23 April 2021

A warm welcome to our new Chair, Julie Hill

This year’s Annual General Meeting, held on the 20th April, saw the end of the term of Gary Kass as Chair of the IES. Our sincere thanks go to Gary for all that he has achieved during his three years in post. We are pleased that he will be continuing his close relationship with the Institution, having been elected to the role of Vice President in recognition of his service to the IES.

We are also very pleased to welcome our new Chair, Julie Hill MBE, to the post following her election at the AGM. Julie joined the IES Council in 2016 and served as Vice Chair from 2018 to 2021. Julie has an academic background in English, philosophy, politics and ecology and has worked on environmental policy for over 25 years. She is currently Chair of the UK’s Waste and Resources Action Programme, a charity working to create a world where resources are used sustainably, and Deputy Chair of the Advisory Committee for Social Sciences for the Food Standards Agency. She is a former Director of, and now an Associate of, Green Alliance, one of the UK’s foremost environmental policy organisations, as well as a former board member of the Eden Project in Cornwall and the Environment Agency for England and Wales.

Of her appointment, Julie comments: “I am very proud to have been elected Chair of the IES - Gary will be a hard act to follow. Over this last difficult year we have provided more than ever for our members, and I look forward to helping our great Council members and brilliant staff team to build on that success."