Primary Job Title Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder Primary Organization 
Global Environment Fund Management
Location Washington, District of Columbia, United States Regions Washington DC Metro Area, Southern US Gender Male
Investor Type
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Dr. Leonard is the President and Chief Executive Officer of GEF. With extensive experience in economic policy, private equity, project finance, and technology, and environmental issues, Dr. Leonard assumes primary oversight of GEF’s investment management activities and is Chairman of the investment committee of all GEF funds.
Dr. Leonard chairs
the boards of three Washington, DC institutions: Chairman of the Board of the Emerging Markets Private Equity Association (EMPEA), a global organization that promotes private equity and venture capital investment in emerging markets; Chairman of the Board of The Washington Monthly, a non-partisan journal seeking to promote effective, responsible public policy solutions; and Chairman of the Board of CityYear (Washington, DC). He is a board member of the National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE) and the New America Foundation, which focuses on critical global and domestic policy challenges. He is a founding board member and Chairman Emeritus of the Beacon House Community Ministry, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of children and their families in northeast Washington, DC. Dr. Leonard has previously served as co-chairman of the Clean Technology Venture Network. In 2006–07, Dr. Leonard served as Co-Chairman of the energy transition team of Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley, and from 1992 through 1998, Dr. Leonard was a member of the Hydrogen Technical Advisory Panel to the U.S. Secretary of Energy. He also served as a member of the Advisory Board of the U.S.–Brazil Biofuels Partnership.
Dr. Leonard has a PhD from Princeton, an MS Econ from London School of Economics, and an AB magna cum laude from Harvard College. He is the author of five books and numerous technical articles relating to global environmental issues, international trade, energy production, and technology development.
