2012 Featured Speakers

Administrator Lisa Jackson
U.S. EPA
Friday Evening May 4

Since being named President Obama’s cabinet member in charge of environmental protection, EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson has been named one Newsweek’s “Most Important People in 2010,” featured on Time Magazine’s 2010 and 2011 lists of the “100 Most Influential People in the World”, listed in Essence Magazine’s “40 Women Who Have Influenced the World,” and profiled in O Magazine for her work to protect our nation’s air, water and land from pollution that threatens human health.

Jackson leads EPA’s efforts to protect the health and environment for all Americans. She and a staff of more than 18,000 professionals are working across the nation to usher in a green economy, address health threats from pollution in our air, water and land, and renew the public’s trust in EPA’s work.

Alexandra Cousteau
Explorer, Filmmaker, Advocate
Saturday Morning, May 5

Alexandra Cousteau is committed to helping people understand and value their everyday relationship with water. Alexandra works as a filmmaker and advocate to engage people in conversations about the interconnectivity of our water resources. Representing the third generation of her family to explore water issues, Alexandra was named a National Geographic Emerging Explorer in 2008. She currently serves on the prestigious Young Global Leaders Council of the World Economic Forum; the Board of Directors of the Global Water Challenge, Mother Nature Network, and EarthEcho; and the Leadership Council for the Waterkeeper Alliance.

In 2008, Alexandra joined “dot-com” entrepreneur Jonathan Smith to launch the non-profit Blue Legacy project. Blue Legacy helps people understand and value their everyday relationship with water. The organization produces visual and interactive storytelling inspired by expeditions around the globe to engage people in critical conversations about the health, quality and quantity of our water resources.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
President, Waterkeeper Alliance
Saturday Evening, May 5

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s reputation as a resolute defender of the environment stems from a litany of successful legal actions. Mr. Kennedy was named one of Time magazine's “Heroes for the Planet” for his success helping Riverkeeper lead the fight to restore the Hudson River. The group's achievement helped spawn over 190 Waterkeeper organizations across the globe.

Mr. Kennedy serves as Senior Attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, Chief Prosecuting Attorney for the Hudson Riverkeeper and President of Waterkeeper Alliance. He is also a Clinical Professor and Supervising Attorney at Pace University School of Law’s Environmental Litigation Clinic and is co-host of Ring of Fire on Air America Radio. Earlier in his career he served as Assistant District Attorney in New York City.

He has worked on environmental issues across the Americas and has assisted several indigenous tribes in Latin America and Canada in successfully negotiating treaties protecting traditional homelands. He is credited with leading the fight to protect New York City's water supply. The New York City watershed agreement, which he negotiated on behalf of environmentalists and New York City watershed consumers, is regarded as an international model in stakeholder consensus negotiations and sustainable development.

Dave Densmore & Alexa Wiley
For the Love of Fish
Friday Evening, May 4

Dave Densmore and Alexa Wiley seem an unlikely pair. Dave Densmore was born and raised in Alaska on Kodiak and in various Aleutian Island villages. A love of the sea was his motivation to pursue a lifetime career of commercial fishing and diving earning a full man share by the age of twelve; he bought his first commercial fishing boat at the age of thirteen. His first poems were written off shore outside Astoria (OR) in the 70s. He writes while steering his boat in the rain, in the night, on the ocean and on the land. Dave started working seriously with his poetry and storytelling because he felt that the commercial fishing industry was being publicly demonized and has evolved into an outspoken defender of nature.

Alexa Wiley, a folk singer from Oregon, is committed to making connections with her songwriting with local communities. Alexa developed and co-produced Salmon Nation Artists Project in support of Ecotrust’s Salmon Nation philosophy and clips of her anti-LNG song can also be heard during the credits of Crossroads on the Columbia: Oregon Confronts America’s Energy Future, a documentary of the long fight in Oregon against proposed liquefied natural gas terminals. Together as a team Dave and Alexa perform poetry and music, weaving a tapestry that captures the spirit of their work, and of the Northwest.