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Donald Kemp Ross

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For the U.S. Naval Officer, see Donald K. Ross.
Donald Ross (Left), with George McMahon, SJ, then dean of Fordham College, and David Langdon (right).

Donald Kemp Ross (June 29, 1943 – May 14, 2022)[1] was an American public interest lawyer. Ross proposed the model of Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGS) with Ralph Nader. Ross became the first director of the NYPIRG (The New York Public Interest Research Group, Inc.). He helped to found the Albany law firm of Malkin & Ross, and its associated advocacy organization M+R Strategic Services. He has served on the board of directors of environmental organizations.

Early life and education

Ross was the son of Helen (Kemp), a homemaker, and Hugh Ross, an administrator for the Conservation Foundation. Ross graduated with a BA in English from Fordham University, where he was student body president, in 1965.[1]

He served in the Peace Corps in Nigeria from 1965 to 1967.[1][2]

He graduated New York University Law School in 1970.[1]

Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGS)

While serving with Ralph Nader, Donald K. Ross wrote the book Action for a change, which proposed the organizational model for Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGS).[3] He was the first director of the New York Public Interest Research Group, Inc. (NYPIRG).[4][5] While at NYPIRG, Ross helped it grow to become the largest state-based research and advocacy organization in the nation. Ross was NYPIRG's principal strategist, lobbyist and fundraiser.[1]

Law career

In 1984, he and Arthur Malkin founded the law firm Malkin & Ross, which is based in Albany, New York.[6][7] Malkin and Ross later formed M+R Strategic Services, which is based in Washington, D.C.[8] He worked as an attorney for Ralph Nader.[1]

Citizen Action Group

The Citizen Action Group (CAG) was the organizing arm of Public Citizen. Ross worked as CAG's head, and helped create the Parents Action Committee on Toys (PACT), the Connecticut Citizen Action Group (CCAG) as well as Public Interest Research Groups in 15 different states.[citation needed]

Board member of environmental organizations

He has served as an adviser and officer of several non-profit organizations that are dedicated to public-interest causes, especially the environment. He served as the chief administrative officer of the Rockefeller Family fund from 1985 to 1999.[1] In 2011, he was on the Boards of Directors for the League of Conservation Voters; that same year, he served as the chairperson of Greenpeace US.[8]

Other activities

Ross worked as a consultant for the Long Island Veatch Program, the Center for Research on Institutions and Social Policy, and the New York Community Trust.[1]

He was one of the chief coordinators for the 1979 March on Washington and the No Nukes Rally in Battery Park City.[9]

Personal life

Ross was married to writer Helen Klein Ross until his death from lymphoma in Salisbury, Connecticut, on May 14, 2022. He was 78.[1]

Books

He is the author and co-author of many books, including A Public Citizen's Action Manual,[10] Troubled Waters: Toxic Chemicals in the Hudson River,[11] and Action for Change: A Manual of Public Interest Organizing.[12]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Roberts, Sam (May 19, 2022). "Donald K. Ross, Leading Public Interest Lawyer, Dies at 78". The New York Times. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
  2. ^ Karlin, Rick (May 18, 2022). "Longtime activist, NYPIRG founder Donald K. Ross dead at 78". Times Union.
  3. ^ Nader, Ralph & Ross, Donald. Action for Change. Penguin Books, 1973 (rev. ed.)
  4. ^ "About Us". NYPIRG Financial Information. Retrieved 2008-01-07.
  5. ^ Senia, Al (October 1974). "The New Student Activists". Change. 6 (8). Taylor & Francis, Ltd.: 29–33. doi:10.1080/00091383.1974.10568752. JSTOR 40176811.
  6. ^ "Meet the Team". Malkin & Ross. Archived from the original (web.archive.org) on 17 September 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  7. ^ "About Us". Malkin & Ross. Archived from the original (web.archive.org) on 17 September 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  8. ^ a b "Executive leadership Team at Malkin and Ross Strategic Services". Archived from the original on December 17, 2011.
  9. ^ "Miscellany News 28 September 1979 — Vassar Newspaper & Magazine Archive". newspaperarchives.vassar.edu.
  10. ^ "Book Review ― How I Turned Ordinary Complaints into Thousands of Dollars and A Public Citizen's Action Manual". 14 (3). Santa Clara Law Review. 1 January 1974. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  11. ^ Severo, Richard (29 September 1977). "Two‐Year Study of Hudson River Finds Toxic and Cancer‐Causing Chemicals That Threaten 150,000 Upstate". The New York Times.
  12. ^ Norman, Chuck (1972). "Book Review: ACTION FOR SOCIAL CHANGE: A STUDENT'S MANUAL FOR PUBLIC INTEREST ORGANIZING by Ralph Nader & Donald Ross (Grossman Publishers: NY) 1971". Insurgent Sociologist. 2 (3): 32. doi:10.1177/089692057200200307. S2CID 144720027.

Ross, Donald K. (WorldCat Identities)

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