Executive Director Duane Silverstein Wins the Jefferson Award
Date: 28-Jan-2010
At Seacology’s headquarters, our greatest reward is receiving the field reports from our island projects. The knowledge that we are preserving new acres of land and water every day, while helping island communities attain a higher quality of life, inspires us daily. Even so, it’s always nice to get outside approval for our work, which is why we are proud to announce that Seacology’s very own Executive Director Duane Silverstein was recently awarded the Jefferson Award in recognition of his dedication to protecting islands.
Founded in 1972 by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, U.S. Senator Robert Taft, Jr,. and public servant Sam Beard, the Jefferson Awards were created to honor public service leaders across the country. The awards recognize both national and local leaders, with past nation recipients including the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Oprah Winfrey, and Rev. Jesse Jackson. (A full list of recipients can be found here.)
Duane Silverstein is being awarded the local Jefferson Award by the Bay Area’s CBS-5 news team. CBS-5 describes the Jefferson Awards recipients as "ordinary people who do extraordinary things without expectation of recognition or reward." In honoring these leaders, they hope to "inspire others to become involved in community and public service."
CBS-5 reporter Kate Kelly recently interviewed Duane about the journey that led him to Seacology. It was a snorkeling expedition that first inspired him: "I put my head with a snorkel and mask in the water, and my life was changed immediately," Duane says. Since then, he’s spent his life fighting for environmental causes, and for the last 10 years, his leadership of Seacology has preserved thousands of acres of island habitat.
You can see Duane’s interview and read the full article on the CBS-5 website, at: http://cbs5.com/video/?id=60934@kpix.dayport.com
Congratulations, Duane!
