Frances Beinecke is the President Emerita of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), a major nonprofit environmental organization that works internationally to curb global warming, protect people’s health, preserve wild landscapes, and foster vibrant and sustainable communities. Using legal and scientific expertise, NRDC creates policies and works to implement and enforce the laws that protect our environment. Under Ms. Beinecke’s leadership,  2006 to 2015, NRDC focused on finding solutions to  the biggest environmental challenges of our time. She expanded NRDC’s work globally to include programs in China and India focusing on clean energy.

In 2010, Ms. Beinecke was appointed by President Obama to the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling. She currently sits on the boards of World Resources Institute (WRI), the NRDC Action Fund, ClientEarth, the Cary Institute for Ecosystem Studies and the Adirondack Chapter of the Nature Conservancy.  She is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Ms. Beinecke, a graduate of Yale College and the Yale School of the Environment, is a former member of the Yale Corporation.  She has received numerous awards including the Yale Medal, the Rachel Carson Award and the Audubon Medal from the National Audubon Society.