2011 Wildlife Conservation Awards Dinner

Defenders of Wildlife Legacy Award
Rodger Schlickeisen

With this year’s Defenders of Wildlife Legacy Award, we honor Rodger Schlickeisen for a lifetime of remarkable achievement in protecting and advancing conservation policy, unifying and strengthening the nation’s environmental movement, and, through a transformative 20-year presidency, building Defenders of Wildlife into one of the most influential and respected conservation organizations in the United States.  In 1991, Defenders was a small and little known wildlife advocacy organization of 62,000 members and activists working on a handful of issues. Today, thanks in large part to Rodger’s  vision and determination, Defenders boasts a member and activist base close to a million and a diverse staff working in seven field offices and Mexico.  Under his leadership, Defenders became the driving force for reintroduction of gray wolves to the American West, a formidable opponent of every major legislative and administrative attempt to eviscerate the Endangered Species Act, and originator of the first legislation recognizing the need to protect wildlife and habitat from the impacts of global warming.  Rodger extended Defenders’ impact by founding the Defenders Action Fund, providing the national conservation community with a highly effective voice in the political process. Through these and other activities, such as leading the newly formed Partnership Project to promote collaboration among the nation’s top environmental groups, Rodger has brought about a significant strengthening of the U.S. environmental movement. 

Master of Ceremonies

Jeff Corwin is a biologist, television personality and tireless promoter of the conservation of endangered species and ecosystems around the globe. His television credits include Animal Planet's Jeff Corwin Experience, Corwin's Quest and King of the Jungle; Disney's Going Wild with Jeff Corwin; Investigation Earth with the Discovery Networks; NBC's Jeff Corwin Unleashed and the Travel Channel's Into Alaska and Into the American West. Jeff’s powerful book and MSNBC documentary, 100 Heartbeats, looks at our planet's most endangered species and the conservation heroes trying to save them. He is currently MSNBC’s correspondent for science and the environment and host of Extreme Cuisine with Jeff Corwin on the Food Network. His latest project is Ocean Mysteries, a new series focusing on the world’s oceans and marine species that debuts on ABC this fall. Jeff has served on Defenders’ Board of Directors since 2004.

Tribute Remarks by

Congressman Norm Dicks (D-WA) has served in Congress for 35 years. He is the top-ranking Democratic member of the full Appropriations Committee and the ranking Democratic member of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. He also has served on the Interior Appropriations subcommittee for his entire time in Congress and was its chairman from 2007 to 2010. Rep. Dicks is a longstanding champion of federal funding for wildlife, the Endangered Species Act and congressional efforts to address global warming. Rep. Dicks was the recipient of the 2008 Spirit of Defenders Award for Public Service.

Gene Karpinski became president of the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) and the LCV Education Fund in 2006 and is himself an indefatigable exemplar of the LCV’s mission to turn environmental values into national priorities. Before becoming LCV president, he spent 21 years as executive director of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (US PIRG), during which time he served on the LCV and LCV Education Fund boards. He has also served on the boards of Earth Share, the Partnership Project, the Beldon Fund and the National Association for Public Interest Law.

Ed Asner is the recipient of seven Emmy Awards and five Golden Globe Awards for his work in television and film. Ed is best known for his television role as the gruff but soft-hearted journalist Lou Grant in both a comedy, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and a drama, Lou Grant. He also starred in the mini-series Rich Man, Poor Man and Roots. He was the lead voice of Carl Fredricksen in Disney-Pixar's 2009 Academy Award-winning UP and recently was cast in the role of Warren Buffett in the HBO movie Too Big To Fail. Ed is currently touring the country in FDR, a one-man show about our 32nd president. He served two terms as head of the Screen Actors Guild and has consistently committed himself to nonprofit causes including human rights and the environment. Ed has served on Defenders Board of Directors for fourteen years.

Winsome McIntosh is a trustee and officer of the McIntosh Foundation. With nearly 40 years’ experience in the philanthropic community, she has a passionate interest in women’s empowerment and the environment. In  those interests, Winsome founded the Association of Small Foundations and Rachel’s Network, a membership organization of leading women philanthropists. She has served on Defenders’ Board of Directors for over a decade, currently as vice chair, and has also lent her expertise to the boards of the League of Conservation Voters, the Alliance for Justice, and the Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard Medical School, among others. Her most recent endeavor is as founder and chair of ClientEarth--the first public interest law firm for the environment in Europe, with offices in the United Kingdom, Brussels, Paris and Warsaw.

Jamie Rappaport Clark’s entire career has been devoted to the preservation and protection of America’s wildlife, and in October, she will succeed Rodger Schlickeisen as Defenders’ president and chief executive officer. When she joined Defenders as executive vice president in 2004, Jamie brought 20 years of leadership and experience gained through her work in federal agencies concerned with environmental conservation. In 1997, after eight years with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, she was appointed its director by President Bill Clinton, a position she held until 2001. During her tenure, Jamie oversaw the addition of two million acres to the National Wildlife Refuge System, including the establishment of 27 new refuges, and presided over the recovery of key endangered species such as the bald eagle, gray wolf and peregrine falcon. Also under her leadership, the Fish and Wildlife Service worked with Congress to pass the landmark National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997, which established wildlife conservation as the primary purpose of all refuges within the system. We look forward to having her at the helm to continue Defenders’ tradition of innovative, collaborative and practical approaches to preserving and defending the nation’s wildlife.

Tribute Performance by

Neko Case is a critically acclaimed, Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter. A member of Defenders of Wildlife since 2006, she is a strong advocate for wildlife conservation and actively promotes the organization at her concerts. Her latest album, Middle Cyclone, was nominated for two Grammys and was rated the number one album of 2009 by Amazon.com.