Saint Paul – Governor Tim Pawlenty today announced the appointment of Thomas H. Weaver to the ClearWay Minnesota Board of Directors.

Weaver, of Anoka, is the Metropolitan Council Regional Administrator, where he serves as the body’s chief operating officer. Previously, he was a principal with Excelsior Energy, executive director of government affairs with Xcel Energy, legal counsel and director of legislative affairs to Governor Arne Carlson, general counsel with the Metropolitan Transit Commission, and an attorney with the Larkin, Hoffman, Daly and Lindgren law firm in Bloomington. Weaver earned his juris doctorate degree cum laude from the University of Minnesota Law School, and his bachelor of arts degree with distinction from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. He is a member of the Governor’s Clean Water Cabinet, and previously served on the Minnesota Environmental Initiative, University of Minnesota Center for Transportation Studies Executive Board, the boards of the U.S. and Minnesota Chambers of Commerce, and The Bridge for Runaway Youth. Weaver is appointed to a three-year term on the ClearWay Minnesota Board of Directors that expires on September 28, 2013, and he replaces Chris Georgacas on the board.

ClearWay Minnesota is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to reducing the human and economic harms of tobacco use in Minnesota. ClearWay Minnesota – formerly the Minnesota Partnership for Action Against Tobacco – was created in 1998 by the Ramsey County District Court as a part of the $6.1 billion tobacco settlement. ClearWay Minnesota funds research, community outreach, and smoking cessation activities. The Board of Directors consists of 19 members, including two appointed by the Governor.