Current Position
Today, Claudine is an independent consultant.
She has been serving as the Corporate Social Responsibility Advisor to the Board of National Grid, one of the world's largest and most respected utilities.
In addition, she has a contract with the Environmental Protection Agency to work with corporations to reduce their greenhouse gases. In all, she has enlisted over 30 Fortune 500 companies including CitiGroup, HSBC, United Technologies, Roche, Raytheon, Boise Cascade and Volvo Trucks.
Ms. Schneider serves on the Board of Wilder Hills New Energy Global Innovation Index. It is the first global renewable energy index.
She is also on the Board of Trustees of the American Solar Energy Society, the board of The Climate Institute, the Center for Resource Solutions, Project Vote Smart, TERI, Green Advantage and the Ethical Market Place.
Claudine was the Senior Vice President of Econergy International Corporation, a multi-service energy consulting firm that provides sustainable design, engineering, financial and policy support to clients around the world.
She co-founded and served as Senior Vice President of Energia Global, an energy efficiency and renewable energy development company exporting services and technology to Central and South America . Fulfilling a 10 year exit strategy, the company was sold to ERGA, who, at the time was the world's largest renewable energy corporation.
As an independent consultant, Claudine has specialized in strategic planning, futures-scenario design, policy development and implementation, organizational development, lobbying, marketing and communications. Her clients have included MCI, CIBA, EPA, DOE, Inbio, The Policy Center for Marine Biosciences and Technology, Wheelabrator Technologies, the Smithsonian Institute and the U.S. Air Force, to name a few.
She was a Presidential Appointee to the Competitiveness Policy Council, a 12 member, business-dominated council focused on enhancing U.S. productivity. As a member of Congress, Claudine co-founded and was the co-Chair of the Congressional Competitiveness Caucus, the largest bi-cameral caucus in Congress. Along with John Young, then CEO of Hewlett Packard, she crafted a report calling for 10 legislative measures that would improve U.S. stature. Under her leadership and working closely with the business community, all 10 measures were enacted into law.
Claudine served in the U.S. Congress from 1980-1990. She was the first woman ever elected to a major political office in Rhode Island . She served on the Science, Research and Technology Committee. She authored and succeeded in the passage of many energy, environmental, international, health and gender-equity pieces of legislation. In the realm of energy, her legislation included the first Appliance Efficiency Standards, Least Cost Utility Planning, Demand-Side Management Act and the International Treaty on Biological Diversity. She authored the first Global Warming Prevention Act, a comprehensive, revenue neutral bill that established a least-cost energy planning process throughout the federal government that would reduce greenhouse gases while reducing costs to taxpayers. Her legislation is as relevant today as it was in 1988!
Ms. Schneider is a recipient of an Emmy. Her concern over improving U.S./Soviet relations resulted in the first, live and unedited satellite television transmission between Members of Congress and the Supreme Soviet. This 5 part series of "CongressBridge" was carried on ABC.
After leaving Congress, Claudine taught Leadership and Public Policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.
Under the auspices of The Asia Foundation, Claudine provided leadership training in South Korea . In September 2001, at the United Nations University Leadership Academy in Jordan , she worked with leaders and diplomats from 35 developing countries. She has provided keynote speeches around the world for the World Health Organization, The Pan-American Health Organization, IEA/OECD, L'Agence Francaise pour la Maitrise de l'Energie and the World Future Society.
As the only American to be selected to contribute a chapter to the book, "The Planetary Interest", Ms. Schneider was then provided a grant by the Rockefeller Foundation to do a lecture tour to major cities around the U.S. and share her insights and those of her fellow international contributors about those issues that transcend nationalism.
Ms. Schneider has traveled to more than 50 countries and is fluent in French and Spanish, which she learned at the University of Barcelona, Spain. She has also studied Chinese and various romance languages.
SHE HAS SERVED ON THE BOARDS OF:
- Eco-Science - which produced and commercialized natural pest control products and naturally derived coatings to preserve food quality.
- The Sage Company - Owners and Managers of Health Care Facilities and Retirement Centers . Ms. Schneider assisted in establishing their Intergenerational Community Foundation.
- The President's Council on Competitiveness - She was a Presidential Appointee to this 12 member, business dominated council focused on enhancing U.S. productivity.
- Export-Import Bank - Advisor on renewable energy policies for the Bank.
- National Grid Transco - a UK based utility to which Ms. Schneider is an advisor on environment and corporate responsibility.
In addition she has both founded and served on the boards of numerous not-for-profit organizations dedicated to health, environment, ecological economics and international affairs.