Environmental Defense Center (EDC) announced on March 7 that Alex Katz will become its new Executive Director, following the untimely death of Owen Bailey from cancer.
Just so happens Alex is a Sierra Club member (from Oakland) as was Owen.
The EDC is often hired by our Santa Barbara-Ventura Sierra Club chapter for legal challenges on environmental issues. It is one of the nation’s longest-running public interest law firms working to protect the California coast, natural resources, and the earth’s climate, formed in response to the 1969 oil blowout from Platform A in the Santa Barbara Channel.
Alex brings 25 years of experience in public service and communications to the fight for environmental protection. He is deeply committed to climate action, conservation, and justice for communities that are disproportionately harmed by the fossil fuel industry and other sources of pollution.
A California native, he is married and has an 8-year-old daughter “so we’re trying to figure out schools and where to live.” As soon as that happens, he’ll be here full time starting in July. Meanwhile, he’s part-time and brought his bike “so I’m riding around, trying to bet a better idea of the town.”
EDC Chief Counsel Linda Krop said, “He has been an innovative leader on environmental issues in California and will be a strong advocate for our mission to protect the South-Central Coast, preserve our open space and wildlife, and address the climate crisis.”
He has held leadership roles at many levels of government, notably Chief of Staff of the Oakland City Attorney’s Office, where he helped to initiate Oakland’s groundbreaking lawsuit against major oil companies to hold them accountable for the costs of adapting to sea level rise.
He also served as a communications and climate policy aide to Rep. Barbara Lee, and last year completed UC Berkeley’s Beahrs Environmental Leadership Program, which focuses on collaborative solutions.
EDC Board President Rob Tadlock noted that “as the climate crisis intensifies, the threats to the ocean, clean water, and life on the South-Central Coast are greater now than ever. EDC will continue to face those threats head-on as we move into the next phase of our history as a fierce defender of local communities and our natural environment.”