Herrick Young, 76, Was Leader in Energy Industry

Herrick (Jack) Young, 76, a longtime leader in the electric utility industry who specialized in partnerships between business, consumer, community and environmental groups, died from cardiac arrest on Jan. 11 in Martinsburg, W.Va.

Mr. Young, who lived in Washington, D.C., had spent summers at the family home on Paul's Point in Lambert's Cove since 1950. He was a former senior vice president for the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), a national association of investor-owned electric utility and power companies. At EEI, where he worked for more than 30 years, Mr. Young was responsible for communications, customer services and marketing, and human resource management. He launched the association's environmental, low-income customer and minority organization initiatives, and was instrumental in developing EEI's strategic planning capability. Mr. Young was also an early advocate of strong government policies to promote development of electric vehicles in the United States.

After retiring from EEI in 1994, Mr. Young joined the public relations firm Kearns & West as a senior counselor focusing on partnerships between energy and technology businesses, communities and environmental organizations.

Mr. Young served as chairman of the corporate board of advisers to the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States. At NCLR, he helped develop the organization's Project Excel program, which tested and implemented innovative community-based education models designed to improve Hispanic educational attainment. He also helped lead the NCLR's Hispanic Image Campaign, which provided accurate information and positive images of Hispanics in the mainstream and Hispanic media.

From 1984 to 2004, Mr. Young was a member of the board of the National Center for Appropriate Technology, a nonprofit organization based in Butte, Mont., that helps disadvantaged communities by providing information and access to appropriate technologies. He served as board chairman from 1990 to 1998 and organized NCAT's honorary advisory council. NCAT programs include home weatherization, energy monitoring, demonstrations of renewable energy technology, testing of new products, and information on energy efficient building construction.

During his career, Mr. Young also served on the board of directors of the national YMCA, the National Energy Foundation, Renew the Earth and the National Institute for Urban Wildlife. He was also founding director and, since 1992, board secretary of New Horizon Technologies, a national leader in the field of energy consumption metering, supplying energy information systems to large energy users throughout North America.

Born in Teheran, Iran, Mr. Young moved to the United States with his parents when he was seven years old. He was graduated from Lafayette College, received a master of arts degree from Columbia University, attended the U.S. Army Language School in Monterey, Calif., and served in the Army in Japan during the Korean War. He also had homes in Lenox and Hedgesville, W.Va.

He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Dora Jean Irvine Young; two daughters, Catherine Young of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Elizabeth Young Fina of West Stephentown, N.Y.; a son, Jim Young of Montclair, N.J., and five grandchildren.