Thomas Pickering Joins Science and Security Board; Sonny Garg, Gloria Scoby and Lowell Sachnoff Join Governing Board

For immediate release

Bulletin Media Contact: Janice Sinclaire, [email protected]

CHICAGO– September 15, 2015 – The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has announced that Thomas Pickering will join its Science and Security Board. Attorney Lowell Sachnoff will rejoin the organization’s Governing Board after a year-long absence, and Sonny Garg and Gloria Scoby will join the Governing Board for their first terms.

“These extraordinary additions to our board will continue to raise the Bulletin's impact and visibility in new sectors, communities, and geographies,” Rachel Bronson, executive director and publisher of the Bulletin,said on Tuesday.

Members of the Bulletin’s Science and Security Board are recruited to provide expert counsel on issues of nuclear security, the changing energy landscape, climate change and emerging technologies and produce the organization’s annual Doomsday Clock statement. “Given the changing nature of the global threats we face and the challenge of building and sustaining international consensus to address them, I can’t think of anyone who will bring greater clarity to our discussions than Thomas Pickering,” Robert Rosner, co-chair of the Bulletin’s Science and Security Board, added.

Ambassador Pickering served as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs (1997-2000) and as U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation, India, Israel, El Salvador, Nigeria, and Jordan. He also was the U.S. Ambassador and Representative to the United Nations in New York, where he led the U.S. effort to build a coalition in the UN Security Council during and after the first Gulf War. He has held additional positions in Tanzania, Geneva, and Washington, including as Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Oceans, Environmental and Scientific Affairs and as Special Assistant to Secretaries of State William P. Rogers and Henry A. Kissinger.

“The Bulletin has a remarkable history of drawing attention to issues of global concern and importance, and bringing together scientists, policy makers and the general public to engage in them directly,” Pickering said on Tuesday. “I look forward to contributing to the Bulletin’s on-going efforts.”

The new additions to the Governing Board boast a wide range of experience and talents: Sonny Garg is currently leading the move into the energy industry for Uptake, a data analytics startup. Prior to Uptake, Garg spent 13 years at Exelon Corporation, the largest operator of nuclear power plants in the United State, in a variety of senior executive positions, including serving as a member of the Executive Committee. Most recently, he was Chief Information and Innovation Officer, where he developed and executed a strategy for Exelon’s IT department designed to rapidly adapt to the changes in technology and the energy industry. Garg began his career in the public and non-profit sectors, serving as an Assistant to Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, and was appointed a White House Fellow by President Clinton. Garg is a Henry Crown Leadership Fellow at the Aspen Institute, a guest lecturer at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, and serves on the boards of Project&, Chapin Hall Center for Children, and Social Venture Partners.

Lowell Sachnoff is a founding partner of Sachnoff & Weaver, Ltd., which merged with world-wide Reed Smith LLP, where he currently serves as Senior Counsel. Sachnoff has specialized in trial and appellate word, and has served as Visiting Lecturer on trial and litigation matters at the University of Chicago, Northwestern and Chicago Kent Law Schools. In 1969, he was one of the founders of the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. Sachnoff’s dedication to civil rights, social justice, and pro bono work for himself and his law firm has earned him numerous awards, including the recent “American Lawyer Lifetime Achievement Award.” Throughout his career, he has worked to protect the interests and advance the civil rights of the poor, the disenfranchised and the most vulnerable in our community. At present, Sachnoff and lawyers in his firm represent several prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba. He has served on the board of the Lawyers Alliance for Nuclear Arms Control.

Gloria Scoby retired as group publisher of Crain Communications in December, 2013. She joined Crain in 1978 to launch Crain's Chicago Business and in 1989 she was named publisher. Scoby went on to become Group Publisher for Crain Communications, overseeing offices and financial, general business news. and marketing newspapers in Chicago, New York, California, Mexico, and England. She launched Crain's first website in 1994 (the first business site in America), after which she led the expansion of websites and e-products as well as other sources of non-traditional revenue throughout the company. She has served on numerous civic, artistic, and charitable boards and is currently a member and past board member of the Commercial Club, the Economic Club of Chicago, the Executives Club, the Chicago Network, and trustee emeritus of Steppenwolf Theatre, where she served as chair. Scoby has received numerous leadership and professional awards, most recently a life time achievement award from the international ALLIANCE of business publications. She currently serves on the board as a member of the executive committee for TERRA (The Terra Foundation for American Art) and on the board of MAC (Museum Associates Council) at the Palm Springs Art Museum, a major fundraising arm of the museum.

Lee Francis, chair of the Bulletin’s Governing Board, expressed his enthusiasm at the addition of Garg, Scoby, and Sachnoff. “All of our new members bring valuable assets to the Bulletin’s leadership.  Gloria’s experience in communications and the arts can only help the Bulletin to hone and amplify our message, through this 70^th anniversary year and beyond. Sonny’s experience in nuclear energy, the tech space and his new focus on big data will bring fresh thinking to our discussions and Lowell has spent his life working to protect the interests of the most vulnerable among us. His understanding of who is least represented in policy decisions, while perhaps being the most affected by them, will contribute valuable insight to our work,” said Francis.  I look forward to working with each of them as we move into the Bulletin’s eighth decade.

About the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists:

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists engages science leaders, policy makers, and the interested public on topics of nuclear weapons and disarmament, the changing energy landscape, climate change, and emerging technologies. We do this through our award winning journal, iconic Doomsday Clock, public access website, and regular set of convenings.  With smart, vigorous prose, multimedia presentations, and information graphics, the Bulletin puts issues and events into context and provides fact-based debates and assessments. For 70 years, the Bulletin has bridged the technology divide between scientific research, foreign policy, and public engagement.

Bulletin Media Contact: Janice Sinclaire, [email protected]

# # #