Donald Welsh, Long-Time Environmental Champion, Named PA Environmental Council CEO

Paul M. King, Board Chair for the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, announced this week Donald S. Welsh has been named the new President and Chief Executive Officer.

 

Mr. Welsh will officially begin his new role in the Harrisburg office on April 27th.

 

PEC is a non-profit organization devoted to protecting and restoring the natural and built environments through innovation, collaboration, education, and advocacy. Working to protect and enhance the environmental quality of the Commonwealth, PEC advocates for policies, laws and regulations that foster sound environmental practices; undertakes education and action projects; and builds coalitions and partnerships to act on a range of environmental issues.

 

"We are very pleased to have Don join PEC as our new President and CEO. He brings a wealth of experience and personal commitment to environmental and natural resource management," said Paul M. King, "He has great stature in the environmental community with over 30 years experience at the Federal, State and Local levels."

 

Welsh, who resides in Kennett Square in Chester County, comes to PEC with vast experience, leadership and expertise. Immediately prior to accepting the leadership role with PEC, he worked for eight years as a Regional Administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In that role, he led the environmental protection efforts for six states in the mid-Atlantic region.

 

Welsh's prior work experience includes serving as the Deputy Secretary for State/Federal Relations for the Department of Environmental Protection and as the Chief of Government Affairs for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Don started his career working for Congressman Bud Shuster in the U.S. House of Representatives as a Chief Legislative Assistant. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania.

 

"PEC's demonstrated ability to solve problems through its project work and policy development is what attracted me to the organization," said Welsh. "I'm honored to have this opportunity to help bring citizens, businesses and policy-makers together to find innovative solutions to the environmental challenges facing our state. PEC has always stood for innovation and cooperation, with a broad base of members and partners and a first-rate staff."

 

Paul King stated, "Don's history of partnership-building complements PEC's philosophy of conservation through cooperation. We look forward to Donfs leadership as we work to take PEC to even higher levels of performance to protect and enhance the natural and built environment in Pennsylvania."

 

For almost 40 years PEC has served the commonwealth as a highly-respected statewide environmental organization, to which individuals, other organizations, government, business and industry could turn for information on environmental issues.

 

Well known for its role in environmental policy discussions and decision-making in the State capital, in both the regulatory and legislative arenas, PEC has a statewide presence with five regional offices (Meadville, Luzerne, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh) including a central office in Harrisburg.

 

For more information, visit the PEC website.