Past Heroes & Compton Winners

Name Award Year
Margo Farnsworth

Margo Farnsworth is one of only nine Biomimicry Fellows in the world, and is currently engaged in a project using biomimicry as a model to restore coastal communities.

2011 National River Hero
Robert Hunter

Bob Hunter is a founding board member and staff attorney for WaterWatch of Oregon.

2011 National River Hero
James McMillan

James McMillan was born into a family of farmers who have farmed in Knox County for 6 generations. From the time he was a little boy, he loved the land, to farm, to hunt and to fish.

2011 National River Hero
Beth Stewart

Beth Stewart is the Cahaba River Society's (AL) Executive Director. She is lead staff for the Responsible Agenda for River Restoration and Growth and our storm water and ADEM reform programs.

2011 National River Hero
Dean Wilson

Captain Dean A. Wilson is the executive director of the Atchafalaya Basinkeeper.

2011 National River Hero
Chris Brown

For over 30 years, Christopher (Chris) Brown has been a champion of our nation’s rivers.

 2011 Compton River Achievement Award Winner
Jeff Crane

Jeff is a hydrologist specializing in stream restoration, irrigation diversion and habitat enhancement projects with a major emphasis in water resource engineering and hydrology.

2010 National River Hero
Keith Pitzer

The late Keith Pitzer was a native of Ohio and a full-time farmer who moved with his wife and four sons to West Virginia after a trip on the Cheat River captured his heart.

2010 National River Hero
Cynthia Sarthou

Cynthia "Cyn" Sarthou has been the Executive Director of the Gulf Restoration Network (GRN) since its inception fifteen years ago.

2010 National River Hero
Felix Smith

For thirty-four years, Felix served as a fish and wildlife biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service.

2010 National River Hero
Pamela Williams

Pamela "Pam" Williams has lived in York Center, Ohio, for most of her life. For over twenty years, she has worked as a mail carrier in a small Ohio village.

2010 National River Hero
Brock Evans

Brock Evans' impressive career as a leader in the environmental movement began in the mid-1960s. After earning his B.A. from Princeton, Brock spent two years in the U.S.

2010 Compton River Achievement Award Winner
T. Allan Comp

An employee of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Comp works through the ACCWT and the WHWT to support the efforts of small community/watershed groups in mining communities o

2009 National River Hero
Ella F. Filippone

The Passaic River Basin is the most densely populated area in the State of New Jersey. It is composed of eight counties and 118 municipalities totally 2.5 million people.

2009 National River Hero
Roger Frymire

Retired for 20 years, Roger started down the slippery slope of watershed volunteering after borrowing – for 4 years - a friend's canoe.

2009 National River Hero
Dean Naujoks

Born in PA and raised on the Upper Delaware (National Scenic) River, Dean has over 18 years of environmental non-profit experience in North Carolina.

2009 National River Hero
Cynthia Skrukrud

Cindy Skrukrud has lived the past 22 years in the glacial hills of Northern Illinois overlooking the mighty Nippersink Creek, a tributary to the Fox River of southern Wisconsin and northeastern Ill

2009 National River Hero
Dr. Liane Russell

Liane Brauch (Lee) Russell has studied mammalian genetics for more than 45 years at Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Biology Division.

2009 Compton River Achievement Award Winner
David Baker

Dr. David Baker, Director Emeritus, National Center for Water Quality Research at Heidelberg College (OH). For nearly forty years, Dr.

2008 National River Hero
Bernie Dahl

Bernie Dahl Immediate Past President, Banks of the Wabash, Inc., Professor, Purdue University (IN). Since 1972, Bernie Dahl has been teaching at Purdue University.

2008 National River Hero
Rob Hutsel

Rob Hutsel, Executive Director, The San Diego River Park Foundation (CA). In 2000, Rob Hutsel was a “weekend warrior,” dedicating his spare time to helping restore local native wildlands.

2008 National River Hero
Robert Ruffner

Robert Ruffner, Executive Director, Kenai Watershed Forum (AK). A native of Texas, Robert Ruffner learned to love rivers while canoeing the local waterways with his family and friends.

2008 National River Hero
John Tippett

John Tippett, Executive Director, Friends of the Rappahannock (VA). John Tippett has served as Executive Director of Friends of the Rappahannock (FOR) since he came to the organization in 1995.

2008 National River Hero
JoAnn Burkholder

Dr. JoAnn Burkholder, Professor of Applied Aquatic Ecology, NC State University (NC). Dr.

2008 Compton River Achievement Award Winner
Joe Cook

Joe Cook (GA), An award-winning nature photographer and author, Joe’s slide presentations about the Etowah River, Chattahoochee River and Appalachian Trail have been enjoyed by more than 10,000 chi

2007 National River Hero
Kerry Mackin

Kerry Mackin (MA), Kerry is the mouse who roared, and her work is a stunning example of what one person can accomplish.

2007 National River Hero
Rebecca Miles

Rebecca Miles (ID). In 2005, Rebecca was the first woman, and at 32 the youngest person ever elected chair of the Nez Perce Tribe.

2007 National River Hero
Judith Petersen

Judith Petersen (KY). A former aerospace engineer, Judy has been one of the river conservation movement’s most devoted advocates.

2007 National River Hero
Alan Rollo

Alan Rollo (MT). Alan has been a key figure in Montana and national river conservation for over twenty-five years, actively engaged in a plethora of water quality programs.

2007 National River Hero
Russell Jim

Russell Jim serves as the head of the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Indian Nation’s Environmental Restoration and Waste Management Program. Mr.

2007 Compton River Achievement Award Winner