Women's Environmental Leader Award 2010 Women's Environmental Leader Lucinda Delaney Schroeder is a retired Special Agent with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife. Throughout her career Lucindia worked on hundreds of cases, sometimes with state game and fish agencies, other federal agencies and foreign governments. During her career she received recognition from the FBI, IRS and once named one of the "Top Ten Employees" in the Fish & Wildlife Service. When she graduated from college in 1974 her father encouraged her to "go federal". Prior to 1971 it was illegal for women to carry a firearm in federal service so there were very few women in federal law enforcement. Lucinda became the third femal special agent hired by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife. Her book "A Hunt For Justice" tells the story of how difficult and dancerous it can be to work undercover. 2009 Women's Environmental Leader
Dr Fitzpatrick worked for many years as a glaciologist with the Antarctic Cooperative Research Center, Australia, and in Earth and Space Sciences at the university of Washington in Seattle. Over the last fifteen years she has conducted and supported various global change science programs in Antarctica, and spent time in Greenland and Alaska. In addition, she has worked seasonally as a mountaineering instructor with the National Outdoor Leadership School and leads extended wilderness leadership training worldwide. Her passion is connecting people to the world around them, in the hope of awakening in the lover o the earth that lies within each of us. _______________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2007 Women's Environmental Leader Tonight we gather in celebration and recognition of extraordinary women. Intelligent, passionate, creative minds who dare to dream! It is my pleasure to introduce this year’s recipient of the Women’s Environmental Leader award.
2006 Women's Environmental Leader
Alix Hopkins has spent over 20 years in various aspects of land conservation. After working in Utah to learn about avalanche control, on a ranch in Wyoming, in a salmon cannery in Alaska, in both public relations and political organizing, as a freelance photojournalist, and finally as founding executive director of Portland Trails- it would seem obvious to any average person that it is about time for a break. Perhaps you would vacation in the tropics, knit scarves for the whole family, or take a desk job. However, if you happen to be Alix Hopkins, the only natural thing to do would be to embark on a nationwide journey and write an acclaimed book. When we heard about Alix Hopkins accomplishments, we discovered quickly that we were not dealing with your average woman. Ms. Hopkins has spent the last four years collecting the voices of land conservation from around the United States and synthesizing them into Groundswell, her latest writing. Groundswell captures, in word and breathtaking photograph, the stories of six communities that used grassroots organizing and unlikely partnerships to achieve their environmental goals. From a community supported agriculture program in Wisconsin, to a river restoration coalition in the Bronx, to her own experiences at Portland Trails- Alix takes the reader step by step through the challenges and triumphs of community organizing. In each story, there is one striking similarity: at the conclusion of the conservation work, the individuals succeed in not only transforming the physical surroundings, but in transforming as human beings. The communities do not only save the landscape, but they save themselves, as well. Over winter break, I had a telephone conversation with Alix in which we discussed the how people’s attitude change when they are exposed to the open air and are able to work with the land. As founding executive director at Portland Trails, Alix experienced this firsthand. The citizens of Portland were given a local escape from busy streets and found themselves making friends out of strangers who walked the same trails. Even more meaningful were the connections made within the organization under Alix’s intuitive leadership. Before I hung up with her, I asked Alix if there was anything vital to include in my welcome speech. She replied, “Speak from your heart.” Groundswell, as much as it is a handbook for community organizing, is a heartfelt ode to community. As a reader, when I turned through the final pages of Groundswell, I could not help but think: What next? The versatile, inexhaustible Alix is currently the co-president of the Pownal Land Trust, on the board of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail and the Maine Cost Heritage Trust. So today, on behalf of WE LEAD, I warmly offer Alix yet another position: the Fourth Annual Women's Environmental Leader Award recipient. This award honors a woman who is an outstanding leader in an environmental field and is a model for future generations of women environmental leaders. I think we’ve found our woman. Please join me in congratulating Alix. Keep up the great work. Citation written and presented by Sara Trunzo |
Melanie Fitzpatrick, PhD, is currently a Climate Scientist with the Union of Concerned Scientists in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Melanie is a specialist in the field of climate change science, with degrees in Physics, Geophysics, and Atmospheric Sciences. Her interests cover basic climate research, local nd global impacts, and the communication of these findings to policymakers and the general public.
Martha Dolben is an educator, writer and poet, and has been Chair of the African Food and Peace Foundation since 1997. She is the author of On Behalf of Joy and Frontiers of Inner Freedom. .JPG "Milbry 2")
Alix Hopkins