Peter Lehner is managing attorney of Earthjustice’s Sustainable Food and Farming Program, developing strategies to promote a more environmentally sound agricultural system.
From 2007 to 2015, Lehner was the executive director of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the NRDC Action Fund, leading all aspects of the organizations’ work. From 1999 to 2006, Lehner served as chief of the Environmental Protection Bureau of the New York State Attorney General’s office, where he prosecuted a wide variety of polluters and developed innovative multistate strategies targeting global warming and air pollution emissions from electric utilities. Previously, Lehner worked with the New York City Law Department, starting and leading its Environmental Prosecution Unit.
Lehner has a B.A. from Harvard in philosophy and mathematics and a J.D. from Columbia Law School. He teaches a seminar on food systems and U.S. environmental law at Columbia and Yale Law Schools. He is on the boards of the Rainforest Alliance and Environmental Advocates New York, and is also on the board of a Rainforest Alliance–certified and certified carbon neutral coffee farm employing a variety of agroforestry practices.
Areas of Expertise
Farmer, Professor, Advocacy
Company/Organization/Affiliation
Earthjustice