Al Appleton

Al is an international environmental expert in water resource management, watershed protection, sustainable development, and the use of market strategies to achieve environmental goals. Al is currently an adjunct associate professor at the Cooper Union in New York City teaching Environmental Sustainability and a senior fellow for Sustainability Innovation at the Cooper Union Institute of Sustainable Design. He formerly served as commissioner of the New York City (NYC) Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and director of the NYC Water and Sewer system, where his groundbreaking innovations in sustainable water resource management saved NYC billions of dollars. These included the renowned Catskill watershed protection program, a global model for the use of ecosystem services; NYC's comprehensive water conservation program that permanently reduced NYC's water use by 30%, or more than 400 million gallons a day; NYC's pioneering uses of natural infrastructure such as the Staten Island Bluebelt; and his programs of asset optimization and financial reform that captured the financial benefits of sustainability for city water customers.

Al is a graduate of Gonzaga University in mathematics and political science and of Yale Law School.