Gerald P. McCarthy Award
For Leadership in Environmental Conflict Resolution
Award Criteria
The Gerald P. McCarthy Award for leadership in Environmental Conflict Resolution is presented annually to an individual who fosters collaboration and has taken a leadership role in preserving and protecting Virginia’s environment.
The honored individual:
- Is an outstanding leader in the effort to protect Virginia’s environment.
- Supports capacity building for collaborative problem-solving in the Commonwealth through actions, contributions, and/or educational programs.
- Stands as a role model to other individuals for the potential for bringing stakeholders together to resolve environmental issues in Virginia’s communities, organizations and agencies
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Honored Recipients
2007: Paul F. Revell, urban and community forestry coordinator for the Virginia Department of Forestry
2006: Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Virginia Office
2006: James Garner, Lifetime Achievement Award
2005: Paul A. Rakowski, installation restoration program manager for the Naval Facilities Engineering Command
2004: Environmental Leadership Award Named for First Recipient
Award Committee
The 2008 McCarthy Award Committee is composed of the Faculty and select Alumni of the Virginia Natural Resources Leadership Institute. The Committee includes representatives of state and federal agencies, local government, communities, small businesses, private corporations and academic institutions in Virginia.
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Nomination Process
To submit a nomination, complete the nomination form detailing the nominated individual’s qualifications based on the three criteria above and, if applicable, a description of any documented or tangible results of the nominee’s work in Virginia.
Please feel free to attach additional supporting materials, especially those available in electronic form. Letters of support from others familiar with the nominated individual are encouraged, but please limit to no more than 2 letters of support.
Submit the nomination package (the completed form and any supporting materials) electronically to cwilk@virginia.edu by March 31, 2008 for consideration by the Award Committee.
The Committee will select the recipient by May 5, 2008. The Award will be presented at the 2008 Virginia Natural Resources Leadership Institute’s Graduation on June 5, 2008 in Charlottesville.
Click here to view or download a copy of the 2008 Nomination Form
(Please note that some versions of Acrobat are not compatible with saving the above form!) Click here for a copy of the form in Word format
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Honored Recipients
Paul F. Revell Named Recipient
Fourth Annual Award
Paul F. Revell of Weyers Cave, Virginia is the 2007 recipient of the Gerald P. McCarthy Award for Leadership in Environmental Conflict Resolution from the University of Virginia’s Institute for Environmental Negotiation. The award is presented on behalf of the Virginia Natural Resources Leadership Institute, a partnership program between the Virginia Department of Forestry, Virginia Cooperative Extension, and the University of Virginia Institute for Environmental Negotiation.
Mr. Revell, urban and community forestry coordinator for the Virginia Department of Forestry, was recognized for his leadership in linking groups with tools and resources to improve urban forestry, trails and greenways, and land conservation efforts across the Commonwealth.
Mr. Revell (pictured above with his wife Lindy Revell and Jerry McCarthy) received the award at the graduation dinner for the 2007 class of the Virginia Natural Resources Leadership Institute at U.Va. Alumni Hall on June 7.
The annual award is given to an individual, organization or community who demonstrates leadership in preservation and protection of the Commonwealth’s environment; supports collaborative problem solving through actions, contributions and/or educational programs; and acts as a role model to other groups and individuals for the resolution of environmental issues.
In his 22 years at the Virginia Department of Forestry, Revell has initiated and supported partnerships to maximize the benefits to communities. In her letter nominating Revell for the award, Kim Watson of the Community Design Assistance Center highlighted his efforts to “help communities create a vision and a plan for improving their natural and built environments, stimulate their economies, and build community consensus, pride, and hope,” comparing his skill in linking people, places and resources to that of a master weaver.
“One would be hard-pressed to find a place in Virginia that Paul has not touched,” she added.
“Paul’s vision has been critical in bringing people and groups together for new approaches to community forestry in Virginia,” said Frank Dukes, IEN director and VNRLI faculty. “We are pleased to recognize his leadership with the 2007 award.”
The Gerald P. McCarthy Award for Leadership in Environmental Conflict Resolution was created in 2004 to honor McCarthy, its first recipient, and his varied contributions to protect and promote environmental literacy and mediation in Virginia. McCarthy is executive director of the Virginia Environmental Endowment.
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Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Virginia Office
Third Annual Award
The University of Virginia’s Institute for Environmental Negotiation awarded the 2006 Gerald P. McCarthy Award for Leadership in Environmental Conflict Resolution to the Virginia Office of the Chesapeake Bay Program and the same award for lifetime achievement to James Garner, a former State forester and Nature Conservancy board member. The awards were presented on behalf of the Virginia Natural Resources Leadership Institute, a partnership program that includes the institute, the Virginia Department of Forestry and Virginia Cooperative Extension.
The Bay Foundation's Virginia Office was recognized for its recent work engaging farmers, agribusiness leaders and others in the agricultural community to identify environmental problems related to farming and to work for mutually beneficial solutions. Upon receiving the award at the graduation dinner for the 2006 class of the Virginia Natural Resources Leadership Institute on June 1, Ann Jennings (pictured above with Jerry McCarthy), the Bay Foundation’s Virginia executive director, said, "We are very pleased and humbled to receive the McCarthy Award, for it represents the best in outreach, negotiation and problem-solving in the Commonwealth. We are truly honored."
The McCarthy Award is given annually to an individual, organization, local government, agency, educational institution or community that demonstrates leadership in preservation and protection of the commonwealth’s environment; who supports collaborative problem solving through actions, contributions and/or educational programs; and who acts as a role model to other groups and individuals for the resolution of environmental issues.
In his letter nominating the Bay Foundation for its award, Dennis Treacy, former director of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and current vice president for local, community and government affairs at Smithfield Foods, said, “Over the past three years, CBF has made a deliberate effort to reach out to Virginia’s agricultural community to better understand farm issues, to promote better understanding of bay issues among farmers, and to work collaboratively to solve water quality problems related to farming practices.”
Frank Dukes, the institute’s director, said, “The Chesapeake Bay Foundation deserves recognition for their efforts in Virginia to bridge long-standing divides and bring people together for a common goal. We are thrilled to recognize their leadership with the 2006 award.”
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation is an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to restoring and protecting the Chesapeake Bay and its tributary rivers. Since the group's founding 40 years ago, its goal has been to improve water quality by reducing pollution and protecting and restoring the Bay's natural resources. The organization's motto – Save the Bay – has been a rallying cry for that goal throughout the region.
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James Garner, Lifetime Achievement Award
James Garner, a former State forester and Nature Conservancy board member was the recipient of the 2006 McCarthy Award for lifetime achievement. Mr. Garner is a native of Amherst County, Va. Since 1958, he has played a valuable role in successfully planning, promoting and implementing the vital programs and services of the Virginia Department of Forestry. As assistant chief of forest management, Garner initiated the first state-operated aerial spray program and herbicides research in 1976. His past honors and awards include the 1989 State Conservationist of the Year and Virginia Tech's first Outstanding Alumnus in 1996.
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Paul A. Rakowski Named Recipient
Second Annual Award
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Gerald McCarthy presents the second annual
award to Paul A. Rakowski (L to R: Mike Ellerbrock, Gerald McCarthy, Paul Rakowski, Julie Rakowski)
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Paul A. Rakowski, installation restoration program manager for the Naval Facilities Engineering Command in Norfolk, is the 2005 recipient of the Gerald P. McCarthy Award for Leadership in Environmental Conflict Resolution from U.Va.’s Institute for Environmental Negotiation. The award was presented on behalf of the Virginia Natural Resources Leadership Institute, a partnership program between the Virginia Department of Forestry, the Virginia Tech Center for Economic Education and the U.Va. Institute for Environmental Negotiation.
Rakowski was recognized for his leadership in creating partnerships between the Navy, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. These collaborations helped to bring about successful programs in order to restore the environment at Navy and Marine Corps installations in Virginia. Upon receiving the award at the graduation dinner for the 2005 class of the Virginia Natural Resources Leadership Institute on June 2, Rakowski stressed the collaborative efforts needed to bring about restoration. He said that he felt he was accepting the award on behalf of the U.S. Navy team and its partner organizations.
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Environmental Leadership Award Named For First Recipient
Bringing concerned parties together to talk about environmental issues is a common practice today, but it has not always been the norm.
Gerald McCarthy, executive director of the Virginia Environmental Endowment was recognized for his leadership in fostering mediation and protecting Virginia's environment (the picture to the left shows Mr. McCarthy receiving the award from IEN Director Frank Dukes, November 2004).
In honor of McCarthy’s contributions, the University of Virginia’s Institute for Environmental Negotiation has established the Gerald P. McCarthy Award for Leadership in Environmental Conflict Resolution. The award, which will be given annually, will recognize an outstanding leader in the effort to protect Virginia’s environment.
The inaugural award was presented to McCarthy at IEN’s 25th anniversary symposium Nov. 19. He was recognized for his varied contributions to Virginia’s environment, including bringing environmental mediation to Virginia and his role in awarding funding for the creation and continued support of IEN. Other groundbreaking work that McCarthy and the endowment have been involved in over the years includes launching the Chesapeake Bay Foundation Virginia Office, establishing the Nature Conservancy’s Eastern Shore Office and programs, starting the Izaak Walton League’s Save our Streams program in Virginia, getting the state’s Office of Environmental Education started, and most recently, starting the multispecies, ecosystem based Chesapeake Bay fisheries program at the Virginia Institute of marine Science. It its 27-year history the VEE has made grants totaling almost $23 million to accomplish a variety of programs to conserve natural resources, protect the environment and promote environmental literacy.
“Jerry started the practice of environmental conflict resolution in Virginia,” said Frank Dukes, IEN director, “Through the years he has been active in bringing people together to teach them about the importance of conflict resolution. McCarthy’s leadership has helped to institutionalize bringing stakeholders together to resolve environmental differences in Virginia’s communities, organizations and agencies.” McCarthy said it was a “surprise and honor coming from such a prestigious institution as the University of Virginia — its School of Architecture and Institute for Environmental Negotiation” — to have the award named in recognition of his lifelong commitment to support Virginia’s environment. McCarthy’s experience includes more than three decades of work, first in the Commonwealth’s Department of Environmental Quality under governors A. Linwood Holton and Mills E. Godwin Jr., followed by a role as the first and only executive director of VEE. He said he is proud that in Virginia “we have proven you can get more accomplished with getting people together to talk about issues.”
The award will be given annually to an individual, organization, local government, agency, educational institution or community that fosters collaboration and has taken a leadership role in preserving and protecting Virginia’s environment.
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Contact Information
For more information about the Award and the nomination process, contact Caroline Wilkinson at 434-924-6569 or cwilk@virginia.edu
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