The Advocacy of Jacquelyn Bonomo

05/31/22 • 62 min

Environmental Voices: The PennFuture Podcast

Episode 4 of “Environmental Voices: The PennFuture Podcast” celebrates the career and advocacy of Jacquelyn Bonomo, PennFuture's President and CEO who will retire in July after a brilliant 40-year career.

Bonomo, who first came to PennFuture as the organization’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer in August 2016, has served as the organization’s President and Chief Executive Officer since October of 2017. Her work in environmental advocacy started as a volunteer with the Sierra Club, and concludes with her leading a period of sustained growth at one of Pennsylvania’s most influential environmental organizations, PennFuture. In between, Bonomo has had a front row seat to some of the most important conservation developments of the last four decades, working at the national level and in 24 states and U.S. territories.

In this episode, we tried to honor Bonomo's tremendous career by chatting with people who have worked closely with her over the last 40 years.

Our guests include:

· Charles Bier, who is the Senior Director for Conservation Science at the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. Before coming to PennFuture, Bonomo spent nearly a decade at the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy as that organization’s vice president of conservation programs. From 1999 to 2008, Jacqui was responsible for budgeting, planning and administration of the largest natural resource conservation program in the region, with staff in eight locations. She also increased the organization’s operating budget from $1 million to $5.7 million and grew staff from eleven to over 80 through 2007.

· Cindy Adams Dunn, who has served as the Secretary of Pennsylvania’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources since 2015. From 2013 to 2015, Dunn served as the president
and CEO of PennFuture. Like Bonomo, Dunn is one of the most noteworthy
environmental advocates in Pennsylvania over the last several decades.

· Tim Ference, with Friends of the Nescopeck, which is where Bonomo's environmental advocacy began.

For more information about PennFuture, visit pennfuture.org

In this episode, we tried to honor Bonomo's tremendous career by chatting with people who have worked closely with her over the last 40 years.

Our guests include:

· Tim Ference, with Friends of the Nescopeck, which is where Bonomo's environmental advocacy began.

For more information about PennFuture, visit pennfuture.org

Previous Episode

Women in Conservation - Making the Difference in Pennsylvania

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

Next Episode

A Shared Vision for Pennsylvania's Environment and Communities

Environmental Voices: The PennFuture Podcast - Episode 5: A Shared Vision for Pennsylvania's Environment and Communities

As we approach the fall elections, securing our shared vision has never been more urgent. Tune into our latest episode to learn about the behind-the-scenes efforts by more than 30 advocacy organizations to develop “A Shared Vision for Pennsylvania’s Environment and Communities.” This bold document is designed to put Pennsylvania at the forefront of action on climate change and environmental justice to protect our families, create jobs and ensure that every Pennsylvania community benefits. Speakers include organizers from PennFuture, Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania, Sierra Club, and Make the Road Pennsylvania.

Katie Blume, Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania Political Director
Michelle Giles, Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania Policy Analyst
Michael Mehrazar, PennFuture Campaign Manager for Watershed Advocacy
Jenn Quinn, Sierra Club of Pennsylvania Legislative and Political Director
Diana Robinson, Make the Road Pennsylvania Civic Engagement Director

Hosted by Travis DiNicola, PennFuture Director of Development

The Shared Vision document can be found at: https://www.pennfuture.org/Files/Admin/PA_CommonAgenda_July2022_3.pdf

For more information about PennFuture, visit pennfuture.org

Environmental Voices: The PennFuture Podcast - The Advocacy of Jacquelyn Bonomo

Transcript

Speaker 100:00:13.288

Welcome back to another edition of environmental voices, the Penn future podcast.

Speaker 100:00:19.399

My name is Travis de Nicole Penn . Future is director of development and your host environmental voices is sponsored by Penn future Pennsylvania's watchdog for clean air, clean water and clean energy. You can find out more and become a [email protected].

Speaker 100:00:37.109