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    NewsRMI Announces Appointment of New Board Trustees, Chair, and Co-chair
RMI Announces Appointment of New Board Trustees, Chair, and Co-chair

October 9, 2023 – Basalt, CO: RMI, founded as Rocky Mountain Institute, has appointed three new trustees to its board of directors along with designating a new Chair and Co-chair, who will commence on January 1, 2024. All highly accomplished leaders from around the globe with a combined vast knowledge in the energy transition, the new appointees come with experience in corporate and legal counsel, governance, environmental justice, and renewable energy.

The five trustees, who are based around the world from Colorado to Alabama, India to China invigorate RMI’s evolution to a truly global organization with expanded reach and impact.

Joining the board, Catherine Coleman Flowers is an internationally recognized environmental activist, MacArthur “genius” grant recipient, and author who founded the Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice (CREEJ). She has dedicated her life’s work to advocating for environmental justice, primarily equal access to clean water and functional sanitation for communities across the United States. In 2023, Flowers was recognized as one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in the world and was featured on Forbes’ 50 Over 50 list.

“Climate change is transforming our world at a rapid pace. We must take a creative, collaborative, and equitable approach to developing solutions that address the needs of communities impacted by the climate crisis and deliver results,” said Flowers. “It’s an honor to join RMI’s Board of Trustees and have the opportunity to work with leaders, innovators and researchers from across the world to advance progress on these solutions.”

Also newly joined, Ma Jun, a Goldman Prize Winner, is the founding director of the Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs (IPE). He led the development and launch of China’s first environmental public database, as well as the Blue Map, a mobile app that visualizes air, water, ocean and soil quality data and tracks the performance of hundreds of thousands of major emitters. In 2022, Ma received an Asia Game Changer Award from Asia Society.

Bryan Hannegan will join the board locally from the Roaring Fork Valley, where he serves as CEO of Holy Cross Energy, a non-profit electricity cooperative that provides electricity and energy products and services to more than 46,000 customers in Western Colorado. Holy Cross Energy is leading the responsible transition to a clean energy future with its “Journey to 100%” plan aimed at obtaining 100% renewable and clean energy for its members by 2030. Bryan previously held senior leadership roles at the Electric Power Research Institute, the White House Council on Environmental Quality, and the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

“As Colorado neighbors, it’s always been a dream to connect my work at Holy Cross Energy with the expertise and progress being made by RMI,” said Hannegan. “It’s a pleasure to join RMI’s Board of Trustees to advance clean energy solutions locally, with an eye towards scaling those solutions nationally and globally.”

Sumant Sinha, Founder, Chairman and CEO of ReNew, has been promoted to Chair RMI’s Board of Trustees. ReNew is one of the largest renewable energy companies in India and the global south, with 13.7 GW in capacity and growing investments in key technologies such as green hydrogen and energy storage. As a first-generation entrepreneur, Sumant is a leading voice of the industry and has written more than 150 thought leadership pieces on climate change, renewable energy, and sustainable economic growth.

“RMI’s work has been impactful and in the right direction to catalyze transformation at scale to address climate change. I am delighted to chair RMI’s Board of Trustees,” said Sinha. “I also welcome the new Trustees on the Board and look forward to working together to steer the organization to achieve even greater impact.”

Marty Pickett, managing director and general counsel of RMI, was elected co-chair of RMI’s Board of Trustees. Pickett focuses on the Institute’s advancement in alliances, funding, and governance as well as general strategy and legal counsel. Prior to joining RMI in 1998, Pickett practiced land use planning and land use and real estate law in Denver and Aspen, Colorado.

“We must address the climate challenge by acting with global vision and local effectiveness. RMI has grown from its roots in Colorado to international stature and is expanding its Board to represent the blend of inspired and diverse leadership that is critical to address our planetary emergency together,” said Jon Creyts, RMI CEO.  “Under the leadership of Sumant and Marty, and with the addition of Bryan, Catherine, and Jun to our already impressive team of trustees, RMI will have the strategic guidance to become a difference-maker in this decisive decade.”

Media Contact:

Caroline Bennett, Director of Media Relations, caroline.bennett@rmi.org, 720.646.4647.

About RMI:

RMI, founded in 1982 as Rocky Mountain Institute, is an independent nonprofit that transforms global energy systems through market-driven solutions to align with a 1.5°C future and secure a clean, prosperous, zero-carbon future for all. We work in the world’s most critical geographies and engage businesses, policymakers, communities, and NGOs to identify and scale energy system interventions that will cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50 percent by 2030. RMI has offices in Basalt and Boulder, Colorado; New York City; Oakland, California; Washington, D.C.; and Beijing. Find more information at www.rmi.org and follow us on LinkedIn @RMI.

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