Congratulations, Tina!
From a Clean Water Action press release:
Clean
Water Action announced their 2026 awardees to be honored at the
organization’s 24th Annual Breakfast of Champions, happening on
Friday, May 22nd at 9:30 am at the Edgewood Yacht Club in
Cranston.
“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. When Trump gave
us anti-environment headwinds, Rhode Island built wind power,” said Emily
Howe, Clean Water Action’s RI Director. “Now more than ever, it’s important
to celebrate our victories and honor the advocates who make those wins happen!”
The 2026 awardees are as follows:
2026 David R. Gerraughty Award for Lifetime Commitment to
the Environment - Sheila Dormody, Chief of Policy and Resiliency for
the City of Providence
Sheila has been at the forefront of Rhode Island’s efforts
to address climate change and stand up for environmental and social justice for
over 30 years. Throughout her outstanding career as an organizer, Sheila fought
for and won campaigns to protect neighbors from lead pipes, promote producer
responsibility for e-waste, enact a RI
Renewable Energy Standard, and clean up emissions from diesel buses.
She was also a national leader in the effort to phase out the sale of products
containing toxic mercury.
“Sheila hired and trained so many of New England’s current
environmental leaders during her years at Clean Water Action in the early
2000s,” said Cindy Luppi, Clean Water Action’s Senior Director for
State Policy and Program. “Her legacy is not just the victories that she won,
but also the countless advocates whose skills and passions she cultivated.”
Open Space Champion - Kate Sayles, Executive Director
of RI Land Trust Council
Kate has been a leader in the 2024 and 2026 fights for the
strongest possible Green Bonds for Rhode Island, ensuring that open space
preservation and climate resilience are prioritized and funded, with every
dollar she raises unlocking another dollar for land conservation.
Excellence in Environmental Journalism - Steve Ahlquist
Steve is an independent journalist who has covered the
environment, social justice, activism, and politics in Rhode Island for years,
bringing a particularly focused lens to covering local struggles for
environmental justice. Steve’s tireless work ensures that people in power hear
the voices of those who are not, and that bullies are held accountable. His
most recent reporting appears in his Substack, SteveAhlquist.news.
Clean Jobs Partner - Aislinn Hanley, Climate Jobs Rhode Island Program
Director
Aislinn has been a leader defending Rhode Island’s growing
renewable energy sector from federal attacks and rollbacks. Her advocacy,
alongside the efforts of our union partners, has resulted in Rhode Island
becoming one of the first states in the nation to host a commercial-scale
offshore wind farm, Revolution Wind, now providing power to over 350,000 homes.
Legislative Champions - Representative Tina Spears and
Senator Mark McKenney
Representative Spears and Senator McKenney have both been
Rhode Island climate resiliency leaders, with Representative Spears leading the
efforts to pass the “Blue
Wave Bond for Coastal Preparedness Act,” a $100 million fund to address
rising sea levels and increasing coastal storms, and Senator McKenney
sponsoring legislation to reform the beleaguered Coastal
Resources Management Council. Additionally, both have been leaders in
the efforts to improve recycling in Rhode Island, with Senator McKenney serving
as a co-chair of the Bottle
Bill Study Commission.
For tickets and more information about the Breakfast of Champions, please visit: cleanwater.org/ri-breakfast.
Since the organization’s founding during the campaign to
pass the landmark Clean Water Act in 1972, Clean Water Action has worked to win
strong health and environmental protections by bringing issue expertise,
solution-oriented thinking, and people power to the table.
