Riverkeeper, New York State’s clean water advocate, will host “50 Years Strong: An Earth Day Event with Riverkeeper, Clearwater and Scenic Hudson,” a free virtual program set for April 20th.
In this program Tracy Brown, Riverkeeper’s new President and Hudson Riverkeeper, and David Toman, the new Executive Director of Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, will join Ned Sullivan, President of Scenic Hudson for over 23 years, in a conversation with activist and filmmaker Jon Bowermaster.
In this Earth Day online event, three pioneering Hudson River environmental organizations come together to discuss the 50th anniversary of the landmark Clean Water Act. Scenic Hudson, Riverkeeper and Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, were all founded in the 1960s to protect the Hudson River from the massive pollution that was destroying it and rescue the dying river.
50 years later, two of these organizations have new leaders and all three have new visions for the future of the Hudson River.
Tracy Brown became President and Hudson Riverkeeper in 2021. A recognized leader in clean water advocacy, Brown brings a multidisciplinary approach to Riverkeeper, prioritizing data-driven, community-oriented strategies to realize our mission. She previously served as Regional Director of Water Protection at Save the Sound, a 40-year-old organization that leads environmental action in the Long Island Sound region of New York and Connecticut.
Brown established the organization’s New York office, which works at the intersection of science, community engagement, and public policy to deliver science-based projects that protect Long Island Sound and increase community resilience. Prior to joining Save the Sound, Brown worked at Hudson Riverkeeper for seven years and was instrumental in developing Riverkeeper’s water quality monitoring programs.
Among other achievements, she was an architect of New York’s Sewage Pollution Right to Know Law, enacted in 2013, which led to a historic state reinvestment in our sewage infrastructure. A resident of Sleepy Hollow, NY, Brown is a founder of the Peabody Preserve Outdoor Classroom, and is currently co-chair of the Water Committee for the Westchester County Climate Crisis Task Force.
David Toman comes to Clearwater with over 25 years of experience in nonprofit leadership, most recently as a Vice President of Operations, Chief Financial Officer, and Director of Business Functions & Human Resources at the Mohonk Preserve. Toman’s non-profit career began in the public accounting world; his love of nature guided him to the Delaware Nature Society where he held the position of Associate Director of Business & Finance for 12 years. In his spare time, David enjoys paddling on local waterways, nature hikes with his Karelian Bear Dog, and listening to great music with his family, where they reside in New Paltz, NY.
President of Scenic Hudson since 1999, Ned Sullivan has directed the organization through dramatic growth in its regional impact that has received national recognition. Under his leadership Scenic Hudson has cultivated partnerships to preserve thousands of acres of critical open space and farmland, cleaned up contaminated waterfronts and transformed them into magnificent public parks.
The organization has played pivotal leadership and supporting roles in four of the region’s extraordinary projects: Walkway Over the Hudson, the world-class Dia:Beacon museum, “daylighting” the Saw Mill River in Yonkers, and protecting land for the first state park in the City of Kingston, now named Sojourner Truth State Park.
Prior to joining Scenic Hudson, Sullivan served as Environmental Commissioner of the State of Maine, where he guided into law landmark legislation ending the discharge of deadly dioxins from pulp and paper companies and conceived and implemented an international compact on mercury emissions. He earned a B.A. from Williams College and master’s degrees from Yale University’s School of Management and School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.
This program will take place from 5:30 to 7:30 pm, and will be held via Zoom. For more information or to register, click here.
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