CLCV: May 9th, 2008 - Environmental Leadership Awards Gala - Natural Legacies: Celebrating California's Conservation Heroes

Friday, May 9, 2008

Hyatt Regency San Francisco
5 Embarcadero Center, SF, CA

Back row, center: Steve McCormick. Front row, from left: Tom Adams (CLCV Board Chair), Julie Packard, Susan Smartt (CLCV Executive Director), Leon Panetta, Michael Mantell. Larger version.

More photos of the event.

Listen to audio of the event (mp3):

Introduction (CLCV Executive Director Susan Smartt - 9:47) 13.5 MB
Keynote Address (The Honorable Leon Panetta - 15:24) 21.2 MB
Introductory Remarks (CLCV Board Member Bob Harris - 3:28) 4.8 MB
Acceptance Speech (Julie Packard - 10:53) 15 MB
Acceptance Speech (Steve McCormick - 12:31) 17.2 MB
Thanks & Goodbye to Susan Smartt (CLCV Board Chair Tom Adams, Assemblymember John Laird, CLCV Board Member Ann Notthoff - 10:33) 14.5 MB

At the 26th Annual CLCV Environmental Leadership Awards Gala on May 9, CLCV honored three visionary conservationists: Steve McCormick, Michael Mantell, and Julie Packard. These environmental leaders have preserved spectacular natural treasures across California and around the world — from towering forests, magnificent mountains, shimmering deserts and shining seas, to the vast multiplicity of vital living things that call these special places home. Their vision and dedication has transformed our understanding of how conservation can be practiced, and how necessary it is to our lives as well as our quality of life. They have built diverse coalitions, advanced strong conservation policies, devised creative financing and project management strategies, and broadened the very concept of conservation — one that has strengthened the environmental movement by helping connect project-specific accomplishments to our global priorities.

Keynote Speaker: The Honorable Leon Panetta

Honorees:

Steve McCormick, Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation

Steve McCormick was President and CEO of The Nature Conservancy (TNC) from 2001 to 2007, transforming TNC into the world’s largest environmental organization with operations in all 50 states and more than 30 countries. Around the world, TNC has helped to broker complex, pioneering finance mechanisms to provide new approaches and funding sources for vital conservation work. In 2007, Steve returned home to his native California to head the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.
Michael Mantell, Resources Law Group

Michael Mantell is a distinguished public servant and pioneer in the advocacy sector. He founded the Resources Law Group to help design and administer initiatives for philanthropic foundations and individuals, landowners, and government agencies that result in significant conservation achievements. Since the late 1990s, his programs and projects have preserved land and marine reserves and expanded constituencies for natural resources protection. He was chair of the successful campaign to pass Proposition 84, securing $5.4 billion of critical investments in California’s coastal, water, and land resources. He previously served as California’s Undersecretary for Resources, as general counsel for the World Wildlife Fund, and as a deputy city attorney in Los Angeles.
Julie Packard, Monterey Bay Aquarium

Julie Packard has been the executive director of the Monterey Bay Aquarium since it opened in 1984. She has been instrumental in redefining aquariums as a force for conservation. She was a member of the Pew Oceans Commission, a distinguished group of U.S. leaders charged with developing policies to improve ocean resource management. For more than 25 years, she has been a trustee of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, helping to guide its global environmental grantmaking program. To her credit, the foundation has seeded a growing nongovernmental organization movement that has resulted in landmark legislation protecting our oceans and coasts. Julie’s board service includes the California Nature Conservancy and the World Wildlife Fund.

Thanks to our Champion-level sponsors:
Carol Baird & Alan Harper	Kimo Campbell	Pacific Gas & Electric

Honorees:

Steve McCormick, Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation

Michael Mantell, Resources Law Group

Julie Packard, Monterey Bay Aquarium

Carol Baird & Alan Harper

Kimo Campbell

Pacific Gas & Electric