Maryland LCV Chief Moving to D.C. Gig

Karla Raettig, the executive director of Maryland League of Conservation Voters, is moving on after eight years.

Raettig will become the executive director of National Wildlife Federation Action Fund in Washington, D.C.

During Raettig’s tenure, the organization has grown from five staffers to 10, expanded its donor base dramatically, and has won several political victories. Under Raettig’s leadership, Maryland LCV was a lead advocate on:

• opening Maryland’s coast to the development of offshore wind
• banning the practice of hydraulic fracking in Maryland
• entering Maryland into the multi-state Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
• passing the first statewide ban on Neonicitinoid-based pesticides
• passing the first statewide ban on styrofoam food service products
• passing laws strengthening county watershed protection and restoration programs to reduce pollution, and fighting off numerous attempts to roll back and weaken stormwater regulations

“I’ve had the opportunity to lead Maryland LCV for almost eight years and have watched the organization and the Conservation Voter Movement [CVM] grow and thrive,” Raettig said. “In this last year, Maryland LCV has achieved electoral and legislative success because of a fantastic, capable team. I am excited for the organization as it enters its next chapter and I’m excited for the CVM at this time of opportunity.”

Over the next several months, a newly established committee will conduct a national search to find a new Maryland LCV executive director.

In the interim, Chuck Porcari, chair of Maryland LCV’s Education Fund board, will serve as interim executive director. Owner of Prince George’s County-based Seneca Park LLC, a policy and communications consulting firm, Porcari has been a board member of Maryland LCV since 2007, serving as political director and vice chair, respectively on the Maryland LCV board, before assuming the chair of the Maryland LCV Education Fund board in 2016.

Porcari, a former journalist, also worked for former Gov. Parris N. Glendening (D) in multiple roles.

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