NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
April 11, 2012
CONTACT: Jeff Mikulina, 808-226-4987

Richard Wallsgrove joins Blue Planet as Program Director

HONOLULU—Blue Planet Foundation is pleased to announce that Richard Wallsgrove has joined the Blue Planet team as Program Director. Wallsgrove will be responsible for managing community efficiency and advocacy programs, such as Blue Planet's signature CFL exchange program, responsible for replacing more than 300,000 inefficient, incandescent bulbs statewide, and the upcoming Hawai‘i Energy Tracker, an innovative online app designed to accelerate residential efficiency. He will also assist in clean energy research, data analysis, and policy work.

The Program Director position was previously held by Gary Gill, who was appointed by Gov. Neil Abercrombie to Deputy Director for the Hawai‘i Department of Health.

Wallsgrove formerly worked as an attorney in Honolulu, handling complex litigation on a wide range of issues. He has also worked with the Center for Island Climate Adaptation & Policy at the University of Hawai'i, analyzing climate-adaptive tools for managing water resources. He has lectured on legal issues to future technological and social entrepreneurs at U.H.'s law, business, and engineering graduate schools, and he has authored papers on shoreline issues, renewable energy resources, and other topics. Wallsgrove graduated summa cum laude from the William S. Richardson School of Law, where he was Editor-In-Chief of the U.H. Law Review. While at U.H., he also performed field and laboratory research on biochemical markers of climate change (M.S., chemical oceanography). At the University of California at Berkeley, he studied chemistry (B.S.).

"Richard brings additional legal and technical competency to Blue Planet's team," said Jeff Mikulina, Blue Planet Foundation Executive Director. "We are grateful for his interest in applying his wide-ranging talents to help Blue Planet effectively drive clean energy change."

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