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A Ripple Effect® was founded in 2014 by Dr. Renée Martin-Nagle, who serves as its President and CEO.

The name of the company reflects a philosophy that every act provides opportunities for creating ripple effects that benefit the greater good. Through Dr. Martin-Nagle’s deep involvement in water, aviation, and sustainability, she has developed a solid foundation of synergistic knowledge and skills that lead to creative insights and solutions for clients.

After earning two undergraduate degrees and a juris doctor degree, she found her first professional home in aviation where for 25 years she was the chief legal officer in the U.S. for aircraft manufacturers based in France – 4 years for Aerospatiale’s helicopter and general aviation affiliates and 21 years for Airbus Americas.

The birth of her first grandson, followed shortly by the arrival of his younger brother, inspired her to dedicate her energies to protecting the environment for future generations. While serving full-time as General Counsel of Airbus Americas and also as Chair of the American Bar Association Forum on Air & Space Law she earned an LL.M. (master of laws) in environmental law, graduating from George Washington University School of Law in 2010 with highest honors. Her LL.M. thesis on governance of fossil aquifers won the 2011 Jamie Grodsky Award for Environmental Law Scholarship and launched her into the water sector.

A woman with long grey hair smiling for the camera.

Renée Martin-Nagle behind a podium speaking at the UN on behalf of A Ripple Effect

After “retiring” from Airbus in 2011, Dr. Martin-Nagle joined the Environmental Law Institute as a Visiting Scholar and then accepted an invitation from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland, to matriculate as a Ph.D. Researcher in a multidisciplinary water program, with a law professor as her primary supervisor and a hydrogeologist as her secondary supervisor. She was awarded a Ph.D. in Law in 2019, and in 2020 Brill Nijhoff published her thesis, Governance of Offshore Freshwater Resources, as a book, which reviewers have called “ground-breaking”, “important”, “creative”, and “a gift to humanity”

Teaching international environmental law and policy at three universities gave Dr. Martin-Nagle a deep understanding of global policy and scientific knowledge with respect to water and other natural resources. A frequent author and speaker, Dr. Martin-Nagle engages with water specialists and the public and private sectors through consulting services, presence on the governing board of the International Water Resources Association and on the water authority of her hometown, as well as through cutting-edge scholarly research, public speaking presentations, and collaborative affiliations.

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