Robert Matthew Sussman – 50th Reunion Essay

Robert Matthew Sussman

3101 Garfield St NW

Washington, DC 20008

bobsussman1@comcast.net

202-716-0118

Spouse(s): Judith Lanius (1984–2015) Irina Kats (2015–present)

Child(ren): Benjamin Sussman (1990)

Education: Yale College BA ’69 Yale Law School LLD ’73

National Service: US Army Reserves, PFC ’70–’76

Career: Partner, Covington and Burling (1981–1987); Partner, Latham & Watkins (1987–2007); Deputy Administrator USEPA (1993–1994); Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress (2008); Senior Policy Counsel to EPA Administrator 2008–2013); Principal Sussman & Associates (2013–present); Visiting Lecturer, Yale Law School (2015); Adjunct Professor, Georgetown Law School (2014–present)

Avocations: Piano, Environment, Hiking

College: Saybrook

I was a Jewish kid from a troubled middle-class family who managed to go to a good public high school on Long Island. My admission was part of the effort of Kingman Brewster and Inky Clark to democratize Yale and reduce the influence of elite prep schools. I lacked the worldliness and amenities of the prep school crowd but was not overly intimidated—I reveled in the new types of people I met and the expanded horizons that Yale offered. Both academically and socially, I soaked up the Yale experience. I worked hard but did not feel much pressure. I played tennis, went to football games, and road tripped to Vassar. The classical music scene at Yale was wonderful and I happily dipped into it. There were difficult moments but not many in comparison to my childhood and the years following graduation. I was politically aware and followed the news but wasn’t an activist. I steered clear of drugs except for occasional marijuana use and had a healthy skepticism of radical ideas (maybe because my parents were radical and it didn’t seem to work for them). I never felt alone or isolated and had a wide circle of friends.

I went through the usual contortions to avoid the draft and attended a few Vietnam War protests but was more preoccupied with my own future than the upheavals around me. My biggest dilemma was whether to go to English graduate school or law school—Yale admitted me to both—but I chose the safer path of the law. Law school was unexpectedly challenging; my class (’73) had true star quality (including a future president and first lady) and I was daunted by the presence of so many luminaries who knew exactly where they were headed (the pinnacles of government, business, and academia). I had vague aspirations to use my law school education for social betterment but, like others, lacked the willingness to take risks and opted for the world of top-tier law firms, a choice motivated by safe establishment values that I had absorbed as an undergraduate.

The law firm world was more pressured and tense than college and fear of failure was a powerful factor for the first time in my life, but I eventually derived great pleasure from lawyering and notched a few early successes, including two pro bono Supreme Court arguments. I jumped ship from Covington to Latham in 1987, feeling thwarted by Covington’s smugness and hierarchy, and survived the animosity of my former partners and mentors and, despite some scary moments, managed to move my client base to Latham and start and build a successful environmental practice in its DC office.

The world of government opened up to me during the Clinton presidency and, through friendships and lucky breaks, I became the deputy administrator (second-in-command) of the USEPA. My luck went south, however, when my lack of political savvy and poor relationship with the agency head did me in and led me to leave the EPA after 18 months. But I cherished my accomplishments, rued the missed opportunities, and remained a romantic about the public sector despite my bruised ego. I vowed to stay part of the public policy world and, after establishing a modest reputation as an environmental pundit and scholar, became an early Obama supporter and fund-raiser, which in turn led to my appointment as the chair of the EPA transition team and then as the top policy advisor to the new EPA administrator, Lisa Jackson. My second stint at the agency was very fulfilling, spanning four and a half years of exciting issues and feelings of deep satisfaction as we advanced the environmental agenda on several fronts. I remain deeply committed to the EPA as a force for the good in American life and its dismembering under Trump has been hugely painful and depressing.

I’ve kept my hand in with law school teaching (including at Yale), extensive writing, and work with environmental NGOs. Yale formed and shaped me and its influence has been long-lasting although hard to define. Maybe its biggest gift was the importance of intellectual integrity and the power of decent people working together to shape the world for the good.