of a healthy environment, prosperous economies, and vibrant communities founded on the rule of law. Members participate in events and have a chance to network and engage other leaders in discussions about key environmental law and policy issues.