3rd Annual Flex Your Power Awards
Ralph Cavanagh - San Francisco
Since his appointment to senior staff attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) in 1979, Ralph Cavanagh has been an aggressive advocate for energy efficiency practices in California. NRDC is a nonprofit environmental advocacy organization with more than 1 million members. Cavanagh currently co-directs NRDC's Energy Program, which is charged with advocating for new and stringent energy laws, stronger regulations, and financial incentives for clean and efficient energy. Cavanagh received his undergraduate and law degrees from Yale University and previously served as an attorney-advisor to the U.S. Department of Justice. He was a member of the Energy Engineering Board of the National Academy of Sciences and the Advisory Council of the Electric Power Research Institute. He currently serves on the U.S. Secretary of Energy's Advisory Board and the board of E-Source, a Colorado-based energy services company. He is Vice Chair of the Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Technologies, which unites representatives of the environmental, energy efficiency and renewable energy communities. He is a founding board member of the Northwest Energy Coalition. His advocacy on behalf of clean and efficient energy is helping to forge a permanent energy solution for California.