John Bryson, who teamed up with Yale Law School classmates in 1970 to launch one of the nation’s leading environmental organizations, died last week. He was 81.
Bryson died May 13 at his home in San Marino, California, according to an obituary published by the California Institute of Technology, where Bryson served on the board of trustees. The cause of death was not specified.
After co-founding the Natural Resources Defense Council with his law school classmates, Bryson went on to serve as chair of the California State Water Resources Control Board, president of the California Public Utilities Commission and as chair and CEO of Edison International.
Bryson served as President Barack Obama’s Commerce secretary from October 2011 until June 2012. He resigned from his post after he was involved in two car accidents while suffering from a seizure.
“NRDC is part of the vast legacy that John leaves behind,” the green group’s president and CEO, Manish Bapna, said in a statement.
“We will honor his memory by continuing to pursue the vision that John and his friends shared in creating NRDC. The work we do to protect people and nature continues in no small part because of his generosity of spirit,” Bapna said.
Gus Speth, another NRDC co-founder, described the group as a “ragtag group of law students” who had “entered college as the civil rights movement was in full swing.” They “shared the 1960s’ sense of hope and the desire to bring about serious change in American society,” Speth recounted in a 2014 article.
Speth and other NRDC co-founders John Adams, Richard Ayres and Edward Strohbehn called Bryson a “natural leader, innovator and a dedicated environmentalist,” in a statement this week.
“He possessed a perfect mix of brilliance, determination and charm. At NRDC and elsewhere he leaves behind a record of remarkable accomplishments,” they said.
When Bryson took the helm of Edison International in 1990, the Los Angeles Times reported that the pick was “widely viewed as an inspired public relations move for the image-conscious utility.”
Bryson was confirmed in 2011 as Obama’s second Commerce secretary, despite objections from Senate Republicans who criticized his environmental roots.
Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) called Bryson an “environmental extremist” as he sought to rally GOP opposition to the nomination.
“John is the rare nominee to present himself to Congress with endorsements from the [U.S.] Chamber [of Commerce], military suppliers, and the nation’s leading environmental organizations,” then-Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said during Bryson’s confirmation hearing. “If ever there was a time for someone who can bring us all together, this is that moment in history.”
Obama praised his outgoing Cabinet member when Bryson resigned in 2012, saying the Commerce secretary had “fought tirelessly for our nation’s businesses and workers, helping to bolster our exports and promote American manufacturing and products at home and abroad.”
Prosecutors declined to file criminal charges against Bryson in relation to the traffic accidents, saying his seizure had been responsible for the incidents.
Bryson was born in New York City and raised in Portland, Oregon. He graduated from Stanford University and Yale Law School. He is survived by his wife, Louise Henry Bryson, and four daughters.
