Governance

Rick is the CEO of the Carbon Markets Foundation. He is globally recognized as a leading climate change lawyer by both Chambers USA and Chambers global and has held this accolade for 10 years. For two decades he has advised governments, multinational companies, financial institutions, funds and project sponsors on the economic transition to a low carbon economy, including being a thought leader on carbon and environmental market transactions.

He is widely published and formerly served as Vice-Chair for IETA and as a member of the WEF’s Global Agenda Council for Climate Change. He currently serves on the Board of Advisors to the USC Schwarzenegger Institute.

In 2016 Saines was Awarded Chevalier of the National Order of Merit by the President of the Republic of France for his significant contribution to the preparation of the Paris Climate Summit, and the implementation of the Paris Agreement.

He is currently Managing Director at Pollination and former Partner and head of Baker McKenzie’s North American Climate Change Practice.

Jeanette is President of Just Transition Strategies LLC (JTS) and founder and CEO of the Climate Equity Foundation (CEF). She delivers solutions rooted in evidence-based insights to address the existential threats of climate change and environmental injustice.

At Clean Air Task Force (CATF) from 2021-February 2024, Jeanette was the Director of the Climate Equity Initiative. Prior to joining CATF, she was General Counsel at the Energy Futures Initiative, a clean energy think tank founded by Ernest Moniz, the 13th Secretary of Energy, 2017-2021. Jeanette served as Senior Advisor and Acting Deputy Director for Energy Systems in the Office of Energy Policy and Systems Analysis at the U.S. Department of Energy from 2015-2017. She was Director of Federal Affairs & Senior Climate Advisor for PNM Resources from 2005-2015. Earlier in her career, she held positions at the Tennessee Valley Authority, the law firm of Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson and Hand, and Mother Jones Magazine.

Jeanette’s board memberships include the EFI Foundation, ESPX Global Inc., and Asian Americans in Energy, the Environment, and Commerce.

She holds a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, an M.A. in Liberal Studies from Georgetown University, and a B.A. from the University of Virginia, where she focused on Soviet and East European Affairs. She also is an annual presenter for the Energy and National Security elective at the U.S. Army War College.

Dirk Forrister is the Secretary for the Carbon Markets Foundation. He is President and CEO of IETA, a non-profit business association dedicated to market-based climate policies. With over 300 member companies, IETA is respected globally as a thought leader on strategies to harness the power of markets to deliver climate protection.

Dirk brings a long history of public and private sector engagement in energy and environmental policy. He spent a decade as Managing Director at Natsource LLC, the manager of carbon funds valued at $1.2 billion. Earlier in his career, Dirk served as Chairman of the White House Climate Change Task Force in the Clinton Administration, and Assistant U.S. Secretary of Energy for Congressional and Public Affairs. His environmental markets career began when he advised Congressman Jim Cooper, a leader in crafting the US acid rain trading legislation in 1990.

Tom Lawler is Treasurer at the Carbon Markets Foundation. Bringing over 20 years of policy and advocacy experience in representing the interests of trade associations, elected officials, and Fortune 500 companies, Tom is also a Co-Founder and Managing Partner at CO2EFFICIENT.

Tom’s previous roles include the Principal of Lawler Strategies, a lobbying firm specializing in energy and environment advocacy on behalf of a diverse clientele and Director of Public Policy for Natsource, a leading provider of asset management, origination, and advisory services in both global renewable energy markets and carbon emissions trading.

Tom served as a chief policy advisor on energy and environmental issues for Sen. Thomas R. Carper (D-DE) and managed the Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety for the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee as well as for nation’s governors as an environment and transportation policy analyst for the National Governors Association, crafting policies that created common ground among the country’s governors.

Tom received his Bachelor of Arts in foreign service from Baylor University.