James L. Connaughton (L89)

In this edition of 'Cat Tales, James L. Connaughton (L89) describes his life as a student at Northwestern Law School in the late 1980s when the campus was experiencing significant growth. Off-campus, he took advantage of the rich cultural life Chicago had to offer, not only as an audience member, but as a performer. Along the way, he formed friendships that have lasted up to the present day.

When we spoke with Connaughton, he was serving as chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality in the Bush administration. He has since been named executive vice president of corporate affairs, public and environmental policy at Constellation Energy. Connaughton's career has been devoted to environmental issues. Under his direction, the largest conservation area in the United States was established covering a 140,000 square-mile region in the central Pacific Ocean. Before joining the Bush administration in 2001, he was a partner with Sidley, Austin, Brown & Wood, which develops international environmental standards and compliance systems to implement them. Connaughton is also a trustee of the Morris K. Udall Foundation, which educates young leaders in environmental foreign policy and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a non-partisan foreign policy organization seeking to enhance the American public's understanding of foreign policy.

In recognition of his distinguished career, Connaughton received an Alumni Merit Award from the NAA at the 2008 Alumni Awards in Chicago.

'Cat Tales is a production of the Northwestern Alumni Association. If you would like to share your Northwestern story, please email cattracks@northwestern.edu.

Posted: April 21, 2009