Natural Resources Defense Council

Natural Resources Defense Council
Basic facts
Location:	New York
Type:	501(c)(3)
Affiliation:	Nonpartisan
Top official:	Manish Bapna, president and CEO
Founder(s):	James Gustave Speth, Richard Ayres, John Adams, John Bryson, Edward Strohbehn
Year founded:	1970
Website:	Official website

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in New York, New York. As of December 2025, its mission was to "safeguard the earth—its people, its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends." NRDC supported initiatives at the local, state, national, and international levels.

Background

Lawyers James Gustave Speth, Richard Ayres, John Adams, John Bryson, and Edward Strohbehn founded NRDC in 1970 as a nonprofit environmental law firm. Initially focused on litigation, NRDC expanded its work to include research and public policy. The organization expanded its international outreach with the opening of its Beijing and New Delhi offices in 2006 and 2023, respectively. NRDC also worked internationally by partnering with organizations in Canada and Latin America.

As of December 2025, NRDC had a staff of approximately 700 scientists, lawyers, and environmental specialists as well as a membership and activist base of over 3 million.

Leadership

As of December 2025, the following individuals held leadership positions at NRDC:

• Manish Bapna, president and CEO
• Alexandra Adams, chief policy advocacy officer
• Reem Alamiri, chief of strategy
• Tisha Alfred, chief real estate and workplace strategy officer
• Robyn Arville, chief people and DEI officer
• Mitchell Bernard, chief counsel
• Susan Casey-Lefkowitz, chief of staff
• Julie Cerqueira, chief program officer
• Veronica Foo, chief financial officer
• Ticora V. Jones, chief science officer
• Melissa Lin Perrella, chief equity and justice officer
• Mollie Marsh-Heine, chief development officer
• Vivek Sawhney, chief information officer and international operations
• Michael Wall, chief litigation officer
• Kristin Wilson-Palmer, chief communications officer
• Ed Yoon, chief external affairs officer

Work and activites

As of December 2025, NRDC's four main issues of focus were climate change, equity and justice, human health, and nature and wildlife. Agriculture and food, buildings, climate adaptation, reducing fossil fuel usage, industrial production, renewable energy, sustainable cities, sustainable finance, and transportation fell within NRDC's climate change scope. Its work on human health included agriculture and food, clean air and drinking water, and the elimination of toxic chemicals.

In 2006, NRDC established the Litigation Team, which argued for environmental protections in state and federal courts. Legal successes included: securing safe drinking water for communities impacted by lead contamination; pausing approvals for the Keystone XL pipeline; the closure of a coal-fired power plant; and restoring national monument protections, offshore drilling bans, and wildlife and endangered species protections.

In addition to the Litigation Team, NRDC had a Center for Campaigns and Organizing, which worked toward environmental policy goals. The center said, "From town halls to the halls of Congress, we work to build transformational coalitions with leaders across business, labor, and progressive organizations, in addition to advising decision makers. CC&O works closely with NRDC’s issue experts, scientists, and lawyers to create effective campaigns that put the public interest ahead of polluting industries, like the successful push to get the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 to President Joe Biden’s desk."

Below is a list of legal, legislative, and policy successes from 1971 to 2011:

Key NRDC accomplishments

1971: NRDC contributed to the passage of the Clean Water Act. 1973: NRDC initiated action that resulted in the phase out of lead in gasoline. 1974: The organization achieved a legal victory requiring coal plants to control pollution levels in an effort to prevent acid rain. 1976: NRDC successfully litigated to limit water pollution produced by 24 industries. 1978: NRDC successfully advocated for the removal of CDCs from aerosol cans to curb the breakdown of the ozone layer. 1980: NRDC advocated for the Alaska National Interests Land Conservation Act to protect 100 million acres of land in the state. 1985: NRDC helped achieve the enactment of energy efficiency standards for appliances. 1986: NRDC worked to win passage of the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act in California. 1989: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) banned asbestos. 1991: Action by the NRDC helped prevent drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. 1992: Work by the NRDC helped end the practice of dumping sewage sludge into the oceans. 1993: Legal efforts by the NRDC forced the oil companies Texaco and ARCO to end water polluting activities and pay penalties for past pollution. 1996: NRDC helped pass the Food Safety Protection Act. 1999: A lawsuit by the NRDC resulted in the requirement that coal plants report and monitor their mercury emissions. 2001: The EPA adopted regulations for more comprehensive tap water treatment standards in order to limit arsenic levels. 2001: NRDC helped protect the Great Bear Rainforest from logging activities. 2004: NRDC worked with China to help the nation develop an energy efficiency plan. 2005: The organization helped protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from oil drilling. 2007: The NRDC achieved a Supreme Court victory classifying global warming emissions as pollutants under the Clean Air Act. 2008: The organization successfully advocated for a ban on the export of mercury, which helped protect consumers of tuna and other fish. 2010: NRDC supported the development of the National Ocean Policy in order to protect and revive oceans. 2010: NRDC successfully advocated for a "no" vote on California Proposition 23 (2010), which would have suspended the state's greenhouse gas reduction program. 2011: NRDC worked to achieve an increase in national fuel efficiency standards. 2011: Legal action by the NRDC helped protect 11 million acres of wild forests in North America.

Notable endorsements

See also: Ballotpedia: Our approach to covering endorsements

This section displays endorsements this organization made in elections within Ballotpedia's coverage scope.

Notable candidate endorsements by Natural Resources Defense Council

Endorsee	Election	Stage	Outcome
Hillary Clinton  source  (D)	President of the United States (2016)	Primary	Lost General

Notable ballot measure endorsements by Natural Resources Defense Council

Measure	Position	Outcome
California Plastic Waste Reduction Regulations Initiative (2022)  source	Support	Not on the ballot
California Proposition 16, Repeal Proposition 209 Affirmative Action Amendment (2020)  source	Support	Defeated
California Proposition 4, Parks, Environment, Energy, and Water Bond Measure (2024)  source	Support	Approved
Michigan Proposal 1, Use of State and Local Park Funds Amendment (2020)  source	Support	Approved
New York Proposal 2, Environmental Rights Amendment (2021)  source	Support	Approved
Washington Initiative 2117, Repeal Carbon Cap and Invest Program Measure (2024)  source	Oppose	Defeated
New Mexico Constitutional Amendment 1, Appointed Public Regulation Commission Amendment (2020)  source	Support	Approved

Affiliations

As of December 2025, the NRDC Action Fund was the NRDC's 501(c)(4) affiliate. The fund, led by NRDC's Center for Campaigns and Organizing, engaged in advocacy and political activities to "build political support in the United States for protecting the planet and its people."

NRDC was also affiliated with NRDC Action Votes, a super PAC that supported candidates who worked "to avert dangerous climate change, support healthy people and thriving communities, and conserve and protect nature and wildlife."

Finances

The following is a breakdown of Natural Resources Defense Council's revenues and expenses from 2016 to 2022. The information comes from the Internal Revenue Service.

Natural Resources Defense Council financial data 2016-2022

Year	Revenue	Expenses
2016	$130 million	$133 million
2017	$177 million	$129 million
2018	$182 million	$149 million
2019	$182 million	$173 million
2020	$198 million	$185 million
2021	$274 million	$182 million
2022	$186 million	$212 million

See also

• What is an influencer?
• 501(c)(3)
• Nonprofit organization

External links

• NRDC website
• NRDC Action Fund website
• NRDC Action Votes website
• NRDC on Facebook
• NRDC on X