There is no stopping Joann Held, named Friends of Hopewell Valley Open Space Force of Nature for February 2018.
In 2013, FoHVOS presented Held with the Jack Gleason Environmental Award for a lifetime of achievement as an environmental activist. At the time, she was the founder and co-chair of the Hopewell Valley Green Team, founder and board member of the Pennington Farmer’s Market and a member of the Pennington Environmental commission.
Her work has provided more options for Hopewell Valley residents to protect the environment. The choices we make in our homes, our travel, the food we eat, and what we buy and throw away all influence our carbon footprint and can help ensure a stable climate for future generations.
Under her leadership, the Hopewell Valley Green Team has expanded their reach as members of the Mercer County Sustainability Coalition, organized or promoted every type of recycling imaginable, and are currently supporting methods to reduce food waste.
In addition to recycling, the Green Team has tackled everything from water conservation, auto emissions, and open space. They have helped our local municipalities receive Sustainable Jersey certification and were a key player in the The 2017 Solar Challenge.
The 2017 Solar Challenge, sponsored by Sustainable Jersey, was a competition among seven New Jersey towns to educate the public about the benefits of solar energy. The Hopewell Valley Green Team, partnering with the Hopewell Township Environmental Commission, succeeded in having the greatest number of new solar installation contracts per capita and won the $10,000 prize that is to be used to support a “green” energy project.
After receiving a Harvard Master Degree in air pollution control, Held went to work at the Center for Coastal and Environmental Studies at Rutgers. From there she went on to spend 26 years working for the DEP, where she received numerous citations and saw her writing appear in numerous publications.
For the last 14 years, Held has been the president of the League of Women Voters. In 2017, in addition to offering forums for local Hopewell Valley elections, the LWV offered Voter Registration and information opportunities including several in Trenton, participated in the National Day for Racial Justice, and gave voter registration materials to new citizens.
Held was also an early researcher in environmental justice and explored air pollution in Camden through her work at the DEP. Documented evidence of environmental discrimination included data showing that the amount of pollution increased in areas where the numbers of minorities increased. Today, she is the Secretary for the State of New Jersey Environmental Justice Advisory Council.
Joann Held,
