Ralph Rosenberg brings a variety of public-sector experience to his new role at the Iowa Environmental Council. He was an Iowa legislator from 1981 to 1995 and led a bipartisan group that enacted the state’s Groundwater Protection Act and a major energy efficiency law. Rosenberg later directed the Coalition for Family and Children’s Services and most recently led the Iowa Civil Rights Commission. The Iowa Environmental Council is a an alliance of organizations and individuals that focuses on environmental public policy, education and coalition building. Rosenberg says he is passionate about making sure the right environmental policies are in place for the long haul.

What do businesses need to know about the Iowa Environmental Council?

We’re heavily involved in energy efficiency, with strong priorities on renewable (energy). We’ve had successes in strengthening wind and solar. (Iowa) had legislation passed which encouraged solar and wind power the last couple of years. It’s very noteworthy, but probably doesn’t surprise a lot of Iowans, that it’s bipartisan. The other thing we do, is we also want to make sure that when legislation passes, it’s implemented right. The board of directors represents business and environmentalists. Its composed of membership organizations, like 1,000 Friends of Iowa, but it also includes small-business people. We have a very diverse board, and I think that’s important too.

What interested you in this position?

Being an advocate for the environment and natural resources is not a new role for me. Throughout my career, I’ve advocated for the environment and natural resources. But I believe in the need to continue to advocate. I believe in order to protect the environment for future generations, whether you boat every week or once a year, whether you fish every weekend or once a year, you need to have sustainable programs. You need to have those kind of permanent programs. I want to make sure that the good policies in place are sustainable, are permanent, and that where we need to strengthen, we will strengthen, we will advocate.

What are your goals?

One of my goals is to maintain the credibility of the Iowa Environmental Council. Another of my goals is to increase the sense of urgency and make sure the public has an opportunity to convey that sense of urgency to policy makers. The way we do that is we can be not just the eyes and ears, but we do have some ability to check the pulse of what’s going on with policy makers and then let Iowans know.

What is the biggest challenge facing the Iowa Environmental Council?

As with other policies, laws sometimes get passed, and the real challenge is the implementation of the laws and the education and understanding of what the laws are. I think one of the challenges is getting the public to understand that. You need to also be vigilant in the laws. Just like people are maybe vigilant in opposition of the law, we need to be vigilant in making sure the laws are properly implemented in the administrative process, through bringing in public feedback, public comment, and I think that’s a challenge. The challenge is to keep pushing because we don’t want to go backwards. The nature of the environment and natural resources is you have to preserve these for future generations.

How have your previous experiences prepared you for this job?

I have a good deal of experience working in the private and public sectors, building partnerships between the two. A lot of my experience has been working with coalitions or nonprofits. I’ve worked in state government as an elected official, as well as in the state government branch as the head of a state agency, so I have at least some capacity to understand how laws are passed and implemented and also the kind of pressures on state agencies that are charged with enforcing laws and implementing laws. I have that, and experience with working with nonprofits and coalitions. When it comes to working with environmental groups, I’ve done work for environmental groups before, but I think I understand some of the value and strength for when environmental groups come together.

What do you do for fun?

I love sports. I work out – bike, do trails. I played a lot of sports, I played a lot of baseball, and basketball. I’m not in any leagues right now. Now I just work out. But I watch sports; I’ve got my sports teams.