Good Governance

Senior Counsel

Peter has been an environmental, land use, and consumer attorney and advocate since 1983. He has held various roles in Washington, DC including Of Counsel at the Center for Food Safety; Vice President for U.S. Government Policy at Conservation International; Director of International Conservation at Defenders of Wildlife; and Staff Attorney at the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Additionally, he worked as a contracted consultant on endangered species recovery efforts with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Turner Endangered Species Fund in New Mexico. Prior to that, he served as an Attorney and Policy Analyst for the U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, and was also in private law practice. His career has centered on bringing the best science to bear in environmental protection efforts; he has specialized in working with scientists so their findings can inform good policy, as well as in federal litigation. Most of his work has been in aid of wildlife conservation in the fields of pesticides, genetically modified organisms, invasive species, wildlife disease prevention, international trade, land use conflicts, and other areas. Peter received his law degree from the University of Puget Sound (now Seattle University) School of Law and also has a master’s degree in Environmental Studies from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, with a focus on conservation biology.

COMMENTARY | Biden Administration Choices will Determine the Future of the Federal Workforce

by Guest Contributor | March 30, 2021
Guest Contributor: John Martin - Department of Interior leadership and missions have been severely compromised and highly polarized over the past four years ...

BLOG | Supreme Court FOIA Decision and Official Candor

by Jeff Ruch | March 16, 2021
The recent Supreme Court decision makes government less transparent by shielding scientific conclusions from disclosure unless they are finally adopted by agency decision-makers ...

EPA Scientists Sound Alarm on Chemical Assessments

by Susan Sargent | February 24, 2021
Agency’s Toxic Internal Chemistry Reflected in New Employee Survey ...

BLOG | Research Suppression at USDA and Stagnation of Agricultural Science

by Guest Contributor | February 11, 2021
Jonathan Lundgren was a top-rated USDA research scientist until he started revealing the environmental harms of the neonicotinoid insecticides and other favorite products of the pesticide industry ...

BLOG | Restoring Confidence in the Senate Confirmation Process

by Monica Mercola | January 22, 2021
After four years of deceit under the Trump administration, it is time to restore confidence in government, including in the Senate confirmation process ...

BLOG | The Dumpster Fire Presidency in Review

by Peter Jenkins | January 19, 2021
The Trump Administration went out of its way to violate “good government” laws and norms. Here's a list of their worst "Dirty Dozen" abuses ...
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