Chad Griffin was recently interviewed by Paige Donner for a piece that ran today on The Huffington Post. In the interview, Chad discussed his campaign-style approach to communications, being the youngest staffer in President Clinton’s West Wing, the issues that matter to him, and his recent work on marriage equality.

Read the full article here.

Tags: Chad Griffin, Marriage Equality, President Clinton, The Huffington Post

Griffin|Schake client Shangri-La Construction today unveiled its first major project, the world’s first solar-powered airplane hangar.

The aviation facility, the first to achieve Platinum certification (highest rating issued) under the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Green Building Rating System, was unveiled at a ceremony announcing the newly formed business unit and the completion of the hangar at the Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, California.

Hangar 25 was featured in a Los Angeles Times piece that dubbed the facility “the ultimate plug-in recharger.”

A team of Southern California developers today is taking the wraps off what may be the world’s greenest aviation facility, one capable of powering a Boeing 757 with solar energy while the aircraft is on the ground for maintenance.

The new 60,000-square-foot structure at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank is believed to be the industry’s only solar-powered airport hangar. Its rooftop photovoltaic panels provide enough juice to operate the building’s lights and to recharge electric-powered ground equipment such as forklifts and tow vehicles. The array can also keep an airplane’s electrical system humming inside the hangar while mechanics perform their chores.
Green construction and solar-powered buildings are nothing new in California. Still, the Burbank facility, known as Hangar 25, appears to be a clean step forward for the aviation industry, which has a massive carbon footprint.

“I haven’t heard of anything like it before,” said Steve Howards, executive director of the Clean Airport Partnership, a nonprofit based in Lakewood, Colo., that promotes energy efficiency and sustainability at U.S. airports. “A facility that generates enough renewable power to support [aircraft] maintenance equipment? That’s a precedent setter.”

Read the full article here here.

Tags: Green, Griffin|Schake, Hangar 25, LEED, Los Angeles Times, Matthew diGirolamo, Media Event Production, Media Strategy & Relations, Message Development, Shangri-LA Construction, Solar Power, Strategic Communications, Sustainable, U.S. Green Building Council, Yusef Robb

The Arkansas Times recently named Arkansas-native Chad Griffin an “Arkie to Watch” in light of recently being honored by The Advocate as one of the publication’s “20 People of the Year.”

Read the blog post here.

Tags: Chad Griffin, People of the Year, The Advocate

Los Angeles-based political strategist Chad Griffin has been honored as one of The Advocate’s 2008 People of the Year. The list, appearing in the January issue and selected by The Advocate’s editorial staff, includes 19 other luminaries of activism, politics and entertainment such as Steve Hildenbrand, The Obamas, Al Gore, Tina Fey, Clay Aiken and Hilary Rosen.

The list seeks to honor those who have made a profound impact for 2008 in the area of gay rights. The only Californian to make the list, Chad Griffin, president of the firm Griffin|Schake, is known for his campaign-style approach to communications for his A-list clients, political initiatives and philanthropic organizations.

Griffin shares the title of Person of the Year with Barney Frank, Tina Fey, Hilary Rosen, Bruce Bastian, The Obamas, Clay Aiken, Suze Orman, Steve Hildenbrand, Lawrence King, Amy Balliett, Matthew Mitcham, Sunil Bubu Pant, Al Gore, Chad Griffin, Thomas Beatie, Wanda Sykes, Jason Rae, Gus Van Sant & Dustin Lance Black, Keith Olbermann, Jared Polis & Linda Ketner and Luc Montagnier & Francoise Barre-Sinoussi.

Griffin was recognized for his career shaping the policy debate around some of the nation’s most important social issues - equal rights, early childhood education, universal health care, stem cell research, alternative energy and energy security, anti-smoking and global warming. The Advocate also applauded him his efforts to produce the Senator Feinstein and Secretary O’Connell television ads for the final push against Proposition 8.

Read The Advocate’s Person of the Year story here.

Tags: Al Gore, Chad Griffin, Gay Rights, People of the Year, The Advocate

Kristina Schake was recently interviewed by LA Times’ Tina Daunt for her piece on celebrity activism.

The column featured Griffin|Schake client Steve Bing, who has partnered with Brad Pitt on his innovative Make it Right housing project in New Orleans.

Schake was quoted in the piece:

“I’ve had at least 10 calls from Hollywood people who have an idea they want to get off the ground now that they feel there is a president in Washington who wants to partner,” said Kristina Schake, a longtime industry politics and policy consultant. (She’s also an advisor to California’s first lady, Maria Shriver.) “Celebrities are longing to be involved, whether it’s on issues like diabetes or domestic violence or healthcare for children. The Obama administration would be incredibly smart to tap into that.”

Read the full article here.

Tags: Brad Pitt, Celebrity Causes, Hollywood, Kristina Schake, Make it Right, Maria Shriver, President Obama