For Immediate Release: March 6, 2017
Institute for Sustainable Communities Elects Two New Board Members
Montpelier, Vt. – During its spring board meeting, The Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC) added two new board members, Nisha Desai Biswal and Bryan Garcia, who are renowned in international development and green financing respectively.
Until January 2017, Biswal served as Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, where she was responsible for U.S. foreign policy and managing relations with countries including Bangladesh and India, two countries where ISC works extensively. She previously was Assistant Administrator for Asia at USAID, overseeing $1.2 billion in US assistance for 22 countries.
Biswal helped drive U.S.-India relations to an all-time high, and was awarded the Samman Award by the President of India in recognition for her work. She also deepened economic and security ties between the U.S. and Bangladesh.
“I became directly familiar with ISC’s work during my tenure at USAID, reviewing their partnerships to promote sustainable manufacturing in China,” said Biswal. “Since then, I have been impressed by their work in South Asia and their innovative approach of unleashing local action to improve workers’ lives – addressing gender inequality, health, safety and poverty. I’m thrilled to help support their mission as a board member.”
Garcia is the President and CEO of the Connecticut Green Bank the nation’s first state-level green bank. The green bank model leverages public resources to attract greater private investment in the clean energy economy – saving families and businesses money, while creating jobs in local communities and reducing greenhouse gas emissions that cause global climate change.
Before joining the Green Bank, Garcia was Program Director for the Yale Center for Business and the Environment. At Yale, Garcia led efforts to develop a leading global program responsible for preparing environmental leaders for business and society.
“ISC’s reputation in urban sustainability in the U.S. is second-to-none,” said Garcia. “As we seek to mobilize more private investment in communities across the country to support sustainability, ISC is at the front lines of engaging local leaders from education to action.”
“I’m excited about the experience, knowledge and energy that Bryan and Nisha bring to an already dynamic and active board,” said ISC President George Hamilton. “I look forward to working with them to strengthen environmental health, resource efficiency, economic opportunity and social wellbeing in the United States and Asia.”
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ABOUT ISC
An international nonprofit organization, the Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC) has 26 years of practical experience working with local leaders. ISC’s programs are designed to facilitate peer learning and engagement among local leaders charged with the work of making their communities more sustainable. ISC’s innovative EHS programs are public-private partnerships that have trained more than 35,000 factory managers from more than 11,700 suppliers and 150 brands.
ISC has led 108 projects in 30 countries, and currently works in China, India, Bangladesh and the United States. Learn more at sustain.org