Jay Butera
Advocate for Clean Energy and Climate Solutions Jay Butera is an American entrepreneur and advocate for clean energy and climate solutions. He has spent more than a decade working at his own expense to move the United States Congress toward bipartisan action on climate change.
Citizen, Advocate Jay’s climate advocacy work is independent, non-partisan, non-profit, and funded entirely from his personal finances. In recent years Jay has focused his efforts on building a science-based Menu of Legislative Options to assist policy makers in visualizing pathways to a low-carbon economy. Quest For Bipartisanship A strong believer in bipartisan policy, Jay was the concept-originator and driving force behind formation of the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives. His three-year quest to bring Republicans and Democrats together to form the Caucus finally succeeded in 2016. Newsweek called it “A historic first” and The New York Times called it “A promising step toward sanity.” Jay's efforts to form the Climate Solutions Caucus were profiled in a National Geographic Channel documentary, “Years of Living Dangerously” starring actor Bradley Whitford. Reflecting on the formation of the Climate Solutions Caucus, Congressman Ted Deutch, co-chair of the Caucus, said “Jay has played a crucial role in the creation and growth of the Climate Solutions Caucus.Thanks to his hard work, our caucus has started to bridge the partisan divide on climate.” 
Speaking with U.S. Senator Bob Casey
Filming Nat Geo Channel documentary with actor Bradley Whitford
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With Reps. Lowenthal, Curbelo, Gibson, and Deutch at the first meeting of the bipartisan Congressional Climate Solutions Caucus
 At the U.S. Capitol 2015
Former Congressman Carlos Curbelo called Jay the “Architect of the Climate Solutions Caucus,” and said “Jay Butera has been a tireless advocate for action on climate. He is a coalition builder, helping bridge the partisan divide, bringing Republicans and Democrats together in good faith to tackle this threat head-on.”
Inventor & Entrepreneur Prior to his work on climate change, Jay built, managed, and sold several successful businesses. He founded Cedar Fresh Home Products, a consumer products manufacturing firm which he started in a two-car garage and ultimately built to industrial scale with branded national distribution. Its products, many of which Jay invented and patented, were sold in over 10,000 retail outlets throughout the United States and abroad. His company's green products and environmental stewardship were publicly commended by Wal-Mart and other national retailers. Public Speaker As a public speaker, Jay is noted for his upbeat, solutions-oriented presentations on clean energy, climate change, and citizen responsibility. He has been keynote speaker at numerous environmental and educational conferences and he has delivered his "We Can Do This" presentation at schools, colleges, and civic organizations throughout the United States. Writer Jay has published many articles on business, health, environment and other topics. His writings have appeared in newspapers and national magazines such as Fortune/Small Business, CNN/Money, Yankee Magazine, GQ, Travel Holiday, The Detroit Free Press, The Providence Journal, The San Francisco Examiner as well as in college-level textbooks on entrepreneurial business management. Education Jay is a graduate of The Haverford School and Brown University. At Brown, he studied science, maritime history, and writing. An enthusiastic sailor, he later studied celestial navigation and ultimately sailed from the United States to Bermuda using only traditional celestial navigation methods. 
New York Times Photo by Justin Gillis
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