Gene Karpinski joined LCV and LCVEF in April 2006 after serving for many years as a member of the LCV and LCVEF Boards of Directors and the LCV Political Committee. Prior to joining LCV/EF Gene worked for 21 years as the Executive Director of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (US PIRG), the national lobbying office for state PIRGs across the country, where he led many national environmental issue campaigns. Before his tenure at US PIRG, he was the field director for People for the American Way and Congress Watch, and Executive Director of the Colorado PIRG. He has served on the boards of Earth Share, the Partnership Project, the Beldon Fund, and the National Association for Public Interest Law. Gene is a graduate of Brown University and Georgetown University Law Center.