John
H. Adams co-founded NRDC in 1970, serving as Executive
Director from 1970-1998 and as President since October 1998.
Mr. Adams graduated from Michigan State University and attended
law school at Duke University. He later worked as the Assistant
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York
and with the newly-formed Center for Law and Social Policy
in Washington, D.C. In 1972, Mr. Adams joined the adjunct
faculty of New York University’s School of Law where
he taught Clinical Environmental Law for 26 years.
In 1973, Mr. Adams reconstituted the defunct
Open Space Institute and has served as the Chairman of the
Board since that time. He is also on the boards of the League
of Conservation Voters and the Woods Hole Research Center.
In 1999, he completed his membership on the President’s
Council on Sustainable Development and his participation in
the Environmental Protection Agency’s Common Sense Initiative.
Mr. Adams has received the Natural Resources
Council of America’s Award of Honor; the Green Cross
Millennium Award for Individual Environmental Leadership;
the Judge Lumbard Cup for public service; the National Conservation
Achievement Award from the National Wildlife Federation; and
the Francis K. Hutchinson Conservation Award from the Garden
Club of America. In 1998, Mr. Adams was named one of the National
Audubon’s 100 Champions of Conservation. In 1997, he
received the Environmental Careers Organization’s 25th
Anniversary Award. In 1991, he received Duke University’s
Distinguished Alumni Award; and in 1992, Duke University Law
School’s Charles J. Murphy Award. Mr. Adams was also
the recipient of an honorary doctor of laws from Knox College
and an honorary doctorate from Cedar Crest College. |
