KSB Virtual Speaker Series on Wednesday, April 14
Sedona AZ (April 5, 2021) – Keep Sedona Beautiful is pleased to host its monthly Preserving the Wonder™ Speaker Series webinar on Wednesday, April 14th at 5:00 pm. This month’s “virtual” guest is Dr. Nancy Steele, an Arizona native and the Executive Director and CEO of Friends of the Verde River.
Friends of the Verde River works collaboratively for a healthy flowing Verde River System. According to Dr. Steele, “Arizona’s Verde River is one of the last healthy, flowing river systems remaining in the state, a place of beauty and respite, an economic engine for Arizona, and a national treasure recognized for its wild and scenic values. And yet, in the face of a drying climate and increasing groundwater pumping, the Verde is at risk of drying up. What can we do to save this hard-working river?”
Before joining Friends in 2018, Nancy was the Executive Director of the Council for Watershed Health in Los Angeles for ten years. She co-founded the Arroyos & Foothills Conservancy in 2000, serving as President/CEO through 2011 and as Director of Conservation in 2017.
Prior to her nonprofit work, Nancy worked in various California environmental and health agencies, focusing on reducing the environmental and health impacts of pollution, including diesel emissions from heavy-duty trucks and buses and childhood lead poisoning. She is a member of the board of the Infrastructure Funding Alliance and the Arizona Forward Northern Regional Council.
Nancy earned her doctorate in Environmental Science and Engineering from University of California, Los Angeles. She received her M.S. in zoology from Arizona State University; and her A.B. in biology from Occidental College. Nancy was born and raised in Phoenix and loves being outdoors, especially in the southwest. She and her husband have operated an urban beekeeping business for 40 years.
Keep Sedona Beautiful’s monthly Preserving the Wonder™ Speaker Series focuses on presenting a diversity of programs relevant to the unique environment of our region. A nonprofit since 1972, Keep Sedona Beautiful, Inc. is committed to protecting and sustaining the unique scenic beauty and natural environment of the Greater Sedona Area, now and in the future. KSB activities range from education and advocacy to hands-on tasks such as litter lifting, as well as preserving the quality of Oak Creek and maintaining Sedona’s dark, star-studded night skies. For more information about Keep Sedona Beautiful, please visit http://www.keepsedonabeautiful.org/