Sierra Club taps attorney as new Hawaii director
POSTED: Wednesday, November 19, 2008
The Sierra Club-Hawaii Chapter recently appointed environmental attorney Robert D. Harris as director of the grass-roots organization.
PROFILE
Robert D. Harris » Job: New director of the
» Age: 33
Education:
» Graduated cum laude from William S. Richardson School of Law in 2002
» While in law school, Harris interned with the Attorney General's Office, where he focused on clean water enforcement. He also completed an internship with the Hawaii branch of Earthjustice's Legal Defense.
|
Harris succeeds Jeff Mikulina, who served for 10 years before he resigned from his position. Mikulina is now executive director of the Blue Planet Foundation. Under Mikulina's leadership, the Sierra Club pushed for the passage of the “;bottle bill,”; which took effect in 2005. The law resulted in the recycling of more than 2 billion bottles and cans to date.
Harris, 33, of Kahaluu, said he plans to continue the work of Mikulina. He also plans to focus on preservation of native plants and animals as well as energy and global warming issues.
“;I look forward to applying my knowledge and energy to help build the organization so that the club can continue its work in Hawaii for generations to come,”; Harris said in a news release.
Harris' interest in environment began when he attended the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He volunteered with the Youth for Environmental Science, formed an environmental club and worked at the Lyon Arboretum. Harris obtained a bachelor's degree in chemistry/environmental science before he studied at the William S. Richardson School of Law.
After law school, Harris served as a clerk for Associate Justice Simeon Acoba Jr. of the Hawaii Supreme Court.
Over the past several years, he has been involved in environmental litigation. Recently, Harris represented Defend Oahu Coalition, an organization seeking to rescind reclassification of 236 acres of land in Kahuku from agricultural to urban. The issue relates to expansion plans for the Turtle Bay Resort.
“;Robert is a natural fit with the Sierra Club,”; said Lucienne DaNaie, chairwoman of the Sierra Club board, said in a news release. “;Robert's legal and scientific background and familiarity with the organization give him the opportunity to take the Sierra Club to new levels.”;
Harris was born in Illinois and moved to Kailua when he was 8 months old. As a child, his father, Frederick, a UH physics professor, took him on Sierra Club hikes around Oahu, where he learned about Hawaii's ecosystem. “;It made a deep impact,”; Robert Harris said. Harris' mother, Joan, a botanist, is the former president of the Lyon Arboretum Association.
