Gus Speth

Gus Speth is a fellow at the Vermont Law School and a distinguished next system fellow at the Democracy Collaborative. In 2009, he completed his decade-long tenure as Dean of Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. From 1993 to 1999, Gus Speth was Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme and chair of the UN Development Group. Prior to his service at the UN, he was founder and president of the World Resources Institute, Professor of Law at Georgetown University, chairman of the U.S. Council on Environmental Quality (Carter Administration), and senior attorney and co-founder of the Natural Resources Defense Council. He is the author, co-author, or editor of seven books, including America the Possible: Manifesto for a New Economy and Angels by the River. He currently serves on the boards of the New Economics Institute, Center for a New American Dream, Climate Reality Project, and the Institute for Sustainable Communities. He is an honorary director of the World Resources Institute and the Natural Resources Defense Council. Gus Speth holds a JD from the Yale Law School.