The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) announced today that Johanna Chao Kreilick, an executive officer at the Open Society Foundations, will be its next president. Founded in 1969 at MIT, UCS has grown to be a $46 million science-based advocacy organization that combines technical analysis and advocacy to create innovative, practical solutions for a healthy, safe and sustainable future.
Kreilick was selected after an exhaustive nationwide recruitment effort conducted by Boardwalk Consulting that reached out to more than 500 candidates. She will join the organization officially on May 10, 2021.
“For three decades, Johanna Chao Kreilick has been a passionate driver of social change,” said Dr. Anne Kapuscinski, UCS board chair and the director of the Coastal Science and Policy Program and a professor of environmental studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz. “We were particularly impressed with her track record of integrating racial justice into the work and culture of complex organizations, her understanding of the role of science in effective decision making, and her ability to work with teams of researchers and advocates to advance policies that make a meaningful difference in people’s lives.”
Most recently, Kreilick managed the Open Society Foundations’ strategy unit responsible for planning, research and assessment for the Foundations’ 50 global programs, national foundations and advocacy offices. While at Open Society, she founded the $43 million Climate Action Initiative. The U.S. component includes support for nonpartisan public mobilization and policy advocacy at city, state, regional and federal levels, as well as shareholder advocacy and litigation aimed at corporate polluters.
Click here to read UCS’s announcement.
