UCAIR Blog

UCAIR Board Elects New Executive Chair and Committee to Lead Clean Air Pursuit

On Monday, August 19, 2019 UCAIR, the Utah Clean Air Partnership, elected and inducted the new Executive Board Committee for the 2020-2021 term at its annual meeting of the Board.

Amanda Smith was elected as Board Chair. She is the vice president of Public Policy & Senior Counsel at S Power and was the former Executive Director of the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). Prior to being named Chair, she served as the Board secretary.

The Executive Committee includes:

  • Liz Joy, M.D. M.P.H., Intermountain Healthcare medical director community health and clinical nutrition and chair of Intermountain’s Air Quality and Health Committee – Chair-Elect
  • Scott Baird, Interim Executive Director DEQ – Secretary
  • Paul Hacking, president, Tooele Technical College – Treasurer

UCAIR’s outgoing Executive Board Committee included:

  • Stephen Sands, manager of the Energy Strategy Group at Rio Tinto – Chair
  • Robert Paine III, M.D., chief, Division of Pulmonary at the University of Utah Health – Vice-Chair
  • Amanda Smith – Secretary
  • Ryan Evans, President, Utah Solar Energy Association- Treasurer

UCAIR strives to have diversification of thought and expertise in its composition. The make-up of outgoing Executive Committee and newly-inducted Executive Committee includes distinguished and accomplished leaders from diverse sectors comprising business, medical, education and regulatory fields. Additionally, they all demonstrate a commitment to the mission of the partnership to better Utah’s air quality.

The role of the Executive Board is to work in tandem with UCAIR’s Executive Director, Thom Carter, to set the direction for the organization and steer its work in educating Utahns about changes that can improve our air, providing grants to move forward innovative ideas to reduce emissions and partner with like-minded organizations to combine and strengthen efforts statewide.

“Since UCAIR’s founding, the leadership and expertise of the Executive Committee has been an instrumental part in exceeding our education, funding and behavior change goals year over year,” said UCAIR’s Executive Director Thom Carter. “I sincerely thank these exceptional leaders for their tireless efforts and I look forward to work side by side with this incoming Committee as we unite around the continued priority of driving change and practical solutions in the pursuit of cleaner air.”