This year’s honorees include Dominique Browning, Rebecca Moore and Dr. Kathryn D. Sullivan
NBC News’ Chief Environmental Affairs Correspondent Anne Thompson to emcee
Press Release – New York, NY (April 26, 2016) – The National Audubon Society will celebrate its 13th annual Women in Conservation Luncheon by presenting the 2016 Rachel Carson Award to Dominique Browning, Co-Founder & Senior Director of Moms Clean Air Force; Rebecca Moore, Director of Google Earth, Earth Engine and Earth Outreach; and Dr. Kathryn D. Sullivan, Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator, at The Plaza Hotel in New York City on Tuesday, May 17th. The Rachel Carson Award is the nation’s premier award recognizing visionary women whose dedication, talent and energy have greatly advanced environmental and conservation causes nationally and globally.
This year’s honorees will receive the 2016 Rachel Carson Award for their achievements:
Dominique Browning is the Co-Founder and Senior Director of Moms Clean Air Force, a special project of the Environmental Defense Fund that is working to strengthen clean air regulations. She writes regularly for The New York Times and TIME.com and also contributes to numerous other publications. Browning spent most of her journalistic career in the magazine world, as an editor at Esquire, Texas Monthly, Newsweek, and House & Garden. She is the author of several books, including one for young children about air, called “Every Breath We Take,” and her most recent book is “SLOW LOVE: How I Lost My Job, Put on My Pajamas, & Found Happiness.” She has also served on various boards, including The New York Botanical Garden, the Battery Conservancy, and the Historic House Trust of New York City. Browning is the mother of two sons.
Rebecca Moore is Director of Google Earth, Earth Engine and Earth Outreach. She initiated and leads the development of Google Earth Engine, a new technology platform that puts an unprecedented amount of satellite imagery online and enables scientists to conduct global-scale monitoring and measurement of changes in the earth’s environment. Moore also conceived and leads the Google Earth Outreach program, which supports nonprofits, educators and indigenous communities in applying Google’s mapping tools to the world’s most pressing problems in environmental conservation, human rights, and cultural preservation. Her personal work using Google Earth was instrumental in stopping the logging of more than a thousand acres of redwoods in her Santa Cruz Mountain community. In 2013, Moore was recognized by the White House as a Champion of Change for Open Science.
Dr. Kathryn Sullivan, the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator, is a distinguished scientist, renowned astronaut, and intrepid explorer. Prior to this position, she served as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Environmental Observation and Prediction and Deputy Administrator for NOAA. In this role, she directed work in the areas of weather and water services, climate science and services, and Earth-observations. She was the inaugural Director of the Battelle Center for Mathematics and Science Education Policy in the John Glenn School of Public Affairs at Ohio State University. Previously, she served as President and CEO of the Center of Science and Industry (COSI) in Columbus, OH. Dr. Sullivan was one of the first six women selected to join the NASA astronaut corps in 1978. She holds the distinction of being the first American woman to walk in space.
“For over a decade the National Audubon Society has highlighted the important role women have played in the environmental movement,” says Allison Rockefeller, Founding Chair of the Rachel Carson Awards Council. “Women understand the protection life requires, the conditions under which it thrives. We understand that all things rely on each other and that we must respect the fragility of our natural world.”
“Audubon New York congratulates Dominique Browning, Rebecca Moore and Dr. Kathryn D. Sullivan on receiving the 2016 Rachel Carson Award,” says Audubon New York Executive Director Erin Crotty. “Their leadership, expertise, and perseverance have played a critical role in addressing some of the most pressing environmental conservation issues of our time. Each and every day they embody the true spirit of the Rachel Carson Award by inspiring legions of young women to blaze their own path.”
The 2016 Rachel Carson Award ceremony will be emceed by Anne Thompson, chief environmental affairs correspondent for NBC News, and include remarks from David Yarnold, Audubon’s President and CEO; Allison Rockefeller, Founding Chair of the Rachel Carson Awards; and the Rachel Carson Award honorees. Since its inception, Audubon’s Rachel Carson Award has raised funds to support Audubon New York’s conservation efforts, including the campaign to protect the Long Island Sound and Coastal Stewardship Program, as well as National Audubon’s Women in Conservation Program. The luncheon at The Plaza Hotel will offer a full, locally sourced vegetarian menu catered by Liz Neumark, owner of Great Performances and member of the Audubon Women in Conservation Awards Council. The reception begins at 11:00 a.m. followed by lunch at noon. Tickets range from $185 to $2,500 for an individual ticket and $5,000 to $25,000 for a table of 10. The event is sponsored by Fiduciary Trust Company International and Google. For more information, please call 518-869-9731 or visit www.womeninconservation.org.
ABOUT THE NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY
The National Audubon Society saves birds and their habitats throughout the Americas using science, advocacy, education and on-the-ground conservation. Audubon’s state programs, nature centers, chapters and partners have an unparalleled wingspan that reaches millions of people each year to inform, inspire and unite diverse communities in conservation action. Since 1905, Audubon’s vision has been a world in which people and wildlife thrive. Audubon is a nonprofit conservation organization. Learn more at www.audubon.org and @audubonsociety.
ABOUT AUDUBON’S WOMEN IN CONSERVATION
To recognize outstanding women leaders in today’s conservation movement; to support environmental opportunities for girls and young women; and to educate women on important issues related to conservation and the environment. www.womeninconservation.org
