Arturo Garcia-Costas

Member of the NYSERDA Board
Appointed 6/10/2021

Work History

Arturo Garcia-Costas brings more than 25 years of policy experience in environmental health, climate change, sustainable energy, and biodiversity conservation to the board, and has worked at the local, state and federal levels of government over the course of his career. Arturo is currently working for The New York Community Trust, one of the oldest and largest community foundations in the nation, where he manages its local, national, and international environmental grantmaking, as well its efforts to support a sustainable and just transition away from a coal-dominated economy in Central Appalachia.

He came to the Trust in 2014 from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, where he oversaw the environmental justice grant program and took the lead on climate and energy issues, including coauthoring the mandated environmental justice analysis for the 2009 State Energy Plan and chairing the Community Resilience Work Group for the New York State Sea Level Rise Task Force. Over the course of his career, Arturo has also worked on a wide range of urban sustainability issues, including emergency preparedness and reinventing government initiatives for the NYC Mayor’s Office of Operation during the Dinkins Administration, and monitoring post-9/11 recovery and rebuilding efforts for Congressman Jerry Nadler as his Manhattan Community Representative.

Before his stint as a congressional staffer, Arturo ran a global initiative for the United Nations Development Programme focused on helping developing countries implement the Rio Conventions. While at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency during the Clinton administration, he led an agency effort to engage with the Latinx community on their most pressing environmental concerns, and helped strengthen the agency’s relationship with institutions of higher learning in Puerto Rico and along the U.S.-Mexico border. Arturo also has promoted sustainable development in the Americas with several nonprofits, including the Natural Resources Defense Council, where he co-authored a report on sustainable energy in the Western Hemisphere and helped to accelerate the phase-out of leaded gasoline across the region.

Nonprofit Boards and Leadership

Mr. Garcia-Costas serves on the board of Friends of the Earth and chairs the affiliated Friends of the Earth Action. He was also appointed by U.S. EPA Administrator Michel Regen to serve on the board of the National Environmental Education Foundation, and is the co-chair of the Green Leadership Trust, a network of people of color who serve on environmental organization boards.

Education

Mr. Garcia-Costas serves on the board of Friends of the Earth and chairs the affiliated Friends of the Earth Action. He was also appointed by U.S. EPA Administrator Michel Regen to serve on the board of the National Environmental Education Foundation, and is the co-chair of the Green Leadership Trust, a network of people of color who serve on environmental organization boards.