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Prior to joining Constellation Energy in February 2009, Mr. Connaughton served as chairman, White House Council on Environmental Quality from 2001-2009. In this capacity, he served on President Bush’s senior staff as senior environment, energy and natural resources advisor, and as director of the White House Office of Environmental Policy. During his service with the federal government, Mr. Connaughton worked closely with the president, his Cabinet and the Congress to develop and implement climate change, air pollution and energy security policies. This work led to a series of new mandatory programs, incentives, technology initiatives and public-private partnerships that included bipartisan energy legislation in 2005 and 2007, nearly $90 billion for clean energy technology research and incentives to accelerate commercial deployment of low-carbon technologies such as plug-in hybrid vehicles, renewable fuels, nuclear, solar, wind, and carbon capture and storage from coal power generation. Internationally, Mr. Connaughton helped establish a broad series of technology initiatives, the public-private Asia Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate Change, and the Major Economies Leaders Meetings on Energy and Climate, in which Mr. Connaughton served as the president's personal representative. Mr. Connaughton also played a leading role in other major initiatives that included new air quality standards, major reductions in air pollution from power plants and diesel vehicles, improved management of public forests, greater conservation on farms, millions of acres of wetlands protection and restoration, cleanup and redevelopment of more than 10,000 abandoned industrial sites, international environmental cooperation agreements, environmental management and performance of federal government operations, and the creation of some of the world's largest and most ecologically diverse marine conservation areas. Prior to his public service, Mr. Connaughton was a partner in the environmental practice group at the law firm Sidley Austin, where he played a leading role in the development and implementation of the ISO 14000 series of international environmental management and performance standards. Mr. Connaughton is a trustee of the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation. A native of Maryland, he is a graduate of Yale University and graduated second in his class, magna cum laude, Order of the Coif, from the Northwestern University School of Law. In 2008, Northwestern University honored him with its Distinguished Alumni Award. He is married with two children.
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