Announcing the 2024 Community Sentinel Award Recipients
Join us online or in Pittsburgh at The Westin Hotel for the 10th annual Community Sentinel Awards presentation on Wednesday, December 4, 2024.
Posts about the Community Sentinel Awards for Environmental Stewardship
The 2023 Legacy of Heroes Award
FracTracker Alliance and Halt the Harm Network honor the memory of three environmental heroes as part of the 2023 Community Sentinel Awards program.
Announcing the 2023 Community Sentinel Awards for Environmental Justice
FracTracker Alliance is pleased announce the recipients of the 2023 Community Sentinel Award for Environmental Stewardship.
A Community Sentinel’s leadership continues: Melissa Troutman since 2019
2019 Community Sentinel winner Melissa Troutman shares with FracTracker what she has been up to since winning the Sentinel award.
Congratulations to the 2021 Community Sentinels!
The 2021 Community Sentinel Awards include John Beard, Jr., Veronica Coptis, Travis London, and Love Sanchez.
2020 Community Sentinel Awards Recap
The 2020 Community Sentinel Awards include Edith Abeyta, Yvette Arellano, Theresa Landrum, and BJ McManama.
A successful 2019 Community Sentinel Award Reception- a full summary
There are many courageous and determined individuals to be grateful for within the environmental movement. At the 2019 Community Sentinel Awards for Environmental Stewardship, we were graced with the presence of many such leaders, and celebrated four in particular as this year’s award winners. From those fighting LNG export terminals on the West Coast, to those resisting fracking expansion in the Marcellus Shale and other formations, to those shutting down petrochemical expansion in the Gulf Coast – thank you, Sentinels.
2019 Community Sentinel Award Reception
The Program on October 22nd
The 2019 reception and ceremony coincided with the oil and gas industry’s three-day Shale Insight Conference. The fighters and victims of dirty energy and petrochemical development were recognized as we opposed the nearby perpetrators of these harms. The event featured the keynote speaker Andrey Rudomakha, Director of Environmental Watch on North Caucasus, and inspirational emcee David Braun of Rootskeeper.
You can watch the full 2019 Awards Reception here:
More About the Awardees
- Ron Gulla
Mr. Ron Gulla has been a pivotal voice in fighting unconventional oil and gas development in Pennsylvania and beyond. After natural gas development destroyed his property in Canonsburg, PA in 2005, Mr. Gulla became an outspoken advocate for citizens and landowners facing the many harms of fracking.
Mr. Gulla knows the industry well, having worked as an equipment supplier for various oil and gas operations. Like so many, he believed the industry crusade that touted energy independence and its promise of becoming a “shalionaire.”
Four unconventional gas wells were installed on Mr. Gulla’s property from 2005 to 2008. As a result, his water source and soil were contaminated, as well as a nearby stream and pond. He immediately began speaking out about his experiences and warning people of the potential dangers of fracking. Soon, people from all over the state were reaching out to him to share their stories.
Mr. Gulla became a central figure in informing and connecting people who were desperately looking for help. He has documented individuals’ stories for health studies and appropriate regulatory agencies, testified in front of the PA Department of Health and other official bodies, and he was instrumental in organizing letter campaigns with other affected landowners addressed to local district attorneys. These efforts resulted in a statewide investigation into many of these cases. He also has coordinated with local, state, and national news agencies to expose these critical issues.
Mr. Gulla proactively engaged the media and brought like-minded people together to tell their stories. Without his relentless efforts, much of the progress made in exposing the oil and gas industry in Pennsylvania would not have been possible.
- Sharon LavigneMs. Sharon Lavigne lives in the epicenter of the oil, gas, and petrochemical facilities in Louisiana. She is the founder of RISE St. James, a faith-based environmental and social justice organization dedicated to protecting St. James Parish from these toxic, cancer- causing industries. Her work is a matter of life or death — the 20 acres of land that Ms. Lavigne inherited from her grandfather is dead center of what is known today as “Cancer Alley.”
The 4th and 5th Districts of St. James Parish are majority Black neighborhoods, and they were the only districts to be covertly rezoned from residential to “residential/future industrial.” The environmental racism could not be more pronounced. Ms. Lavigne is fighting to protect the health of all residents living along the 85-mile long Cancer Alley, from those in New Orleans to those in Baton Rouge. Industry and elected officials are intent on wiping historic Black communities off the map, but with Ms. Lavigne’s leadership, residents are rising up to protect their health, their home, and their future.
At the heart of Ms. Lavigne’s work with RISE St. James is the demand for a moratorium on oil, gas, and petrochemical industry in St. James Parish. The district where Sharon lives has 2,822 people and 12 petrochemical plants — one plant for every 235 residents. Despite these staggering ratios, Formosa Plastics is trying to build a 14-plant petrochemical complex less than two miles from Ms. Lavigne’s home.
After working tirelessly over the last year to educate and mobilize other residents, Ms. Lavigne and RISE St. James members recently celebrated their biggest victory yet: blocking a $1.5B Wanhua petrochemical plant from moving into St. James Parish and operating within a mile of residents’ homes. In Ms. Lavigne’s words, “This is our land, this is our home, and we are standing up together to defend it. St. James is rising.”
- Allie RosenbluthMs. Allie Rosenbluth is a dedicated community activist who has spent years coordinating a huge grassroots rural coalition opposing Pembina’s proposed Jordan Cove LNG export terminal and Pacific Connector fracked gas pipeline in southern Oregon. She also recently traveled to Poland as a COP 24 delegate with SustainUS, a youth-led justice and sustainability advocacy group.
For over a decade, the Jordan Cove LNG project has been threatening southern Oregonians with the prospect of a 36-inch pipeline stretching across four rural counties, 229 miles, and over 180 state waterways, ending in a massive methane liquefaction and export terminal in Coos Bay. Ms. Rosenbluth has worked incredibly hard to ensure that all those opposed to the project gets a chance to speak with their elected representatives about the project and make their voice heard in local, state, and federal permitting processes. She has coordinated efforts to generate tens of thousands of comments in state and federal agency comment periods to review the various environmental impacts of the project. This turnout has surpassed public participation records in such permitting processes.
Ms. Rosenbluth’s efforts helped lead to a May 2019 denial from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality on a Clean Water Act permit needed to build the project, underlining the importance of state authority to defend water quality under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act, which the Trump Administration was simultaneously trying to weaken. She also helped mobilize over 3,000 rural Oregonians to attend four public hearings on the State Lands review of the project. Ms. Rosenbluth’s masterful coalition-building has helped unify people of all political persuasions, races, and ethnicities across the state to unify their opposition to fracked gas infrastructure in Oregon.
- Melissa TroutmanMs. Melissa Troutman is co-founder of the investigative news nonprofit Public Herald as well as a research and policy analyst for Earthworks. Her work as a film director and journalist has redefined the landscape and narrative around fracking w, and her community organizing has led to major wins against the industry.
Ms. Troutman’s Public Herald publications have seen widespread coverage. Her work has been referenced in the books Amity and Prosperity: One Family and the Fracturing of America by Eliza Griswald; Legal Rights for Rivers: Competition, Collaboration and Water Governance by Erin O’Donnell; and Sustainability and the Rights of Nature: An Introduction by Cameron La Follette and Chris Maser. Her work has been cited in over 20 academic studies to date. Furthermore, Ms. Troutman has produced three award-winning documentary films on fracking: Triple Divide (2013), TRIPLE DIVIDE [REDACTED] (2017), and INVISIBLE HAND (2019). Her films continue to play an important role in the narrative surrounding fracking and democracy.
In 2017, Ms. Troutman uncovered that 9,442 complaints related to oil and gas operations were never made public by the state. Her analysis of drinking water complaints revealed official misconduct by state officials that left families without clean water for months, even years. Consequently, Public Herald called for a criminal and civil investigation of the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection. In 2018, Ms. Troutman’s reporting on an untested fracking wastewater treatment facility at the headwaters of the Allegheny River was used by the Seneca Nation of Indians to shut down the project.
Ms. Troutman’s tireless efforts are an inspiration to the environmental movement in Pennsylvania, across the country, and beyond.
Legacy of Heroes Recognition
- Bill Hughes
On March 25, 2019, Bill Hughes of Wetzel County, West Virginia, passed away at age 74. Mr. Hughes, an environmental defender extraordinaire and former FracTracker colleague, served on the County solid waste authority, where he consistently pushed back on accepting the radioactive waste of the fracking industry. For nearly a decade, Mr. Hughes documented and disseminated photographic evidence of the activities and effects of shale gas development, and in turn educated thousands of people on the negative impacts of this industry. Mr. Hughes also shared information via gas field tours, PowerPoint presentations to groups in five states, op-ed pieces written for news media, and countless responses to questions and inquiries.
His legacy lives through the multitude of lives he enriched – from students, to activists, to everyday people. Bill was an omnipresent force for good, always armed with facts and a pervasive smile.
- April Pierson-Keating
April Pierson-Keating of Buckhannon, West Virginia, passed away on September 28, 2019, at age 52. Mrs. Pierson-Keating was the founder and director of Mountain Lakes Preservation Alliance, and a founding member of Preserve Our Water Heritage and Rights (POWHR). She was a board member of the Buckhannon River Watershed Association, the cancer research group ICARE, and the WV Environmental Council, and she was also a member of the Sierra Club, the WV Highlands Conservancy, and Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition (OVEC). When one met Mrs. Pierson-Keating, one could not help noticing and absorbing her passion for environmental preservation.
Mrs. Pierson-Keating received the Buckhannon BEST Award on May 14, 2019 in recognition of her commitment. Mayor David McCauley stated: “Mrs. Keating is a supreme protector of our environment. She is a lobbyist for clean water at both our state and federal governments, a participant in Buckhannon’s Community Unity & Kindness Day, the Equality March, the Science March, and other awareness activities… April Keating has helped us all in our B-U community to be happier and healthier in many ways.”
- Ricky Allen Roles
Ricky Allen Roles passed away at age 61 at his ranch in Silt, Colorado, on November 22, 2018. Mr. Roles was an adamant anti-fracking activist and spent many years fighting for safer oil and gas drilling and fracking regulations. He tirelessly fought to protect our earth’s sacred water and soil for the health and wellness of all living creatures. He is featured in books such as Fractivism and Collateral Damage, and documentaries including the Emmy Award winning film Split Estate and Oscar-nominated and Emmy-Award winning Gasland. He also bravely testified before Colorado’s Congress on the dangers of fracking.
Mr. Roles shared how his and his livestock’s health precipitously declined with the drilling of 19 wells on his property. He experienced respiratory, immune, and nervous system problems. Despite his health problems,
he strove to create awareness of the harmful impacts of fracking in his community and beyond. With those publications, his voice, beliefs and legacy will be heard forever. - John A. Trallo Sr.
John A. Trallo, Sr., 67, of Sonestown, Pennsylvania passed away on August 13, 2019. Mr. Trallo was a dedicated environmental activist who contributed to several groups working on pressing environmental issues such as hydraulic fracturing. He was a brilliant man who earned three college degrees and a teaching certificates in two states. He asked hard questions and was adamant in keeping government officials accountable. Some of the groups he was involved with were: Responsible Drilling Alliance (RDA), Shale Justice, The Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF), PA Community Rights Network, and Organizations United for the Environment. Mr. Trallo left this planet a better place for future generations, and we honor his spirit by continuously working towards his noble vision.
Sponsors and Partners
The Sentinels’ program and reception requires financial support—for monetary awards, awardee travel, and many
Michele Fetting of the Breathe Project and and FracTracker Board Member introducing 2019 Sentinel Award Winner Sharon Lavigne
other costs. As such, each year we call upon dedicated sponsors and partners for resources to enable this endeavor to continue. The daily, often-thankless jobs of Community Sentinels working to protecting our health and the environment deserve no less. Thank you to this year’s incredible award sponsors: The Heinz Endowments, 11th Hour Project, Center for Coalfield Justice, and Foundation for PA Watersheds.
We extend a big thank you to the following award partners: Viable Industries, Indigenous Environmental Network, Oxfam, Rootskeeper, Food & Water Watch, STAND.earth, Halt the Harm Network, Sierra Club, Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, Choose Clean Water Coalition, Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community, Mountain Watershed Association, Southwest Pennsylvania Environmental Health Project, Earthworks, and FracTracker Alliance.
Nominees
The following 18 people were nominated by their peers to receive this distinguished award:
- Laurie Barr – Coudersport, PA
2019 Sentinel Award Winner Melissa Troutman with introducer Leanne Leiter of Earthworks
- Kim Bonfardine – Elk County, PA
- Kim Fraczek – New York, NY
- Lisa Graves – Marcucci Washington, DC
- Ron Gulla – Canonsburg, PA*
- Leatra Harper – Bowling Green, OH
- Maury Johnson – Greenville, WV
- Theresa Landrum – Detroit, MI
- Sharon Lavigne – St. James, Louisiana*
- Sara Loflin – Erie, CO
- Ann Pinca – Lebanon, PA
- Randi Pokladnik – Uhrichsville, OH
- Patricia Popple – Chippewa Falls, WI
- Bev Reed – Bridgeport, OH
- Allie Rosenbluth – Medford, OR*
- Bob Schmetzer – South Heights, PA
- Yvonne Taylor – Watkins Glen, NY
- Melissa Troutman – Pittsburgh, PA*
* Denotes 2018 award recipient
Judges
Many thanks to the following judges for giving their time to review all of the nominations.
- Mariah Davis – Choose Clean Water Coalition
- Brenda Jo McManama – Indigenous Environmental Network
- Kathleen Brophy – Oxfam
- Dr. Pamela Calla – New York University
- Matt Krogh – STAND.earth
2019 Sentinel Award Winner Ron Gulla
Ethan Buckner of Earthworks introducing 2019 Sentinel Award Winner Sharon Lavigne
Keynote Speaker Andrey Rudomakha, Director of Environmental Watch on North Caucasus, with translator Kate Watters, Co-founder & Executive Director
Announcing the 2019 Sentinel Award Winners
Congratulations to the winners of this year’s Community Sentinel Award for Environmental Stewardship! After being nominated by peers this summer, recipients were selected by a committee of five community defense leaders and environmental champions from around the country.
Read brief descriptions of these inspiring individuals below, and make sure to register to reserve your seat at the Sentinel Award reception and ceremony, where we invite you to join us in honoring the awardees’ courageous environmental stewardship. This event will take place on October 22nd, 2019 at the Beaver Station Cultural & Event Center. The 2019 Community Sentinel Award for Environmental Stewardship winners are, in alphabetical order:
Ron Gulla, a former employee of the oil and gas industry who has been raising awareness around fracking’s destructive impacts on soil and water resources since he experienced them firsthand on his property in Pennsylvania;
Sharon Lavigne, the founder of RISE St. James, a faith-based environmental and social justice organization dedicated to protecting St. James Parish, Louisiana from the toxic, cancer-causing petrochemical industry;
Allie Rosenbluth, a dedicated community activist who has spent years coordinating a huge grassroots rural coalition opposing Pembina’s proposed Jordan Cove liquified natural gas export terminal and Pacific Connector fracked gas pipeline in Southern Oregon; and
Melissa Troutman, a film director and investigative journalist whose extensive work has changed the landscape and narrative on fracking, influenced policy, and inspired countless individuals to take action in their own communities.
We are also honored to recognize the following two individuals posthumously for the Legacy of Heroes award:
Bill Hughes, an activist who experienced many detrimental effects of fracking in his home of Wetzel County, West Virginia, and who responded by educating thousands of people on the harms of the oil and gas industry; and
Ricky Allen Roles, an inspiring individual who spoke out against the myriad of health impacts that he experienced as a result of 19 fracked wells on his property in Colorado.
You can find more details on the Sentinel Award ceremony and register by clicking the button below.
Photographs in the heading of this post, clockwise from top left are from: SustainUS, UU Ministry for Earth, Public Herald, and Hope For Peace.
A Sincere Thank You, 2018 Community Sentinel Award Recipients
Reflecting back on the Community Sentinel award reception, held on November 26th, I can’t help but be in awe of the raw grit and determination that filled the room. It was a cold, blustery day in Pittsburgh – and yet the hall felt warm from the passion each of the Community Sentinels awardees exuded. FracTracker Alliance and our many award sponsors and partners were so very proud to award Nalleli Cobo of California, Rebecca Roter and Ellen Gerhart of Pennsylvania, and Natasha Léger of Colorado with the 2018 Community Sentinel Award for Environmental Stewardship. (On a more personal note… This is the first year that all of the recipients have been women. Kudos!)
The Program on November 26th
As I nervously re-checked the AV equipment for the presentations to be led by our emcee from Rootskeeper, David Braun, attendees spent time networking and getting to know the awardees. We met people from all walks of life – each of them concerned about the negative impacts the oil and gas industry.
Rebekah Sale, of the Property Rights and Pipeline Center, kicked off the event with introductions, followed by David Braun to set the stage. Lauren Davis, of The 11th Hour Project, then graciously gave the keynote address. During her formative years as a funder, Lauren met many frontline communities – from the people facing the impacts of oil and gas development in their backyards to volunteers responding to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill along the Gulf. Working with these early community sentinels served as a critical juncture in her career. Lauren thanked them for the many lessons they taught her about perseverance, patience, and integrity.
Each year during the Community Sentinel Awards program we honor activists who valiantly fought against the harms of dirty energy but passed away in the past year in a presentation called “Legacy of Heroes.” During this year’s program we celebrated the lives and passions of Ben Stout of West Virginia, Ray Beiersdorfer of Ohio, and Carol Zagrocki of Pennsylvania. On behalf of all of the award partners and sponsors, a heartfelt thank you goes out to these incredible advocates who are truly leaving behind a Legacy of Heroes. Learn more about their inspiring work below.
And last but not least, the four recipients of the 2018 Community Sentinel award were presented with their awards.
David Braun introduced Nalleli Cobo, who became an activist at a young age after experiencing severe health impacts from nearby urban drilling. Nalleli has been a critical voice in the movement to end oil drilling in Los Angeles’ neighborhoods. Veronica Coptis of Center for Coalfield Justice presented the award to Ellen Gerhart, a renowned but reluctant activist in Pennsylvania. She has fearlessly stood in the way of Sunoco/Energy Transfer Partners for the past few years in order to protect her family’s home from the Mariner East pipelines. Matt Mehalik of the Breathe Project then introduced Natasha Léger. Natasha, a steadfast and eloquent lawyer by training, is currently leading a team of dedicated people in protecting the North Fork Valley of Delta County Colorado from irresponsible oil and gas development and fracking. Raina Rippel of the Southwest Pennsylvania Environmental Health Project then presented the final award to Rebecca Roter. Rebecca, who moved out of PA to escape the health effects of oil and gas development near her home, still works tirelessly to protect communities from fracking’s impacts through strategic advocacy and on-the-ground research.
On behalf of all those who benefit from your resolute endeavors – Thank You, Dear Sentinels.
More About the Awardees
- Nalleli Cobo
At age nine, Nalleli Cobo unknowingly engaged in community activism. Her journey began when she noticed she was often ill. Her frequent headaches, stomach pains, nosebleeds, and body spasms worsened to asthma and heart palpitations. Soon after, Nalleli learned others in her community were also having similar problems. Nalleli lived in an apartment complex in South L.A. across from AllenCo’s oil drilling operations. Terrible odors would take over her community every day. After calling regulatory agencies, Nalleli noticed the smells from the oil well only getting worse. Nalleli and her neighbors took action – creating a grassroots campaign called People Not Pozos (Wells). Through grassroots activism, Nalleli strengthened her community’s voice by fighting the oil company poisoning her neighborhood. After a hard fight, AllenCo temporarily closed in November 2013. Her community is fighting to close it permanently.
Nalleli is a member of the South Los Angeles Youth Leadership Coalition. This group, along with Communities for a Better Environment Youth from Wilmington, sued the City of Los Angeles for environmental racism and violation of CEQA. Nalleli is a member of STAND LA (Stand Together Against Neighborhood Drilling – Los Angeles). STAND LA works tirelessly to establish a 2500-ft buffer between oil extraction, homes, and sensitive land.
- Ellen Gerhart
Being an activist was not on Ellen Gerhart’s bucket list for retirement. She was born 63 years ago in Monaca, PA, a small steel mill town near Pittsburgh. She attended Penn State University, where she received a BS in linguistics, teaching certification in deaf-ed, English as a 2nd language, and biology and general science. Ellen also met her husband Stephen there. They bought a house in Huntingdon County, where they raised two daughters, Lyra and Elise. After 28 years of teaching, Ellen retired. That same year, 2015, the fight against the Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) Mariner East 2 pipeline began.
In the three years since, Ellen has had three acres of woodlands and wetlands seized through eminent domain; helped establish a resistance camp and aerial blockade known as Camp White Pine; supported tree sits on her property; been heavily surveilled, threatened, and harassed; and arrested 3 times (released from a 2-6 month jail sentence on September 26, 2018). She most recently attended an ETP unit holders meeting in Dallas, TX where she and other activists confronted CEO Kelcy Warren.
- Rebecca RoterRebecca Roter grew up in West Philadelphia. Her parents’ involvement in the civil rights and anti-war movements instilled values of standing witness and speaking truth to power. In 1986, when she moved to Susquehanna County, she had no clue the Marcellus Shale under her feet would spur her advocacy for public health. After the first test well was drilled in the county in 2006, she organized an EPA citizen Marcellus listening session, spearheaded a grassroots community billboard campaign, gave guided tours and interviews to national and international media, facilitated the Duke University NEPA ground water studies, and worked with Clean Air Council – winning PA DEP public hearings for compressors. She networked at every turn with federal and state agencies advocating for scientific research, fact-driven discussion, and public health
In 2013, Rebecca co-founded the grassroots group Breathe Easy Susquehanna County (BESC) striving to unify a community long divided over natural gas, air quality, and public health. BESC arranged local radio interviews with health care professionals about air pollution, natural gas infrastructure and public health; collaborated with Public Lab to design a Community Formaldehyde Monitoring project; collected citizen science formaldehyde data used in a peer reviewed article; and has a seat on an academic stakeholder advisory board. BESC partnered with researchers from University of London for a citizen science air study generating seven months of continuous PM2.5 data county wide. Data near the Williams Central Compressor was shared with federal and state health agencies.
EPA follow up testing was used for an ATSDR Health Consultation. Two days after this consultation was publicly released , PA DEP announced plans for Air Quality Stations in shale counties. As of 10.25.18 , the continuous PM2.5 PA DEP monitoring station was operational in Susquehanna County; a victory for public health brought home by citizen science.
- Natasha LégerNatasha Léger is the Executive Director (Interim) of Citizens For A Healthy Community (CHC). CHC is a grassroots nonprofit dedicated to protecting air, water and foodsheds in the Delta County region of Southwest Colorado from the impacts of oil and gas development. Before stepping in as Interim ED, Natasha served on the board. She brings to CHC legal, location, ecosystem, and industry analysis experience. Natasha is an international trade attorney, turned independent business consultant, turned editor of a location intelligence magazine, turned author of Travel Healthy: A Road Warrior’s Guide to Eating Healthy. She believes clean air, water, soils, and nouri (a word to describe what we should be eating for optimum health) are a basic human right.
Under her leadership, CHC has developed new strategic partnerships with state, regional, and national impacted citizens groups and environmental and conservation groups, and developed tools for empowering the community to respond to threats from oil and gas activity in the North Fork Valley. She championed the ground breaking community cost-benefit analysis of a proposed natural gas project, and contributed to the first food-shale production map to highlight the risks to our food supply of overlapping oil and gas activity with farms. She also exposed the regulatory black hole around rural gas-gathering pipelines. Her work in empowering the community has led to withdrawal of projects and leasing proposals that threaten the community, and an unprecedented number of public comments and widespread opposition to oil and gas development in the North Fork Valley, which serves a unique role in Colorado’s food supply, recreation economy, and biodiversity.
At age nine, Nalleli Cobo unknowingly engaged in community activism. Her journey began when she noticed she was often ill. Her frequent headaches, stomach pains, nosebleeds, and body spasms worsened to asthma and heart palpitations. Soon after, Nalleli learned others in her community were also having similar problems. Nalleli lived in an apartment complex in South L.A. across from AllenCo’s oil drilling operations. Terrible odors would take over her community every day. After calling regulatory agencies, Nalleli noticed the smells from the oil well only getting worse. Nalleli and her neighbors took action – creating a grassroots campaign called People Not Pozos (Wells). Through grassroots activism, Nalleli strengthened her community’s voice by fighting the oil company poisoning her neighborhood. After a hard fight, AllenCo temporarily closed in November 2013. Her community is fighting to close it permanently.
Rebecca Roter grew up in West Philadelphia. Her parents’ involvement in the civil rights and anti-war movements instilled values of standing witness and speaking truth to power. In 1986, when she moved to Susquehanna County, she had no clue the Marcellus Shale under her feet would spur her advocacy for public health. After the first test well was drilled in the county in 2006, she organized an EPA citizen Marcellus listening session, spearheaded a grassroots community billboard campaign, gave guided tours and interviews to national and international media, facilitated the Duke University NEPA ground water studies, and worked with Clean Air Council – winning PA DEP public hearings for compressors. She networked at every turn with federal and state agencies advocating for scientific research, fact-driven discussion, and public health
Natasha Léger is the Executive Director (Interim) of Citizens For A Healthy Community (CHC). CHC is a grassroots nonprofit dedicated to protecting air, water and foodsheds in the Delta County region of Southwest Colorado from the impacts of oil and gas development. Before stepping in as Interim ED, Natasha served on the board. She brings to CHC legal, location, ecosystem, and industry analysis experience. Natasha is an international trade attorney, turned independent business consultant, turned editor of a location intelligence magazine, turned author of Travel Healthy: A Road Warrior’s Guide to Eating Healthy. She believes clean air, water, soils, and nouri (a word to describe what we should be eating for optimum health) are a basic human right.Legacy of Heroes Presentation
Use the slideshow controls on the right to learn about the dedication of Ben, Ray, and Carol.
Ben Stout of West Virginia
In the fleeting passage of days, FracTracker enjoyed a long history with Dr. Ben Stout. The infamous biology professor at Wheeling Jesuit University served on the FracTracker board since the inception of the organization in 2012. Brook Lenker, FracTracker executive director reflects: “While we didn’t get to spend as much time with him as we would have liked, each reunion was a pleasure, a reconnection with an old friend.”
Ben was wily and wiry, casual and confident. He exuded a passion for protecting people and nature from industry run amok. As a scientist and educator, he was thorough and curious, yet always bold and engaged; he genuinely cared about the Appalachian communities he knew so well. The Intelligencer in Wheeling noted how he was viewed as an environmental hero. He was too humble to accept such a label, but his revelatory research and staunch advocacy warrant the honor.
On August 3rd, at age 60, Ben died from recurring cancer. Even heroes can’t live forever, but this one’s legacy won’t soon fade away. Ben Stout’s work lives on as an inspiration to so many other people.
Ray Beiersdorfer of Ohio
Ray Beiersdorfer was a renowned professor at Youngstown State University who didn’t let his work stop at the walls of academia. His series of public lectures on Energy and the Environment were an example of that effort. He recruited top notch speakers explaining the technical, legal, social, economic, and environmental issues associated with energy production in a way that non-technical attendees could understand. He also gave countless lectures in person and virtually to lay audiences all over.
As Dr. Weatherington-Rice wrote in giving us her thoughts on Ray: “I agree that Ray and Ben Stout are huge losses this year. We simply are not making scientists of their caliber fast enough to replace their loss to the scientific community and to the greater community of this region. They leave huge holes in the fabric of our universe.”
Ray was an elegant and engaging presenter of the data that speaks to the myriad issues associated with quakes resulting from the injection of hydraulic fracturing waste into Class II injection wells. Such a complex issue is not the easiest topic to explain or make palatable to the general public, but he did it with ease. Ray passed away this year from complications of a heart attack.
Carol Zagrocki of Pennsylvania
Carol Zagrocki was dedicated to many environmental projects, and her passion shown in every aspect of her work. Her grants on behalf of the Colcom Foundation supported so many worthy causes – from watershed monitoring and grassroots organizing, to conservation groups and critical research at universities like Carnegie Mellon, Duquesne, and Wheeling Jesuit.
Her husband Rege writes: “Thank you for this honor being bestowed on Carol. She truly loved working with all her grantees. She took great pride in their accomplishments, and it did not matter to her if it was a one-person operation or a national organization, she was at her happiest when the grants got approved by her board.”
On a Saturday morning after breakfast, Carol died suddenly in her home of a heart attack – a condition that runs in her family. She went quickly and hopefully without pain. Carol’s passing was recognized by a humbling assortment of organizations, such as The National Aviary and Carnegie Library. The Pittsburgh Botanical Gardens will soon have a garden dedicated in her honor, as well.
Sponsors and Partners
The Sentinels’ program and reception requires financial support – for monetary awards, awardee travel, and many other costs. As such, each year we call upon dedicated sponsors and partners to provide resources to enable this endeavor to continue. The often-thankless jobs that community sentinels do each day in protecting our health and the environment deserve no less.
Thank you to our incredible 2018 award sponsors: The 11th Hour Project, The Heinz Endowments, The Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds and a generous anonymous donor. We could not do this work without your support.
And a big thank you to our partners in presenting the award: Allegheny-Blue Ridge Alliance, Breathe Project, Center for Coalfield Justice, Crude Accountability, Earthworks, Food and Water Watch, Halt the Harm Network, Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, Property Rights and Pipeline Center, Save the Hills Alliance, Sierra Club, Southwest Pennsylvania Environmental Health Project, and Viable Industries.
Nominees
This year, 23 people were nominated by their peers to receive this distinguished award (listed below).
- Richard Averitt – Nellysford, VA
- Odessa, Gunner, Kylan, and Nels Bjornson – Scenery Hill, PA
- Mark Borchardt – Marshfield, NY
- Shelley Brock – Eagle, ID
- Genevieve Butler – Freetown, LA
- John Childe – Dauphin, PA
- Malinda Clatterbuck – Holtwood, PA
- Nalleli Cobo – San Gabriel, CA*
- Torch Can Do – Coolville, OH
- Karen Feridun – Kutztown, PA
- Friends of Buckingham – Buckingham, VA
- Ellen Gerhart – Huntington, PA*
- Bill Huston – Dimock, PA
- April Keating – Buckhannon, WV
- Natasha Léger – Paonia, CO*
- Megan Mcdonough – Elizabeth, PA
- Janice Milburn – Ligonier, PA
- Misha Mitchell – Plaquemine, LA
- Anne Rolfes – New Orleans, LA
- Rebecca Roter – Montrose, PA and Nicholson, GA*
- Douglas Shields – Pittsburgh, PA
- Diane Sipe – Evans City, PA
- Joe Spease – Overland Park, KS
* Denotes 2018 award recipient
Judges
Many thanks to the following judges for donating their time to review all of the nominations.
- Jill Hunkler – Activist, Ohio
- Raina Rippel – Southwest Pennsylvania Environmental Health Project
- Dan Shaffer – Allegheny-Blue Ridge Alliance and Dominion Pipeline Monitoring Coalition
- Elena Sorokina – Crude Accountability
- Dan Xie – Student PIRGs (Public Interest Research Groups)
Reception Photo Gallery
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