To read more about the Clean Water Network Board of Directors and Staff scroll down.
The Clean Water Network is a coalition of more than 1,000 public interest organizations that endorse our platform paper, the National Agenda for Clean Water. The Agenda outlines the need for strong clean water safeguards in order to protect public health and the environment.
The Clean Water Network includes a wide variety of public interest organizations representing environmentalists, commercial fishermen, recreational anglers, surfers, boaters, farmers, faith communities, environmental justice, labor unions, consumer advocates, and others. Any group that endorses our National Agenda can join.
CWN is comprised of organizational memberships. Once an organization endorses the Agenda all its individual staff and members can join our listserves, receive our monthly newsletter, and participate in CWN activities.
While there is no fee for members, CWN does ask that all members contribute through our voluntary membership fee. Click here to see a list of CWN members who contributed in 2006.
CWN staff in the Network's national headquarters in Washington, D.C. coordinate information and activities for member groups. The Network's Board of Directors meets to make strategic decisions on the Network’s course of action and membership meetings guide the Network’s action plan.
Renée Victoria Hoyos, Clean Water Network President
Tennessee Clean Water Network, Executive Director
renee@tcwn.org
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Renée Victoria Hoyos became TCWN’s Executive Director in October 2003. Renée has most recently worked with the California Resources Agency and served as Special Assistant to Secretary Nichols for Watersheds and Outreach. While there, one of her major priorities was creating a watershed management policy and program to guide the State in its long-term development strategies. In addition to working in watershed management, she was also the environmental education and environmental justice coordinator, and the Agency’s point of contact for Wild and Scenic Rivers issues. Renée’s nonprofit experience includes a work with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center in San Francisco. Renée holds a Masters of Agriculture and Management degree (with concentration in nonprofit organization management) as well as a Masters of Avian Science degree, both from the University of California in Davis.
Rachel Conn, Clean Water Network Vice President 2
Amigos Bravos, Clean Water Circuit Rider & Policy Analyst
rconn@amigosbravos.org
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As Circuit Rider, Rachel provides hands-on support to impacted communities and watershed groups, reviews and comments on state and federal water policy issues, conducts Clean Water Act trainings, and leads our water quality and river otter reintroduction programs. Rachel previously served as Project Director for the Costilla County Committee for Environmental Soundness (San Luis, CO) and as an Environmental Analyst with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (Boston, MA). She holds a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Biology from Colorado College.
Christy Leavitt, Clean Water Network Secretary
Environment America, Clean Water Advocate
christyl@environmentamerica.org
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Christy Leavitt is the Clean Water Advocate for Environment America. She researches and advocates on clean water and safe drinking water issues, specializing in the protection of U.S. waterways from pollution and the enforcement of environmental laws. Before joining staff, Ms. Leavitt directed Free The Planet!, a national student environment organization, for four years. Between 1995 and 1999, she worked for CALPIRG, organizing college students at the University of California campuses around environmental, consumer and good government issues. Ms. Leavitt is a 1995 graduate of Occidental College.
Dereth Glance, Clean Water Network Treasurer
Citizens Campaign for the Environment, Executive Program Director
dglance@citizenscampaign.org
Dereth Glance is the Executive Program Director for Citizens Campaign for the Environment (CCE) and has been part of the CCE team since 2002. She also serves as Vice Chair on the board on Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency (OCRRA) and chairs the agency's Recycling Committee. Dereth is active in a wide range of environmental issues inclduing: the Great Lakes, air pollution, water quality, energy policy, conservation, waste and recycling and wildlife protection. With a long standing commitment to public education and activism, Dereth previously worked for Defenders of Wildlife; the utility-consumer watchdog, Citizen Action Coalition of Indiana; and the Michigan League for Human Services. Dereth attended Michigan State University where she earned her B.A. from the James Madison College of Public Affairs and currently lives in Syracuse, New York.
Alphabetized by Last Name
Katherine Baer
American Rivers, Healthy Waters Campaign Director
kbaer@americanrivers.org
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Katherine joins the American Rivers staff after working for the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, the Center for Progressive Reform, and the Natural Resource Defense Council. Originally from Georgia, Katherine has an undergraduate degree from Stanford Univerisity, a Masters in Conservation Ecology from the University of Georgia and a law degree from the University of Maryland. Although she enjoys paddling and other outdoor pursuits, most of her spare time is currently devoted to chasing her toddler around the yard.
Jon Devine
Natural Resources Defense Council, Clean Water Project Senior Attorney
jdevine@nrdc.org
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Jon Devine is a senior attorney with the clean water project. His work focuses on water quality and nutrient pollution in the Mississippi River Basin, the legal scope of the Clean Water Act and mountaintop removal coal mining and its impacts on bodies of water in Appalachia. Jon worked with NRDC's health and environment program for four years. Before joining NRDC in 2001, Jon was an attorney-advisor in the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of General Counsel. Jon was a law clerk for Judge Phyllis Kravitch of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. He received his law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1996 and graduated from Bowdoin College in 1991. Before attending law school, he was an environmental specialist in the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.
Keith Dimoff
Ohio Environmental Council, Executive Director
keith@theoec.org
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As Executive Director, Keith is responsible for guiding the OEC's overall operation, maintaining our leadership role among environmental advocacy organizations in Ohio, and ensuring the financial health of the organization. He began his experience with the OEC in June 1998. Previously, Keith worked for five years at the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, where he earned the statewide 1989 Employee of the Year Award for his service with the Division of Hazardous Waste Management. He also served with the state Attorney General’s Office as a liaison on enforcement cases. Keith graduated in 1987 with honors from the Ohio State University with a B.S. in Civil Engineering (technical emphasis on environmental engineering and construction management) and a minor in the liberal arts. He serves on the steering committee of the Blue Green Alliance and is a graduate of the Great Lakes Executive Director Leadership Program.
Albert Ettinger
Environmental Law and Policy Center, Senior Staff Attorney
aettinger@elpc.org
Albert Ettinger is a Senior Attorney working on clean water and natural resources protection litigation, who leads ELPC’s Midwest Wild and Natural Places Project. Mr. Ettinger previously was a partner with the law firm of Freeman, Freeman & Salzman in Chicago, specializing in complex litigation, especially antitrust issues. He has long served as a pro bono legal counsel for the Illinois Chapter of the Sierra Club. J.D., University of Michigan, 1979; B.S., University of Michigan, 1975.
Jan Goldman-Carter
National Wildlife Federation, Wetlands and Water Resources Counsel
goldmancarterj@nwf.org
Jan Goldman-Carter is the Wetlands and Water Resources Counsel for the National Wildlife Federation, and also served in that role from 1987-1991. In the interim, Jan represented NWF and other environmental groups on national and state wetlands issues. She has lectured and written extensively on federal wetlands law since 1987. Jan has also worked on wetlands conservation as a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Jan holds an M.S. in Natural Resources from the University of Michigan, and a J.D. from the University of Minnesota.
Tim Greeff
League of Conservation Voters, Deputy Legislative Director
tim_greeff@lcv.org
Formerly with the Natural Resources Defense Council in Washington DC, Mr. Greeff handles legislative issues for the national League of Conservation Voters.
April Gromnicki
Audubon, Ecosystem Restoration Director
agromnicki@audubon.org
April is the Ecosystem Restoration Director in Audubon's national policy office in Washington, DC. Gromnicki leads Audubon's national advocacy efforts for landscape-scale ecosystem restoration, including the Mississippi River - Coastal Louisiana, Everglades, Great Lakes, and Long Island Sound. Prior to joining the national policy office, Gromnicki led Audubon's Everglades Team, including policy, science, grassroots, and outreach staff, to develop and implement strategy and policy for Everglades restoration, and served as Audubon of Florida's lead advocate for Everglades restoration with members of Congress, the federal administration and agencies. Prior to joining Audubon in 1996, Ms. Gromnicki served as Special Assistant to the Chairman of the Governor's Commission for a Sustainable South Florida, helping to shape and draft policy for balancing the environmental, social, and economic goals of the commission. Ms. Gromnicki is a member of the Florida Bar, graduated cum laude from the University of Miami School of Law, and holds a B.A. in philosophy from the University of South Florida.
Ed Hopkins
Sierra Club, Environmental Quality Program Director
ed.hopkins@sierraclub.org
Hopkins has spent 22 years as a grassroots organizer and lobbyist, including three years as a policy analyst under former Democratic Ohio Gov. Richard Celeste during the mid-1980s. in 1998, Hopkins served as a consultant to the Pesticide Right-to-Know Campaign, sponsored by the Pew Charitable Trusts, which funds stateline.org.
Gayle Killam
River Network, Protection and Restoration Program Director
gkillam@rivernetwork.org
Gayle Killam is the Director of the Protection and Restoration Program. Gayle has been training and supporting citizens across the country on better implementation and enforcement of the Clean Water Act since 1998. In the last few years, this work has emphasized better implementation of water quality standards (including the antidegradation policy) and review and enforcement of NPDES permits, particularly stormwater permits. She recently authored the second edition of River Network's "The Clean Water Act Owner's Manual." Gayle also co-authored "Permitting an End to Pollution, how to scrutinize and strengthen water pollution permits in your state" (with Clean Water Network and Prairie Rivers Network) and "Tracking TMDLs, a field guide for evaluating proposed watershed restoration plans" (with National Wildlife Federation). Gayle has also put together an online Clean Water Act course at www.cleanwateract.org. Gayle received her Masters' degree from Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences and her Bachelors' degree in economics from Yale University.
Joan Mulhern
Earthjustice, Senior Legislative Counsel
jmulhern@earthjustice.org
Joan Mulhern is Senior Legislative Counsel for Earthjustice, a national nonprofit environmental law firm. She works with members of the U.S. Congress, federal agencies, the media, and other environmental organizations to represent Earthjustice on issues of environmental quality, including clean water, public health, and environmental justice. She is a former Executive Committee member of the Clean Water Network and a current member of the Clean Water Network Steering Committee. Her expertise on Clean Water Act issues includes the scope of waters protected by the Clean Water Act, the law’s watershed clean up program, wetlands protection, mountaintop removal coal mining, water quality standards, and Clean Water Act enforcement. Prior to coming to Earthjustice, she was a Policy Fellow at the Georgetown University Law Center Federal Legislation Clinic, and Program Director for the Vermont Public Interest Research Group. Ms. Mulhern has a B.A. from the University of Vermont and a J.D. magna cum laude from the Georgetown University Law Center.
Cynthia Sarthou
Gulf Restoration Network, Executive Director
cyn@healthygulf.org
Cynthia works to elevate regional issues to a national level. She also works to obtain state and federal agency action to address the “Dead Zone” in the Gulf of Mexico. Cynthia received her B.A. from the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada, her law degree from the University of Mississippi in 1983, and her Masters of Law in Law and Marine Affairs from the University of Washington in 1992.
Paul Schwartz
Clean Water Action, National Policy Coordinator
pschwartz@cleanwater.org
Paul Schwartz is Clean Water Action's National Policy Coordinator and Clean Water Fund's Water Policy Director. Mr. Schwartz's areas of focus include: drinking water source protection, wet weather issues and water infrastructure finance and watershed clean up. Mr. Schwartz sits on the steering committees of both the Campaign for Safe and Affordable Drinking Water and is a co-chair of the Clean Water Network's Wet Weather/Funding Workgroup.
Nancy Stoner
Natural Resources Defense Council, Clean Water Project Director
nstoner@nrdc.org
Nancy Stoner is a senior attorney and the Director of NRDC’s Clean Water Project. She is a national expert in the federal Clean Water Act, on water pollution policy, and on environmental enforcement. She has been with NRDC since October 1999. From 1997-99, Ms. Stoner was the Director of the Office of Planning and Policy Analysis in U.S. EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. She was a trial attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice’s Environment & Natural Resources Division before that. Ms. Stoner is a 1982 graduate of the University of Virginia and a 1986 graduate of Yale Law School.
Martha Noble, Clean Water Network Vice President 1
Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, Senior Policy Associate
mnoble@sustainableagriculturecoalition.org
Martha Noble is a lawyer and policy specialist that joined the Sustainable Agriculture Coalition in 1998. Martha also co-chairs the Clean Water Network's Feedlot Work Group and is vice-chair of the Agricultural Management Committee of the American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources. She received a law degree from the University of California at Berkeley and before coming to the Coalition was a research professor and staff attorney with National Center for Agricultural Law at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.
