FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 2, 2022
MEDIA CONTACT
Andrew Whelan, CleanAIRE NC, (919) 408-7031, [email protected]
June Blotnick to Step Down After 17 Years as Executive Director of CleanAIRE NC
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – After 17 years of service to CleanAIRE NC, June Blotnick announced she will step down as the organization’s Executive Director later this year.
Although Blotnick will end her service as Executive Director on September 30, 2022, she will remain part of the movement to support clean air and climate justice throughout the state of North Carolina.
“I’m so proud of all that CleanAIRE NC has accomplished during my 17-year history, and I’m grateful to have had the honor of leading a passionate team that is dedicated to protecting community health and creating real climate progress for North Carolina,” said Blotnick
Blotnick joined CleanAIRE NC in 2005 as the organization’s first Executive Director, and has since overseen the organization’s growth from a small group of Charlotte-based volunteers into a statewide nonprofit organization. Under Blotnick’s leadership, CleanAIRE NC led the Stop Cliffside Coalition and organized one of the first collective acts of civil disobedience against fossil fuels, successfully preventing a full expansion of a Duke Energy coal plant in Rutherford County.
In 2012 CleanAIRE NC created the statewide Medical Advocates for Healthy Air initiative to engage health professionals in clean air and climate change education and advocacy, eventually launching NC BREATHE as the state’s first conference on climate, health, and equity. In 2016 CleanAIRE NC established a citizen science project in Charlotte’s Historic West End to highlight the disproportionate impacts of air pollution on communities of color. This led to a county air monitoring station being installed in the community, current efforts to create the Historic West End Green District to mitigate pollution from surrounding interstates, and a statewide network of citizen scientists measuring local air pollution patterns.
CleanAIRE NC Board Chair Kwame Alexander said, “June Blotnick has been a devoted public servant for so many years, driven by the belief that everyone deserves clean air to breathe. To honor June and everything she’s accomplished, the Board is launching the June Blotnick Legacy Fund. We encourage everyone who wants to honor June to make a gift that protects clean air in North Carolina.”
In preparation for Blotnick’s departure, the Board has engaged Armstrong McGuire & Associates to lead an Executive Transition Management process. The Search Committee is being chaired by Debra S. Watt, the Executive Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer at the Foundation For The Carolinas.
“I am excited to have the opportunity to support the organization through this important transition,” Watt said. “For the past 17 years, June has been an innovative leader for CleanAIRE NC, and I look forward to working with a diverse search committee to identify the organization’s next leader.”
Also on the Search Committee are CleanAIRE NC Board members Kwame Alexander (Program Director at RJ Leeper), Donnetta Collier (Financial Capabilities Manager at Self-Help Credit Union), Andrew George (Sigma Xi Civic Science Fellow), Michael Jemison (Product/Specialty Controller at Bank of America), Allison Navarro (Founder, Health and Wellness Coach), and James Smith (President at Executive Sellers Realty). CleanAIRE NC staff Gerald Babao and Kelly Picarsic join the Committee as non-voting members. The search for the next Executive Director will launch this summer.
Armstrong McGuire, a nonprofit consulting firm based in North Carolina is supporting the Executive Search Committee during this transition. The position will be posted and interested applicants may apply at www.armstrongmcguire.com/jobs
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CleanAIRE NC is a statewide nonprofit organization advocating for the health of all North Carolinians by pursuing equitable and collaborative solutions that address climate change and air pollution. www.cleanAIREnc.org
