About Howard A.
Howard A. Learner began his legal formation at the University of Michigan, where he earned a B.A. in political science in 1976. He continued his studies at Harvard Law School and received his J.D. in 1980. Those academic years set the stage for a career that has moved between public interest law, organizational leadership and teaching.
He entered the legal profession in Illinois and joined the Illinois State Bar in 1980. His early work included a role as general counsel and staff lawyer at Business & Professional People for the Public Interest, where he handled matters at the intersection of law and civic policy. In 1989 he took part in Leadership Greater Chicago as a fellow, a turn that prefaced his move into institutional leadership.
In 1992 he became president and executive director of the Environmental Law & Policy Center, a post he has held since then. Under his leadership the organization expanded its work on state and regional policy, litigation and public advocacy. He has been involved in cases and campaigns that address air quality, clean energy and transportation policy, and he has overseen the Center’s growth from a regional project into a sustained policy organization.
Learner has also kept a foot in academia. He served as an adjunct professor at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law in 2003, teaching Environmental Law and Sustainable Development. In 2009 he returned to the University of Michigan Law School as an adjunct professor, offering a course on Clean Energy Law and Environmental Constitutionalism. Those classroom roles allowed him to bring practical lessons into legal education and to mentor students entering environmental law.
Colleagues describe a practitioner comfortable moving between courtroom advocacy, regulatory work and policy development. He has engaged with state regulators, pursued litigation when needed, and worked on legislative and administrative strategies to advance environmental goals. His career reflects sustained engagement in shaping how law and policy address environmental challenges in Illinois and the broader Midwest.
As an attorney admitted in Illinois, he has combined organizational leadership with teaching and practice. He leads the Environmental Law & Policy Center and continues to work on matters that touch on clean energy, environmental regulation and litigation. He concentrates on environmental policy, clean energy law, and related litigation.
