President, Bullitt Foundation, United States

Denis Hayes is President and CEO of the Bullitt Foundation, a Seattle-based philanthropy dedicated to enhancing and preserving the environment of the Pacific Northwest.

A graduate of Stanford University and Stanford Law School, Denis practiced law for five years in Silicon Valley. During the Carter Administration, he headed the federal National Renewable Energy Laboratory. He spent six years as an adjunct professor of engineering at Stanford University, two years as a visiting scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars at the Smithsonian Institution, and five years as a senior fellow at the Worldwatch Institute.

In 1970, Denis was National Coordinator of the first Earth Day-an event often credited with launching the modern American environmental movement. He still serves as board chair of the International Earth Day Network, which is now active in 184 nations.

Denis serves, or has served, on the boards of Stanford University, the Federation of American Scientists, the Energy Foundation, the World Resources Institute, the League of Conservation Voters, the Ruckelshaus Center, Earth Day Network, the American Solar Energy Society, and the Environmental Grantmakers Association.

He has been awarded the highest honors bestowed by the Sierra Club, the National Wildlife Federation, the Humane Society of the United States, the American Solar Energy Society, Beyond War, and the Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility.

Denis was selected by Look magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential Americans of the 20th Century. He was chosen by the National Audubon Society as one of the 100 most important conservation figures of the 20th Century. And Time magazine featured him as one of Time’s “Heroes of the Planet.”

Denis has published several books and more than 100 articles on energy and the environment, and is a sought-after speaker on these subjects.