John Kostyack

The Wind Energy Foundation has selected as its new executive director John Kostyack, who held senior roles at the nexus of climate change, energy, and wildlife for the past 20 years at the National Wildlife Federation, and served on the American Wind Wildlife Institute board of directors for the past 3 years. The nonprofit organization was established by wind industry leaders to raise public awareness of wind as a clean, domestic energy source. While serving as Vice President at the National Wildlife Federation, Kostyack was deeply engaged on energy and climate change issues, including helping wind industry leaders to find responsible ways to site and operate wind turbines, organizing executives to get active on climate change, and helping develop nature-friendly solutions for communities grappling with climate change impacts. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Virginia and a law degree from Stetson University, after which he clerked for U.S. District Judge Susan Black in Jacksonville, Fla. As an associate attorney for Steptoe & Johnson in Washington, D.C., he won precedent-setting pro bono victories in environmental and housing cases while representing large corporate clients in a wide array of litigation