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SWEP Three Rivers Brings the Conversation to the Park on June 26

Thursday, May 17, 2018 7:16 AM | Anonymous

The Society of Women Environmental Professionals (SWEP) - Three Rivers Chapter is pleased to host “A Conversation with Caren Glotfelty, Executive Director of the Allegheny County Parks Foundation” on Tuesday June 26th.  Caren is well known as one of the state’s top environmental advocates.  A native of Northern California, Caren has spent her career in Pennsylvania and the surrounding region focusing on water quality, land use, and planning issues.  With her expertise and reputation, she earned the appointment as the first female Deputy Secretary for Water Management in the PA Department of Environmental Resources, where she spent 4 years managing state policy and regulatory programs for water quality, sewage treatment, stormwater management, and stream protection.  She has been honored many times including the PA Environmental Council Lifetime Achievement Award and the PA Parks and Forests Foundation Cliff Jones Legacy Award. 

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Following 13 years as Senior Program Director for the Heinz Endowments Environment Program and 5 years as Maurice K. Goddard Chair in Forestry & Environmental Resources Conservation at Penn State University, Caren now heads the Allegheny County Parks Foundation (ACPF).  In her role as Executive Director, she helps to steward the county’s 12,000 acres of parks where she can continue her commitment to protecting the environment.

Whether she’s designing a demonstration meadow, putting together a strategic plan, mitigating stream pollution, or installing a chimney swift nesting tower, Caren is a natural fit for leading the ACPF, whose mission is to improve, conserve, maintain, protect, preserve and restore Allegheny County park facilities and open spaces, and to support educational, recreational, natural, and cultural activities. “I’ve spent many years repairing some of the dire ecological consequences of industrialization to our region,” Caren has said. “It’s a joy and privilege to now concentrate on the needs of such an important resource as our county parks. Allegheny County is very fortunate that we have such a robust park system, which is a rare asset for a single county.”

The ACPF, a non-profit established in 2007, works with Allegheny County to support the county’s nine parks. The ACPF supports the transformation of these nine County parks by providing resources, improving assets, and coordinating public and private stakeholders to advance strategies to make the parks signature assets in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Some of the notable projects include major trail improvements in North Park, Settlers Cabin, and South Park, ecological assessments in Boyce Park and South Park, and the implementation of the Chimney Swift Habitat Towers program.

Join us on June 26 as we learn more about Caren’s dreams for our County parks and her efforts to advance environmental sustainability. You will leave inspired by her passion and motivated by her journey to realize the art of possibilities for environmental professionals.

Location: North Park at Rose Barn on Pearce Mill Road, Allison Park, PA 15101

Time: Registration & Networking at 2:00 PM; Program at 2:30 PM; Social Networking to follow at Over the Bar Bicycle Café, North Park Boat House 10301 Pearce Mill Road, Allison Park, PA 15101

Registration opens for members on May 14 and May 21 for non-members. Seating is limited so register early.  

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