Lydecker Senior Partner Manny Diaz Joins National Environmental Education Foundation Board of Trustees

WASHINGTON—The National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) this month announced that Lydecker Senior Partner and former Miami Mayor Manny Diaz is the newest Board member, appointed to the Board by EPA Administrator Jackson.

Diaz joins a distinguished group from the fields of academia, government, business and nonprofits as members of NEEF’s Board of Trustees.

While mayor, Diaz was credited with overhauling the City of Miami government, including an ambitious comprehensive master plan for the city based on smart growth principals that included enhanced parks and public spaces, improved transportation and public transit and historic preservation of arts and culture.

He spearheaded energy and environmental conservation in the city. He created the city’s first Office of Sustainability Initiatives, established a Green Fleet Program to make sure the city obtained the most energy efficient vehicles on the market and expedited permitting for green buildings.

He is no stranger to NEEF, having played a critical role in making his city home of NEEF’s pilot project “Be Water Wise Miami,” a year-long, hands-on environmental education program involving a successful public-private partnership between Miami-Dade County Public Schools, city water and sewer authorities, South Florida Water Management District, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Johnson Controls Inc., HydroPoint Data Systems and Miami’s Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens.

“Manny Diaz believes in environmental education.” said Art Gibson, NEEF’s chairman of the board of trustees. “Working closely with Mayor Diaz on Be Water Wise Miami, NEEF experienced first hand his commitment to Miami’s students, to greener cities and to helping create solutions to conserve and protect our resources. We’re honored to have Manny Diaz on our board. As a proven leader in the public sector he brings exceptional expertise which can help the Foundation expand public-private partnerships to advance environmental literacy nationwide.”

Diaz served as president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors in 2008 and 2009. During his tenure, he emphasized the importance of the environment and the potential for green jobs to help alleviate unemployment. He has received numerous awards, including the 2006 Government Award by Hispanic Magazine and the 2004 Urban Innovator Award by the Manhattan Institute. Diaz is a member of the board of the Bloomberg Family Foundation, the University of Pennyslvania’s Institute for Urban Research and City Year Miami. He recently served as a Resident Fellow at Harvard’s Institute of Politics, and has now resumed his successful corporate and real estate practice as a Senior Partner at Lydecker in Miami, Florida. Florida.

Manny Diaz will attend his first NEEF board meeting in October in Washington, D.C.

The National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) provides knowledge to trusted professionals who, with their credibility, amplify messages to national audiences to solve everyday environmental problems. Together, we generate lasting positive change. NEEF partners with professionals in health, education, media, business and public land management to promote daily actions for helping people protect and enjoy the environment. Through our primary programs — Classroom Earth, National Public Lands Day, National Environmental Education Week, Business and Environment, Earth Gauge® and Health & Environment — we offer Americans knowledge to live by.

To learn more, call (202) 833-2933 or visit www.neefusa.org

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