Member profile: Lauren and Marc Shenfield
June 5, 2019
Monica Dietrich
Riverkeeper’s membership manager, Monica Dietrich, is sitting down with Riverkeeper members, Lauren and Marc Shenfield to learn more about why they support Riverkeeper. Want to add your perspective? Email membership@riverkeeper.org
Lauren and Marc Shenfield live in Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y., and have been Riverkeeper members since 2014. Lauren is a philanthropy advisor and Marc is a preservationist who restored their 19th Century home overlooking the Hudson River. He noted that the history of the house is deeply connected to the history of the river and the region.
“Living in this house on the Hudson has been an incredible experience," Lauren says. "We watch the river every day. We wake up to it, go to sleep to it, and have learned to appreciate all the ways Riverkeeper interacts with the river to improve our lives and the environment.”
Marc wouldn’t call himself a “tree-hugger,” but when he talks about the river, I’m not so sure: “Being on the river is special,” he says. “Sure, you can look at it, you can drive over it, but when you’re afloat on it, as we often are, then you really understand the importance of Riverkeeper’s work.”
Marc has followed Riverkeeper since its founding as the Hudson River Fishermen’s Association, and he asserts that “it’s not just a do-good organization – it’s got teeth, which makes us feel better about doing whatever we can do for them. Because they’re really ‘mad dogs’ when they have to be. They’re not just leading protests and holding signs saying ‘Save the Hudson.’ Riverkeeper gets stuff done because they’re not afraid to tackle the big guys and butt heads.”
At the end of the day, Lauren and Marc are Riverkeeper members “because Riverkeeper is protecting the river and our environment – things that are vitally important, not just to both of us, but to all of us.”
You can join Marc, Lauren, and thousands of other Riverkeeper members by clicking here to support our work.
