Hudson River Sloop CLEARWATER“The Next Generation of Environmental Leaders”
For Immediate release September 29, 2009
CLEARWATER MEMBERS ELECT SEVEN FOR BOARD OF DIRECTORS
POUGHKEEPSIE, NY – The membership of Hudson River Sloop Clearwater held its Annual Meeting on Sunday, September 27, 2009 in Beacon, NY, and elected five new members and re-elected two present members to the organization’s board of directors. The diverse group of talented individuals joining the Clearwater board of directors has wide experience in the fields of social and environmental justice, with a long history of involvement in Clearwater education, advocacy and inspirational activities. “These new board members are all uniquely qualified to help Clearwater create the next generation of environmental leaders, and we thank them for stepping forward at a time when our work is needed more than ever,” said Jeff Rumpf, executive director of Clearwater. Newcomers to the Clearwater board include two New York City-based individuals dedicated to environmental action in different ways. Robert Politzer, the president and founder of GREENSTREET Construction, Inc., has led his firm from a small environmental testing and abatement company to its present status as one of the leading green building firms in the tri-state region. Politzer, a LEED accredited professional, was the past chair of the New York State Environmental Business Association’s Sustainable Business Task Force, and has taken an active role in readying Clearwater’s new Center for Environmental Leadership and Justice in Beacon, NY, located on the grounds of the former University Camp Settlement and where this year’s Annual meeting was held. Ross Gould is a practicing attorney and fervent activist who has been heading up Clearwater’s contentions in proceedings to determine the application for renewal of the Indian Point nuclear power plant facility’s operating licenses. Gould is also an active member of the Sierra Club’s Atlantic Chapter, serving on its Watershed committee and Natural Gas Task Force. This year Clearwater members elected to the board of directors one of the longtime volunteer committee coordinators for the Great Hudson River Revival. Roberta Goldberg, a Danbury, CT resident, has headed the Accessibility Committee at the Clearwater Festival for the past several years. An interpreter for the Deaf, Goldberg works as the Senior Staff Interpreter for a non-profit social service agency in Bridgeport, CT and specializes in medical interpreting. Goldberg also serves as Member at Large for the Connecticut chapter of the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf. Annie Todd Osborn and Michael Myerson round off the group of new Clearwater board members. Osborn, a former Clearwater board president, is a consulting forester, teacher, advocate for the environment and lifelong sailor. As New York State representative to the Garden Club of America she coordinated botanical inventory of Iona Marsh. A member of the Garrison Fish and Game Club, Osborn also has been a board member of the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival for over 20 years. Presently, she is an acting trustee of the New York Forest OwnersAssociation, and chair of the Science Committeeof the NY / NJ Trails Conference. Myerson directs communications for1199SEIU, the world’s largest union local. A native of California, he was a key figure in the Free Speech Movement at the University of California, Berkeleyin the early 1960s. Myerson has authored several books, and for the past twenty years has worked as a writer, editor and consultant for numerous political figures and organizations, including the United Nations. He is a longtime member of Clearwater and a resident of Cortlandt Manor in northern Westchester. Returning to the Clearwater board are two active directors: Steve Densmore, a press liaison and writer for the Dyson Foundation currently overseeing all public relations and grant writing for the Walkway Over the Hudson project; and Stephen Filler, director of business development for Prism Solar Technologies and co-founder of CSRHUB, a business and website that provides ratings on businesses sustainability practices. Despite the rainy weather, Clearwater’s annual meeting drew over 150 people. Peggy Shepard, executive director of WE ACT for Environmental Justice, was the keynote speaker for the event, and she touched upon a number of advocacy and sustainability issues in her lively half-hour presentation. The Clearwater annual meeting was bookended by entertaining performances and sing-alongs from the Walkabout Clearwater Chorus, now celebrating its 25th anniversary. An open meeting of the Clearwater board of directors was held following the ratifying of the board’s new members at the Beacon gathering, and the organization’s founder, Pete Seeger, offered a short “pep talk” to those attending. Attached photo: New Clearwater board members (l-r): Stephen Filler, Ross Gould, Michael Myerson, Robert Politzer and Roberta Goldberg. Photo: Tom Staudter / Clearwater
Contact: Communications Director Hudson River Sloop Clearwater 845-454-7673 x112 |
