RFF President Phil Sharp Stepping Down Next Summer after 11 Years

Date

Oct. 22, 2015

News Type

Press Release

Resources for the Future (RFF) President Phil Sharp announced today that he will retire next summer after heading RFF since September 1, 2005.

In announcing his planned departure, Mr. Sharp said, “It has been an honor to be associated with RFF and its highly talented staff, board, and network of scholars in pursuit of a worthy mission. Building on its more than 60-year legacy, RFF continues to advance our understanding of ways to more effectively manage our natural and environmental resources. RFF’s objective, nonpartisan approach to critical issues is even more important today than when it was founded. I look forward to continuing to support its valuable work in any way I can.

“Post-RFF, I am eager to focus my professional time on climate and energy issues and to teach a course about climate policymaking in our American political system.”

RFF Chairman of the Board Richard L. Schmalensee, MIT professor emeritus, said of Mr. Sharp: “Phil has been a transformative leader of RFF, helping the organization to increase its impact while continuing to do rigorous, objective analysis of important issues in energy, environmental, and resource policy.”

Dr. Schmalensee added, “He leaves RFF as vital and important as it has ever been, and it will be difficult to fill his shoes.”

Prior to RFF, Mr. Sharp served 10 terms in the US Congress and seven years on the faculty of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, where he also was director of its Institute of Politics. He served on the National Academies’ Committee on America’s Climate Choices, on the Blue Ribbon Commission on the Future of Nuclear Power, and on the boards of directors of Duke Energy Corporation and the Electric Power Research Institute. Currently, he is a member of the External Advisory Board for MIT’s Energy Initiative, and chairs the board of the Energy Foundation.


Resources for the Future (RFF) is an independent, nonprofit research institution in Washington, DC. Its mission is to improve environmental, energy, and natural resource decisions through impartial economic research and policy engagement. RFF is committed to being the most widely trusted source of research insights and policy solutions leading to a healthy environment and a thriving economy.

Unless otherwise stated, the views expressed here are those of the individual authors and may differ from those of other RFF experts, its officers, or its directors. RFF does not take positions on specific legislative proposals.

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