John H. Shafer has had a career that has included work in the private and public sectors of environmental health, safety and sustainability. Working in the energy industry for most of his career, John has received several national awards for environmental leadership. He received the "first ever" Corporate Wildlife Stewardship Award in 1991 from the US Fish & Wildlife Service in a ceremony in Washington, DC, at the National Press Club. John was also named Conservationist of the Year in 1990 by The Nature Conservancy. Shafer also received the "Order of Hexagena" Award from Trout Unlimited in 1996 as Professional of the Year. In 2007, John was awarded the Mully Taylor Award by Trees for Tomorrow in Wisconsin for outstanding contributions in natural resource education for over a decade in that state. While working in the Clinton Administration at the White House in 1993, as Assistant Director of Environmental Policy, Shafer created the President’s Council on Sustainable Development. John has also testified before Congress in 2005 on matters related to the National Environmental Policy Act.

John has served on the Board of Directors for the Louisiana Chapter of the National Wildlife Federation, the Louisiana Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, and Trees for Tomorrow, Eagle River, Wisconsin. He has also served on the Interstate Natural Gas Foundation Board of Directors and as Chairman of the Southern Gas Association.