Denis Hayes, JD is an environmental activist and proponent of solar energy.  He rose to prominence in 1970 as the coordinator for the first Earth Day.  During the Carter Administration, Hayes was appointed director of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.  At other points in Hayes' career, he has been a professor of engineering at Stanford University, a Silicon Valley lawyer, a senior fellow at the Worldwatch Institute, a visiting scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center, and author.  He has served on dozens of governing boards, including those of Stanford University, the World Resources Institute, the Federation of American Scientists, and the Energy Foundation.  Hayes served as international chairman for Earth Day's anniversaries in 1990 and 2000. Internationally, he is recognized for expanding the Earth Day Network to more than 180 nations. It is now the world’s most widely observed secular holiday.  Since 1992, Hayes has been president of the Bullitt Foundation in Seattle, Washington, and he continues to be a leader in environmental and energy policy. By mobilizing the resources of The Bullitt Foundation, Hayes intends to make the Pacific Northwest a global model for sustainable development.   Time magazine has named Hayes as “Hero of the Planet.”  Hayes has also received the national Jefferson Medal for Outstanding Public Service as well as the highest awards bestowed by the Sierra Club, The Humane Society of the United States, the National Wildlife Federation, the Natural Resources Council of America, the Global Environmental Facility of the World Bank, and the American Solar Energy Society.