{"id":8,"name":"Brian F. Keane","url":"http:\/\/www.smartpower.org","description":"Named Connecticut\u2019s \u201cEnvironmental Hero\u201d in 2008, Brian F. Keane\u2019s career has been spent building and managing\r\npolitical and not-for\u2013profit organizations that directly deal with issues and topics that become part of the national\r\nconversation. From economic issues in the 1990\u2019s to environment issues today, Keane has used his background in politics\r\nand communications to create organizations that challenge the conventional wisdom and ultimately set the national agenda.\r\nToday, Keane is President of SmartPower, a nationwide non-profit marketing organization dedicated to promoting clean,\r\nrenewable energy and energy efficiency. Hailed as the \u201cGot Milk\u201d campaign for wind, solar and waterpower, SmartPower\u2019s\r\naward winning marketing campaign has been credited with creating hundreds of GWh of clean, renewable energy across\r\nthe nation. With a yearly budget of $3 million and operations coast to coast, SmartPower has become the unrivaled\r\nmarketing organization for the clean energy industry. For their efforts, Keane and SmartPower have been recognized with\r\nnumerous awards over the past years. Among them: the coveted Green Power Pilot Award presented by the US\r\nEnvironmental Protection Agency and the US Department of Energy; Four Gold Awards from the Service Industry\r\nAdvertising Awards (SIAA); the People\u2019s Action For Clean Energy \u201cEnvironmental Heroes Award\u201d (2004, 2008) and the\r\nConnecticut Department of Environmental Protections\u2019 \u201cGreen Circle\u201d Award. In 2005 Brian Keane was recognized as one\r\nof Connecticut\u2019s \u201cOutstanding Forty Under 40\u201d.\r\nA former advisor to the late Senator Paul Tsongas (D-MA) and a Congressional Aid to Representative Les Aspin (D-WI),\r\nKeane has built an extensive background in non-profit management, political organizing and communications. He was one\r\nof the architects of The Concord Coalition, a nationwide non-profit organization dedicated to eliminating the federal budget\r\ndeficit. Keane was also the founding Executive Director of Economic Security 2000 (ES 2000), the nation's first\r\nnonpartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to saving and reforming Social Security. Keane\u2019s testimony before the U.S.\r\nCongress helped make ES 2000 a recognized national leader in the debate on Social Security reform. In fact, Presidents\r\nClinton and Bush have both recognized ES 2000 as a valuable resource in the discussion on Social Security. Throughout his\r\ncareer, Keane has spoken extensively across the nation, internationally and to the local and national media. Today he is a\r\nmuch sought after interview and presenter on clean energy and energy efficiency.\r\nKeane is a 1989 graduate of The American University in Washington, D.C. where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in\r\nBroadcast Journalism and Political Science. The 10th in a family of 11 children, Keane served as the Chairman of his eldest\r\nbrother\u2019s successful campaign for the Boston City Council and his brother\u2019s subsequent race for the U.S. Congress in\r\nMassachusetts 8th Congressional District in 1998. Brian Keane was himself, briefly, a candidate for the Massachusetts\r\nState Senate in 2002. Today Keane serves on the Board of Directors of the Vermont-based Clean Energy Group (CEG). He\r\nalso serves as the President of the American University Alumni Association.\r\nKeane and his wife, Kate Sawyer Keane, live in Arlington, Virginia with their two children Karenna (4) and\r\nJack (2).","link":"https:\/\/inspiredeconomist.com\/author\/bkeane67\/","slug":"bkeane67","avatar_urls":{"24":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c937bc4a3099cc9f8ef655402fb47d89?s=24&d=mm&r=g","48":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c937bc4a3099cc9f8ef655402fb47d89?s=48&d=mm&r=g","96":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c937bc4a3099cc9f8ef655402fb47d89?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"meta":[],"simple_local_avatar":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inspiredeconomist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inspiredeconomist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users"}]}}