Riverkeeper welcomes Tracy Brown as next President and Hudson Riverkeeper, first woman to lead the organization
September 29, 2021
Riverkeeper Team
Riverkeeper’s Board of Directors selects an influential advocate and Riverkeeper alum who brings a track record of success and an enduring passion for clean water, the Hudson, and the challenges of climate justice in the Hudson watershed
Ossining, N.Y. -- Riverkeeper’s Board of Directors is pleased to welcome Tracy Brown, a seasoned regional leader dedicated to restoring and protecting regional water resources, as Riverkeeper’s next President and Hudson Riverkeeper.
Brown, who will assume both roles on November 1st, will be the first woman to lead Riverkeeper in its half-century mission to restore the Hudson and its tributaries and to safeguard drinking water for millions of New Yorkers.
“I am excited to be returning to Riverkeeper as the next President and Hudson Riverkeeper. The formidable skills and passion of the Riverkeeper team, and the communities they partner with, give me hope for our future,” said Tracy Brown. “I have deep roots in the Hudson Valley, where I raised my children on and in the river, and I’m very concerned about the toll our changing climate is having on our ecosystems and quality of life. In my new role, I plan to lean into this moment of more widespread climate crisis awareness to mobilize the energy of the wider Riverkeeper community, to join our fight for clean renewable energy and sustainable, nature-based infrastructure."
Read our Q&A: ‘The Hudson River is really where my heart is. I think we have a great team and great momentum, and I look forward to all the tremendous work that we’re going to get done in the coming decades.’
Brown comes to Riverkeeper from Save the Sound, an environmental advocacy group dedicated to protecting the land, air and water of Long Island Sound. She established Save the Sound’s New York office and currently serves as Regional Director of Water Protection. In this role, Brown integrated water quality monitoring, public engagement, lobbying, pollution enforcement, environmental justice, and ecological restoration projects into a holistic program for preserving and restoring Long Island Sound’s coastal ecology.
Prior to joining Save the Sound, Brown worked at Riverkeeper for seven years. She was instrumental in developing Riverkeeper’s water quality monitoring programs between 2009 and 2014, and its communications efforts between 2007 and 2009. Among other achievements, she was a leader of the campaign that resulted in the enactment of New York’s Sewage Pollution Right to Know Law in 2013.
A resident of Sleepy Hollow, N.Y., Brown is a co-founder of the Peabody Preserve Outdoor Classroom, a nature preserve for hands-on outdoor education for the students of the Tarrytown Public Schools. She is also co-chair of the Water Committee on the Westchester County Climate Crisis Task Force, and a volunteer water-quality monitor for Riverkeeper since 2014.
In assuming the roles of President and Hudson Riverkeeper, Brown will succeed Paul Gallay, who successfully guided Riverkeeper for 11 years before stepping down on June 30, 2021 at the close of Riverkeeper’s fiscal year.
“Our board and staff are thrilled to welcome Tracy back to Riverkeeper,” said Ernest Tollerson, Riverkeeper’s board chair. “Her experience across so many domains – from advocacy campaigns to water-quality monitoring to strategic communications to fundraising – means that she is perfectly positioned to guide us in the 21st century. We could not have asked for a more passionate, dedicated, and skilled advocate for the Hudson, its tributaries, ecosystems and communities. Tracy will be the first woman to lead Riverkeeper. Her tenure marks an exciting milestone for our environmental NGO and the watershed.”
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