Women in Conservation - Making the Difference in Pennsylvania

Environmental Voices: The PennFuture Podcast

Episode 3 of “Environmental Voices: The PennFuture Podcast” catches up with three previous Celebrating Women in Conservation Awardees who continue to do big things in Pennsylvania. One recently edited a book on EcoArt, another serves as a nature columnist for the Pottsville Republican Herald, and the third got appointed by President Biden to serve as the State Executive Director for the USDA Pennsylvania Farm Service Agency.

Our guests include:

• Leah Zerbe won PennFuture’s 2019 Woman of Environmental Media, Marketing & Communications award for her outstanding environmental writings at publications such as Dr. Axe, Rodale Publishing, the Bucks County Courier Times, and the Philadelphia Daily News. Since that time, she has been an active participant in her community, including serving as the chair of the Pottsville Citizens Climate Lobby chapter, running after-school educational programs, studying to become a Master Watershed Steward, and most recently serving as a columnist with the Pottsville Republican Herald.
• Ann Rosenthal won PennFuture’s 2020 Women of Environmental Arts award recognizing her over 40 years’ experience as an artist, writer, and for her work which examines the intersections of nature and culture through timely issues, including climate change and biodiversity, Recently she co-edited Ecoart in Action: Activities, Case Studies, and Provocations for Classrooms and Communities, a collection that seeks to showcase how teachers, citizens, policymakers, and scientists can find inspiration in art.
• Heidi Secord is a winner of PennFuture’s 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award. Heidi owns and operates her 48-acre Josie Porter Farm with her husband Gary Bloss in Northeastern PA. Josie Porter Farm is a farmer led community-based food hub that supports other local and regional farmers and provides fresh produce to the community. Heidi also served as State President of the Pennsylvania Farmers Union and sat on the National Farmers Union Board of Directors. And Heidi was recently appointed by the Biden Administration to serve as the State Executive Director for the Pennsylvania Farm Service Agency.
• Susanne Whitehead is PennFuture’s Donors Relations Manager. Susanne is instrumental in organizing all aspects of our Celebrating Women in Conversation awards, including evaluating nominees.

BONUS: CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT HOW NOMINATE A WOMAN FOR THIS YEAR'S CELEBRATING WOMEN IN CONSERVATION AWARDS - THE DEADLINE FOR NOMINATIONS HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO FRIDAY, MAY 13TH

For more information about PennFuture, visit pennfuture.org