CPR Announces Appointment of New Board Members: Alyson Flournoy, Alice Kaswan, and Alexandra Klass

Board Pleased to Welcome New Members with Expertise in Climate Change, Environmental Justice, Conservation and Energy Infrastructure

The board of directors of the Center for Progressive Reform today announced the appointment of three new board members: Alyson Flournoy, Alice Kaswan, and Alexandra Klass.

Alyson Flournoy is the Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and a Professor of Law at the University of Florida Levin College of Law. Professor Flournoy's scholarship focuses on environmental ethics, decision-making processes under environmental and natural resource laws, and on the intersection of science and law. Her most recent work focuses on the importance of identifying the values that are embedded in the nation's environmental laws and policies. Since 1990, Professor Flournoy has served as a Trustee of Florida Defenders of the Environment (FDE), one of Florida's longest established and best respected conservation groups. “CPR’s synthesis of environmental justice, administrative law, the regulatory process and public accountability is a model for good academic citizens everywhere. I’m excited to work with the Board as they continue to guide CPR in its mission of holding the powerful to account,” said Flournoy.

Alice Kaswan is a Professor of Law at the University of San Francisco School of Law and a Visiting Professor at Berkeley Law in Spring and Fall 2015. She is an expert on climate change and on environmental justice. She has written and spoken widely about climate federalism, addressing the appropriate roles of federal, state, and local governments in mitigating climate change and adapting to its impacts. Her work also explores the intersection between environmental justice and climate change policy, with special emphasis on the environmental justice implications of climate adaptation strategies and of cap–and–trade programs for greenhouse gases. “I’m delighted to join CPR’s Board. I appreciated the knowledge and thoughtfulness of CPR’s member scholars during our recent collaboration on an in-depth policy paper on EPA’s Clean Power Plan, and look forward to continuing to leverage CPR Scholars’ expertise to inform policy-makers and the advocacy community,” said Kaswan.

Alexandra Klass is the Distinguished McKnight University Professor at the University of Minnesota Law School and an upcoming Visiting Professor of Law at Harvard University School of Law for the fall, 2015 semester. Professor Klass teaches and writes in the areas of energy law, environmental law, natural resources law, tort law, and property law. Her recent scholarly work, published in many of the nation's leading law journals, addresses regulatory challenges to integrating more renewable energy into the nation's electric transmission grid, oil and gas transportation infrastructure, and eminent domain issues surrounding interstate electric transmission lines and oil and gas pipelines. According to Klass, “The Center for Progressive Reform successfully marries academic expertise with effective advocacy. I’m excited to work with CPR’s Board to leverage CPR’s unique combination of energy and environmental legal knowledge to inform policy debates surrounding these issues.”

Center for Progressive Reform President and Loyola University New Orleans College of Law Professor Robert Verhick said that the Board’s new appointments will “enrich the organization’s decision-making process with new perspectives to guide CPR forward. The diversity of expertise Professors Flournoy, Kaswan and Klass bring to the Board includes legal scholarship on climate change, environmental justice, energy infrastructure and sustainability. Professor Flournoy’s commitment to conservation in her home state of Florida demonstrates her commitment to CPR’s ideals. Professor Kaswan’s extensive scholarship on the intersection of science, law and ethics enriches academic debate. Professor Klass’ vanguard examination of the layers of federal, state and local legal and regulatory structures that inform our energy market speaks volumes about her ability to tie administrative law to real-world debates. I’m looking forward to working with these scholars as distinguished members of our Board.”