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By Jenny Vickers, NJ Communications Manager, Clean Water Action. Follow on Twitter @CleanWaterNJ

We're so excited to Spring into Action with you at our 30th annual conference on Saturday, April 9th at The Wardlaw Hartridge School in Edison! We've put together an incredible line-up of workshops and speakers for you - be sure to RSVP today.

We're excited to host an Environmental Roundtable with some of NJ's likey gubernatorial candidates: Ray Lesniak, New Jersey State Senator Phil Murphy, Former US Ambassador to Germany, and additional potential Democratic and Republican candidates will be announced. Other workshops include:

It's Not Just Flint, and It's Not Just Lead - NJ's drinking water contains lead as well as hundreds of other unhealthy contaminants that are unregulated. Come find out the latest and what you can do about it:

  • Tracy Carluccio, Deputy Director, Delaware Riverkeeper Network
  • Christine O'Rourke, Quench
  • Peg Sturmfels, NJ Board Member, Clean Water Action

NJ Energize New Jersey - In this two-part workshop, learn about dirty fossil fuel projects and efforts to replace them with clean, renewable, job-creating alternatives.

  • Maya van Rossum, Delaware Riverkeeper Network
  • Paula Rogovin, Coalition to Ban Unsafe Oil Trains
  • Rosemary Dreger Carey, Lead Organizer, 350 NJ
  • Bill Potter, Esq., Alternative Energy Advocate & Leader, NJ FREE
  • Harriet Shugarman, Executive Director, Climate Mama, Professor, Ramapo College
  • Nicky Sheats Esq. PhD, Thomas Edison State University and NJ Environmental Justice Alliance
  • Adam Liebtag, President, CWA Local 1036, NJ Board Member, Clean Water Action

Engage & Change the World - Learn how to harness the power of storytelling and latest online social media tools to take your campaign to the next level, engage more followers, and achieve your goals:

  • Emily Gardner, Senior Account Manager, Spitfire Strategies
  • Meghan Jambor, Communications Manager, Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation
  • Jenny Vickers, Communications Manager, Clean Water Action

Having a Heat Wave - Climate justice is more than being ready for the next super storm. Hotter days occur more often and for longer periods. Cities feel the heat even more. Learn about this looming climate health crisis for young, old, pregnant and sports active people and what you can do:

  • Jeanne Herb, Associate Director, Environmental Analysis & Communications Group Bloustein School of Planning & Public Policy, Rutgers University
  • Dr. Robert Laumbach, Assoc. Prof., Rutgers School of Public Health and the Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences Institute
  • Winifred Hinds, NJ Board Member, Clean Water Action 

Stop Your Single-Use Lifestyle - Replace one-use disposables (plastic and Styrofoam) with reusables - better for your wallet, health and environment. Learn how innovative programs such as Rethink DisposableTM and Portland's Go BoxTM are transforming food service industry in school cafeterias, restaurants, food trucks, and event venues:

  • Debby Lee Cohen, Executive Director & Founder, Cafeteria Culture
  • Alessandro Ciari, Student, Montclair State University
  • Amy Goldsmith, NJ State Director, Clean Water Action

A Brighter Future, One School at a Time - Learn about some of NJ's top healthy school initiatives, such as organic rain gardens, eliminating plastic bottles, and zero waste, and how you can implement these initiatives in your own community:

  • Renee Haider, Assoc. Dir., Sustainability Institute, The College of NJ
  • Janet Ferlazzo, Principal, Parkview School, Milltown
  • Katherine Heiss, 3rd Grade Teacher and Advisor of Earth Club, The Wardlaw Hartridge School, Edison
  • Anisha Amurthur, Senior & President of Environmental Club, West Windsor High School
  • Tirza Wahrman, Esq., Law Office of Tirza S. Wahrman, LLC, West Windsor Environmental Commission, Board Member, Clean Water Action

Grassroots Across the Ages - Get inspired and involved! No matter your age, it's never too early or too late to join New Jersey's environmental movement. Discover how local community members are putting the ACT into activism:

  • Erich Fuchs-Stengel, Executive Director, President, Founder, Farm Manager, Mahwah Environmental Volunteers Organization
  • Blanche Krubner, Trustee, Pinelands Preservation Alliance
  • Eric Benson, Montclair Canvass Director, Clean Water Action

Environmental Awards Ceremony - We will also be honoring some of New Jersey’s most accomplished grassroots leaders:

  • Coalition to Ban Unsafe Oil Trains
  • Jackson Citizens Coalition
  • Kerry Doyle and Nancy Mitch, 10 and 20 Years as Grassroots Organizers, Clean Water Action
  • Mark Lohbauer, Former NJ Pinelands Commission Chair (2011-15)
  • Nicky Sheats, Founding Member, New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance

Don’t miss out! Register today! Regular admission is $25 by March 24, $30 after March 24 and at the door, and only $15 for students. Click here to register or you can register by phone at 732-963-9714. Includes continental breakfast, coffee, lunch, and a networking reception. Visit our website and Facebook page to keep up with the latest news.

Clean Water Action is committed to making this event as sustainable and green as possible. Our Rethink DisposableTM campaign aims to reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfifills, incinerators, waterways and oceans by minimizing the use of single-use disposable items like plastic and Styrofoam. We encouraged participants to bring their own cups and containers. All servingware is made from recycled or reusable materials. Conference material is made from 100% post-consumer recycled paper. The event is smoke and fragrance free. For more information, visit Rethink Disposable.

We’d like to thank our conference sponsors who enable us to hold this event each year

  • The Wardlaw Hartridge School
  • Dr. Joseph and Janet Tauro
  • Robert and Joan Rechnitz
  • International Brotherhood of Teamsters - Port Division
  • Communication Workers of America, Local 1036
  • Diane and John Burke
  • Gordon and Gordon, P.C. Attorneys at Law
  • Rodger and Jane Nogaki; Tom and Lynda Fote
  • Tirza Warhman, Esq.
  • Tastebuds Catering
  • Ethical Electric
  • Sungevity