It is with a full and happy heart that I announce I am now the President of Waterkeeper Alliance! I’m so very proud and humbled to represent Waterkeeper Alliance as we move forward in the fight for clean water!
As a little girl growing up in Canada, I distinctly remember being forbidden to wade into Lake Ontario because of toxicity and high bacteria levels — it’s an experience I may not have fully comprehended at the time but can never forget. Decades later, I’m filled with gratitude every time I’m near the water and am in awe of its power to heal and cleanse my spirit.
I know the future may seem daunting, and no doubt, we will face new challenges due to the aftereffects of the coronavirus. Much remains unknown. However, the one constant that we share is a commitment to provide clean water for our communities, countries, and the planet.
Waterkeeper Alliance has come a long way since I was a Trustee from 2007-2010! In 2010, the Waterkeeper movement had 195 Waterkeeper groups in 17 countries. Today, we are more than 350 Waterkeeper groups in 48 countries. This inspirational expansion is a true testament to all of your hard work and our exceptional staff and board!
About Waterkeeper Alliance
Every day around the world, polluters are poisoning our waterways, and people everywhere are suffering the consequences. When a coal company discharges millions of gallons of toxic coal ash into a river, families who depend on that waterway as a drinking water source are the innocent victims. When a developer demolishes a forest of mangroves, it destroys fisheries and devastates the local economy. When hog farms dump untreated waste into a waterway, people and aquatic life get sick. These are just a few examples of the battles that Waterkeeper Alliance fights every day around the world on behalf of the common good and to protect everyone’s right to clean water.
The Waterkeeper movement was started by a band of blue-collar fishermen on New York’s Hudson River in 1966 because industrial polluters were destroying their way of life. Their tough, grassroots brand of environmental activism sparked the Hudson’s miraculous recovery and inspired others to launch Waterkeeper groups around the world.
Today, Waterkeeper Alliance unites more than 350 Waterkeeper groups that are on the frontlines of the global water crisis, patrolling and protecting more than 2.75 million square miles of rivers, lakes, and coastal waterways on 6 continents. From the Great Lakes to the Himalayas, Alaska to Australia, the Waterkeeper movement defends the fundamental human right to drinkable, fishable, and swimmable waters, and combines firsthand knowledge of local waterways with an unwavering commitment to the rights of communities.
Whether on the water tracking down polluters, in courtrooms enforcing environmental laws, advocating in town meetings, or teaching in classrooms, the Waterkeeper movement speaks for the waters it defends—with the collective strength of Waterkeeper Alliance and the backing of local communities.
Waterkeeper Alliance ensures that the world’s Waterkeeper groups are as connected to each other as they are to their local waters, organizing the fight for clean water into a coordinated global movement.