Brian F. Keane

Brian F. Keane, President, SmartPower. Twice named “Connecticut’s Environmental Hero.”

"A former advisor to the late Senator Paul Tsongas (D-MA) and congressional aide to Representative Les Aspin (D-WI), Keane has an extensive background in management, political organizing and communications. Keane was one of the architects of The Concord Coalition, a nationwide non-profit organization dedicated to eliminating the federal budget deficit. He was also the founding executive director of Economic Security 2000 (ES 2000), the nation's first nonpartisan, grass-roots organization dedicated to saving and reforming Social Security. Keane’s testimony before the U.S. Congress helped make ES 2000 a recognized national leader in the debate on Social Security reform. Former presidents Clinton and Bush both recognized ES 2000 as a valuable resource in the discussion on Social Security.

"At SmartPower, Keane combines his passion for the environment with a marketer’s commitment to creating compelling messages that resonate with the general population – not just the converted. As such, Keane is a much sought-after interview and presenter on clean energy and energy efficiency. He has spoken extensively across the nation, internationally and with local and national media.

"With operations coast to coast, SmartPower has become the clean energy industry’s leading marketing organization. For their efforts, Keane and SmartPower have been recognized with numerous awards, including the coveted Green Power Pilot Award presented by the US Environmental Protection Agency and the US Department of Energy; four Gold Awards from the Service Industry Advertising Awards (SIAA); and the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection’s Green Circle Award. In 2005 Keane was recognized as one of Connecticut’s “Outstanding Forty Under 40.” And in the summer of 2009, Keane was offered a senior-level presidential appointment to the US Department of Energy – an opportunity he turned down in order to stay at SmartPower.

"Keane is a 1989 graduate of The American University in Washington, DC, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Broadcast Journalism and Political Science. The tenth in a family of eleven children, Keane served as the chairman of his eldest brother’s successful campaign for the Boston City Council and his brother’s subsequent race for the U.S. Congress in Massachusetts’ eighth congressional district in 1998. Keane was briefly a candidate for the Massachusetts State Senate in 2002.

"Keane serves as the president of the American University Alumni Association and sits on the board of directors of the Vermont-based Clean Energy Group. He is also a member of the Solar Foundation’s board of directors.

"Keane and his wife, Kate Sawyer Keane, live in Arlington, VA, with their three children."