Quick Facts
Biography
Daniel Katz (born 1961) is an American environmentalist writer, speaker and activist. He is currently the Senior Program Director at The Overbrook Foundation, where he leads environmental giving in the areas of biodiversity conservation, sustainability and climate change.
Katz was instrumental in initiating the rainforest conservation movement when he co-founded the Rainforest Alliance in 1986 at the age of 24. The Rainforest Alliance is a non-governmental organization that focuses on environmental conservation throughout the world. Under Katz's leadership, the Rainforest Alliance became the first nonprofit organization to create a global program to monitor, evaluate, certify and audit forests. The Rainforest Alliance is known world-wide for creating independent third-party certification in forestry, agriculture and tourism. He was the Executive Director of the Rainforest Alliance from its inception until 2000; today he serves as the Chairman of the Rainforest Alliance board.
He has campaigned against the wastefulness of mail-order catalogs, of which the average household receives about 114 a year. As a result of his role in starting up the Internet conservation website CatalogChoice.org, Katz has been described by PBS's Bill Moyers as the "Dr. Phil of catalog clutter" and "the maven of the overstuffed mailbox.". Catalog Choice was sold to TrustedID in May 2012, and the proceeds will be distributed through a new foundation.
Katz was raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. He earned his M.B.A. at the Stern School of Business, New York University and a B.A. from Ohio State University. A former Kellogg Foundation National Leadership Fellow, Katz serves or has served on the boards of several organizations including Grist, People for the American Way, Green Sports Alliance, and others. He is the editor of two books: Why Freedom Matters: The Spirit of the Declaration of Independence in Prose, Poetry and Song (2003, Workman) and Tales from the Jungle: A Rainforest Reader (1995, Crown). Katz resides in New York City with his wife and two children.
He was honored with the Ohio State University Department of Humanities Alumni Award of Distinction.