[2] Beinecke first joined the Natural Resources Defense Council in 1973 as an intern.
[4] She was appointed by President Barack Obama to the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling in 2010.
[5] She currently serves on the boards of the World Resources Institute, the Energy Future Coalition, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, the Nature Conservancy,[6] and Conservation International's Center for Environmental Leadership in Business.
She previously served on the boards of the Wilderness Society, the China-U.S. Center for Sustainable Development, and the New York League of Conservation Voters.
Former classmate and actress Sigourney Weaver has stated that she uses Beinecke as inspiration when she plays a strong female character.