FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: ECOS Executive Director Ben Grumbles, (202) 266-4929 or bgrumbles@ecos.org or
Lia Parisien, (202) 266-4931 or lparisien@ecos.org
Environmental Council of the States (ECOS)
ECOS Press Release on Naming Ben Grumbles to Serve as Executive Director
Washington, DC – The Environmental Council of the States (ECOS), the national nonprofit, nonpartisan association of state and territorial environmental commissioners, today announced the selection of Ben Grumbles as the association’s sixth Executive Director, effective June 1. Grumbles, who currently serves as ECOS President and Maryland Department of the Environment Secretary, brings extensive experience in state and federal government and association management.
“We are delighted to have a visionary leader of Ben’s caliber step into the role of ECOS Executive Director,” said ECOS Vice President and Search Committee Chair Myra Reece, Director of the South Carolina Department of Health & Environmental Control. “Not only does he know the association inside and out, but he has an unparalleled depth and breadth of policy knowledge that will propel ECOS as we continue to partner with federal co-regulators, nongovernmental organizations, and the regulated community.”
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan appointed Grumbles in 2015 to his current job at the helm of the Maryland Department of the Environment. Grumbles’ concurrent duties include service as Chair of the Governor’s Chesapeake Bay Cabinet and Maryland Climate Change Commission and Executive Committee Member of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. He previously held positions as President of the U.S. Water Alliance, Director of the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, Assistant Administrator for Water at U.S. EPA, and Senior Staff & Counsel for the U.S. House Transportation & Infrastructure and Science Committees. He graduated from Wake Forest University and earned a J.D. degree from Emory University Law School and an LL.M. degree from The George Washington University Law School.
As a longtime ECOS member, Grumbles hopes to expand the national presence of ECOS and serve as a consensus builder. “To advance the human health and environmental protection mission of our members, I look forward to finding bipartisan common ground in priority areas including climate change and environmental justice,” Grumbles noted. “In addition, I will continue to champion valuable ECOS efforts like E-Enterprise – an initiative among states, tribes, and U.S. EPA to modernize the business of environmental protection – and the Interstate Technology & Regulatory Council, a state-led coalition working to reduce barriers to the use of innovative environmental technologies and processes.”
In his new capacity, Grumbles will also direct the Environmental Research Institute of the States, an ECOS affiliate that connects state environmental agencies to education and research resources to support current and emerging environmental policies.
ECOS is the national nonprofit, nonpartisan association of state environmental agency leaders. For more information, visit www.ecos.org.
