Board of Trustees

Rocky Mountain Institute® is governed by a self-perpetuating Board that has complete oversight and policy responsibility, is kept currently informed of the Institute's affairs, confers frequently on an individual basis with RMI's operating officers, and meets for two days twice a year.

John Abele
Shelburne, Vermont. BA Physics and Philosophy, Amherst College. Chairman FIRST. John is the retired Founder and Chairman of Boston Scientific Corporation a 16,000 employee, $6 billion world-wide company that is a leader in the field of “Less Invasive Medicine.” As one of the pioneers of less invasive medicine, he holds numerous patents and has published and lectured extensively on the technology of various medical devices and on the technical, social, economic, and political trends and issues affecting healthcare. His major interests are science literacy for children, education, and the process by which new technology is invented, developed, and introduced to society.

Adam Albright, Chair, Governance Committee
Richmond, Massachusetts. BA, Brown; investor, artist, farmer, philanthropist; President, ARIA Foundation; Director, Natural Resources Defense Council, Redefining Progress; Worldwatch Institute; Futures for Children, Population Communications International, Kripalu Yoga Fellowship.

Sharman Altshuler
Cambridge, Massachusetts. BA, University of Vermont; VMD, University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. Veterinarian. Trustee of Merck Family Fund, Burr and Burton Academy, The Farm School.

Ray C. Anderson
Atlanta, Georgia. BS, Georgia Tech; Chairman and founder (1973), Interface, Inc. Millennium Award, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of Year for the Southeast Region, Sustainability Leadership Award 2001; Mitchell Award 2001. Co-chair, President's Council on Sustainable Development; author, Mid-Course Correction.

Peter Boyer
San Francisco, California. San Francisco State University; American Studies. Former owner of a design-build residential construction firm. Artist, fine art painting, exhibited widely in U.S. and Japan with works owned by numerous private and public collections. Trustee of The Ayrshire Foundation.

Mary Caulkins, Chair, Development Committee
Denver, Colorado. BA, Pitzer College. Artist, philanthropist, lead investor in one of the largest residential and solar community project in the nation following the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Homes (LEED-H) guidelines, in Mosier, Oregon. Director of the Caulkins Family Foundation. Held an apprenticeship at the Public Art Project at Penn. Station, New York City.

Thomas Dinwoodie
Richmond, California. BS, Structural Engineering, Cornell University; MS, Mechanical Engineering, MIT; MA, Architecture, UC at Berkeley. Founder and CTO, SunPower Corporation Systems. Founder, Former founder, CEO and Chairman of PowerLight, a leading and global supplier of PV products and systems. Author of numerous papers and holds over 30 patents on building-integrated photovoltaic and related products.

Michael Fain
Aspen, Colorado. University of Chicago; Humanities, Geology; Engineering Director, Hydrodynamics Lab, University of Chicago; Mechanical and Optical Engineer and Project Manager, various aerospace companies; Founder and former President, Alphametrics, Ltd., manufacturer of precision light measuring equipment; Co-founder and former Chairman of Computers for Kids Foundation; Board member of Aspen Center for Physics and Independence Pass Foundation; Member of National Council of NPR and Anderson Ranch Arts Center; Co-author, with wife, Judith Barnard, of eleven contemporary novels.

Suzanne Farver, Chair, Finance Committee
Woody Creek, Colorado. BA Grinnell College; JD, University of Denver; ALM in Environmental Management, Harvard University. Former executive director, Aspen Art Museum, 1992-1999; Director of Development and Public Relations, Anderson Ranch Arts Center, 1990-1992. Trustee of Denver Art Museum and Spiritual Paths Foundation and Chair and Trustee, Aspen Art Museum Foundation.

Craig Kennedy, Chair, Audit Committee
Washington, D.C. AB, Civilization Studies, University of Chicago; MBA University of Chicago; MA, Social Service Administration, University of Chicago; President of the German Marshall Fund since 1995; President of the Joyce Foundation from 1986 to 1992; employed with Richard J. Dennis, a Chicago investor and philanthropist; created a consulting firm working with nonprofit and public sector clients including the City of Chicago and the Environmental Defense Fund; serves on the Board of the nonprofit Thomas B. Fordham Foundation and as an independent trustee of the Van Kampen mutual funds.

Amory B. Lovins, Cofounder and Chief Scientist of RMI
Snowmass, Colorado. MA, Oxford (by special resolution), eight honorary doctorates; physicist, author, consultant.

Reuben Munger
Boston, Massachusetts. B.A., Politics and Economics, and B.S., Business Administration, magna cum laude, Washington and Lee University. Currently Chairman of Bright Automotive, an RMI spin-off company. Founder and Managing Partner of Vision Ridge Partners, L.L.C. Former Managing Director at The Baupost Group, L.L.C., a $15 billion investment firm. Mr. Munger's responsibilities included oversight of the firm's European equity investments and participation on the Trading Room Operations Committee. Chair of the Governing Board of Edvestors and Chairman of the Massachusetts Advisory Board of Stand for Children.

David Orr
Oberlin, Ohio. BA, Westminster; MA, Michigan State; PhD, University of Pennsylvania; Chair, Environmental Studies Program, Oberlin College, trustee of numerous private foundations, author of five books.

Martha C. Pickett, Executive Director and General Counsel of RMI
Snowmass, Colorado. BA, Guilford College; MCDP, College of Architecture and Planning, University of Colorado, Denver; JD, University of Denver; President, Windstar Land Conservancy; member of Advisory Board to Catawba College’s Center for the Environment.

Michael Potts, CEO of RMI
Denver, Colorado. BA, Beloit College. Former CEO of American Fundware; Vice President of the Public Sector Solutions division at Intuit; member of Advisory Board of the University of Colorado-Denver Business School; serves on the Board of Directors of the Kripalu Yoga Foundation, and the Curious Theater Company.

Chris Sawyer
Atlanta, Georgia. BA, University of North Carolina; Master of Divinity, Yale University; JD, Duke University. Partner at Alston & Bird since 1985, specializing in corporate governance, real estate and conservation issues. Former Chairman of the Board for the Trust for Public Land; Chairman of the Chattahoochee River Coordinating Committee. Serves on the Board of Directors of Industrial Developments International and of EDAW, one of the largest land consulting firms in the world. Chairman of the Board of Advisors of the Yale Divinity School.

Suzanne Woolsey, Lead Trustee
Chevy Chase, Maryland. BA, Stanford. MA, PhD, Harvard. Chief Communications Officer of The National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine. Member, Council on Foreign Relations. Serves on boards of the German Marshall Fund, Van Kampen Mutual Funds, the Colorado College, Neurogen Corporation and Intelligent Medical Devices LLC, and the Institute for Defense Analyses. Former Associate Director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget; consulting partner, Coopers and Lybrand; member, Washington Post editorial board; Chief Operating Officer, The National Academies.

Don Woods, Chair, Investment Subcommittee
Denver, Colorado. BA Finance, University of Denver 1980; Masters in International Business and Economics from the City University in London, England 1985. Chairman, President, and CEO of Community Bankshares, Inc. Don is a founding shareholder of Community Bankshares, Inc. and has served as President/CEO and director since 1989. Don is active in numerous conservation, economic, and educational initiatives and is a member of the board of the Colorado Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, the Colorado Watershed Network, the Colorado Chapter of the Young President’s Organization, and Colorado UpLift.

The following are nonvoting Emeritus Board Members:

Jimmy Mills, Mike Curzan, John Fox, Elaine Lebuhn, Dr. Michael Edessess, Dana Jackson, Dr. Adele Simmons, Michael Stranahan

The following are nonvoting Special Advisors:

Peter Bradford
Chair of the New York PSC and Maine PUC.

Jason Clay
Senior Fellow, Social Science and Economics Program, World Wildlife Fund, and Coordinator, Systems Group on Forests.

The Very Reverend James Parks Morton
Director of the Interfaith Center and Dean of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.

Robert Nagourney
Founder, Rational Therapeutics Cancer Evaluation Center.

James Newcomb
CEO of E-SOURCE.

Peter Schwartz
President of Global Business Network.

Bardyl Tirana, Esq.
President of the China/USA Educational Fund, former Director of the Defense Civil Preparedness Agency.