CLF congratulates Jo Anne Shatkin, CEO of CLF Ventures, for receiving the 2010 Outstanding Service Award from the Society for Risk Analysis (SRA) for her extraordinary service to the Society, particularly in the fields of nanotechnology and emerging nanoscale materials.

BOSTON, MA  December 13, 2010 – The Society for Risk Analysis (SRA) has presented Jo Anne Shatkin, CEO of CLF Ventures, with its 2010 Outstanding Service Award. The award is presented annually to a Society member in recognition of extraordinary service to the Society.

Shatkin is a distinguished expert in risk analysis related to nanotechnology. In 2006, she organized a group of 75 SRA members to work on the complex issues raised by the use of nanotechnology and emerging nanoscale materials. Now numbering more than 130 members from around the world, the resulting Emerging Nanoscale Materials Specialty (EMNMS) is actively engaged in multidisciplinary discourse on the subject.

The award was presented to Shatkin by Dr. Rick Reiss, the outgoing SRA President.  Reiss said that “Shatkin has been instrumental in bringing a discussion to SRA about the potential risks of nanoscale materials and is up and coming leader in the Society.”

Since establishing EMNMS four years ago, Shatkin has played a leadership role in advancing the specialty within SRA, including teaching an introductory training course on the health and environmental risks of nanotechnology at SRA annual meetings. In 2008, she organized a workshop with SRA and outside experts seeking to advance the science for nanomaterial risk analysis, and later organized several symposia featuring prominent speakers on specific topics such as life cycle frameworks for risk analysis. In addition, Shatkin has spearheaded SRA initiatives to build collaborations with groups such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials. As a result, OECD co-sponsored a workshop at the 2009 annual meeting entitled, Risk Assessment of Manufactured Nanomaterials in a Regulatory Context. Most recently, Shatkin co-edited a series of papers on nanomaterials and risk in the November 2010 issue of the SRA’s journal Risk Analysis.

Of receiving the Award, Shatkin said, “I am honored to be recognized by SRA for my contributions to the Society. It has been particularly rewarding to see how the interest in nanotechnology and nanomaterials risk analysis has grown within the SRA membership, providing an unparalleled forum for education, discussion and discovery in an emerging area. I am grateful to the Society for supporting my efforts to establish and grow this important discipline within SRA.”

Shatkin was named CEO of CLF Ventures in September 2010, after spending three years as managing director. She specializes in health and environmental risk analysis, with a background in technical, regulatory and public involvement work on waste sites, industrial facilities, emerging contaminants and drinking water. She is the author of Nanotechnology Health and Environmental Risks, published in 2008 (CRC Press).

CLF Ventures, a non-profit affiliate of Conservation Law Foundation, works at the intersection of business, stakeholder, and environmental issues to optimize environmental and economic performance, from project launch and business operation to responsible closure of surplus assets.

The Conservation Law Foundation (www.clf.org) works to solve the most significant environmental challenges facing New England. CLF’s advocates use law, economics and science to create innovative strategies to conserve natural resources, protect public health and promote vital communities in our region. Founded, in 1966, CLF is a nonprofit, member-supported organization with offices in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.