Earthjustice announced today that the organization’s new Vice President for Development is Lisa James of Richmond, who spent the past five years as a fundraiser for the San Francisco Opera, the last year as Director of Development. Prior to that she worked as Resource Development Director for 7 Stages Theatre of Atlanta and as Fine Arts Manager for Alverno College in Milwaukee. She has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Denver and a master’s from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She replaces Kathryn Knight, who has served as acting vice president of Development for the past year.

“I want to welcome Lisa to Earthjustice and to thank Katie for the splendid job she has done filling in,” said Buck Parker, executive director of Earthjustice. “These are difficult times for all nonprofits, with a soft economy and an extremely hostile administration in Washington, but we’ve come through successfully so far. The entire development department deserves our gratitude.

“And we’re very excited to welcome Lisa James, who comes with great enthusiasm, extraordinary experience, and universal praise from her coworkers and the members of the opera’s board of directors. We’re sure that she will help Earthjustice grow to meet the growing challenges we face in court, in the administration, and in Congress.”

For her part, Ms. James said, “I’m excited to join Earthjustice and to devote my efforts to making possible and expanding its vital, irreplaceable efforts. The environment is the great political cause of the twenty-first century, and Earthjustice has already proved that litigation is one of the most powerful — and necessary — tools in the environmentalists’ arsenal. We face huge challenges in Washington and around the country, but I know the organization is up to them. I look forward to working with this terrific team and our committed Board in service of the earth.”

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