David Goldston Joins NRDC Staff in Washington As Director of Government Affairs

WASHINGTON (June 24, 2009) -- The Natural Resources Defense Council announced today that David Goldston, the former Chief of Staff of the U.S. House Committee on Science, will join the NRDC staff in the newly created position of Director of Government Affairs on July 6.

“David is a consensus builder with deep experience in both government and environmental policy,” said NRDC President Frances Beinecke. “He is well known and highly respected in Washington, and we’re delighted to have him join our team.”

As Director of Government Affairs, Goldston will oversee the development and implementation of NRDC’s strategies for interacting with Congress and the Obama administration.  He also will work closely with NRDC’s non-profit partners and private sector allies.

Explaining his move to NRDC, Goldston said, “The timing felt right. With the chance to move so many critical environmental issues forward after years of stalemate, it seemed to be time to jump back into the fray.” 

He added, “I worked with NRDC staff often when I was on the Hill and was always impressed with their depth of knowledge and openness to discussion.  I’m happy to have a chance to join the NRDC team.”

Goldston served for six years (2001-2006) as Chief of Staff of the House Committee on Science under Chairman Sherwood Boehlert of New York.  As Chief of Staff, he oversaw a committee with jurisdiction over much of the federal research portfolio, including the civilian research activities of the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency. 

Prior to becoming Chief of Staff, Goldston was Boehlert’s legislative director during the years when Boehlert led a coalition of moderate Republicans that was pivotal in blocking environmental rollbacks. In that role, Goldston played a part in debates on a wide range of environmental issues, including clean air, forestry and endangered species. 

Goldston retired from the Congressional staff at the end of 2006 and since then has taught at Princeton and Harvard, and has written the monthly column “Party of One” on science policy for the journal Nature.

Goldston was graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in American history from Cornell University in 1978. He completed the course work for a Ph.D. in American history at the University of Pennsylvania in 1993.