As advocate and board president of Environment Rhode Island, Matt Auten’s priority is Rhode Island’s air, water and open space.
Since graduating from Montreal’s McGill University in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in political science and history, Auten has “overseen all day-to-day aspects of nonprofit program development, program implementation, administration, fundraising and personnel decisions” for the organization, he wrote in his 40 Under Forty application.
Auten counts among his successes:
• Rhode Island’ adoption of the California Clean Cars Standards that governs all new cars sold statewide.
• The Consumer Empowerment and Identity Theft Prevention Act, which guarantees the right of any Rhode Island consumer to freeze access to his credit report.
• Prohibition of Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE), a toxic gasoline additive, from the gasoline sold in Rhode Island.
In the past six years, Auten has written and published reports on topics from energy efficiency to global warming to identity theft. His research and opinions have frequently been cited in state, regional and national publications.
This year, Auten was invited to join the leadership of the General Assembly in crafting a package of “groundbreaking wind, solar and renewable energy legislation that brought together partners including National Grid and prospective renewable energy developers.”
In addition to his day job, Auten serves as the president of the Environment Council of Rhode Island and is a board member of the Ocean State Action Fund. •
