Denis Hayes

Denis Hayes is President of the Bullitt Foundation, a major environmental foundation, and founder of the first Earth Day 

"Washington Environmental Council is the type of group I'd love to see in every state in the nation. 

WEC's expanded partnership with Washington Conservation Voters, when combined with the leadership on the Priorities coalition, gives the entire community a cohesive voice in the state capital.  That is very powerful. The power comes from focusing a community around Priorities – what you put on the top of the agenda, and what do you choose not to put on top of the agenda - in any given year. Every legislator in Olympia-friend and foe alike-always knows the four environmental priorities!   

All around the nation, people are looking at this model and the success it has enjoyed.  I predict it will be widely replicated. Beyond question, the environmental community is enjoying a new era in Washington State, and much of that can be credited to WEC.  After 40 years, WEC remains at the cutting edge of innovation among state green groups.  

And it is crucial that groups like WEC succeed, because the challenges we face as a species are historic. Climate change, nuclear safety, toxic contaminants, healthy food, industrial ecology, building livable cities. I expect WEC to continue building unexpected partnerships and setting important priorities that will make this state a national leader."