MEDIA ALERT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 1, 2015
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Beverly M. Payton, Communications Director
Stroud Water Research Center will confer the 2015 Freshwater Excellence Award to Cousteau on November 19 during its annual Water’s Edge Gala at Longwood Gardens.
AVONDALE, Pa.— Her grandfather, Jacques, and father, Philippe, advocated for the world’s oceans, but Alexandra Cousteau understood that most of the oceans’ problems are occurring at the source — way upstream. So, in 2009, she founded Blue Legacy. Blue Legacy explores the interconnectivity of fresh water and ocean issues around the globe and tells those stories through short films, news and social media to build public awareness. It aims to empower people to reclaim and restore water resources.
Cousteau will receive the Stroud Award for Freshwater Excellence at its annual Waters Edge Gala, on November 19 at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.
“Alexandra has dedicated her life to the conservation and sustainable management of water and provides a credible voice for freshwater stewardship on a global scale,” said Bernard W. Sweeney, Ph.D., director of Stroud Water Research Center. “She honors her family’s proud legacy and I am thrilled that she will be here to receive the 2015 Stroud Award for Freshwater Excellence.”
“We inhabit a water planet, and unless we protect, manage and restore that resource, the future will be a very different place from the one we imagine today,” said Cousteau. I’m honored that Stroud Water Research Center has selected me for this prestigious award and I look forward to visiting their research and education facility.”
In addition to her work with Blue Legacy, Alexandra was named as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum; and serves on the Leadership Council for the Waterkeeper Alliance and on the boards of the Global Water Challenge, Mother Nature Network and EarthEcho.
Cousteau served as a keynote speaker on environmental issues for organizations such as the United Nations, National Geographic, Harvard University, the Smithsonian Institution, the National Press Club, Bioneers, and the Telluride Film Festival.
In 2008, Cousteau was honored as a National Geographic “Emerging Explorer” — a group of eleven trailblazers from around the world who push the boundaries of discovery, adventure and global problem solving. In early 2009, she joined the Discovery Channel lineup, co-hosting “Blue August” with her brother Philippe, Jr. and served as a chief correspondent on water issues for Discovery Channel’s Planet Green.
She served as the Water Advisor and spokesperson for the global Live Earth 2010 Run for Water. Cousteau has been honored as an “Earth Trustee” by the U.N., named a “Principal Voice” by CNN International, and regularly delivers testimony before government agencies on critical policy issues.
Born in California, Cousteau grew up in France and the United States. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science from Georgetown University. Alexandra, her husband Fritz Neumeyer, and daughter Clémentine call both Washington, D.C. and Berlin, Germany, home.
Tickets for the gala are $200 for those ages 21-40 and $500 for those older than 40, which includes a $315 tax deductible donation.
Business sponsorships are $10,000 for a table of 10, and $5,000 for a table of six.
Wilmington Trust renewed its support as the event’s presenting sponsor.
Presented each year since 2011, the Stroud Award for Freshwater Excellence, also known as the SAFE Water Award, honors individuals, institutions, or organizations whose work contributes broadly to the conservation and protection of freshwater resources and ecosystems, improving the quantity and quality of fresh water on the planet or developing policies and practices which help perpetuate clean fresh water for future generations and wildlife.
Prior recipients include: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., in 2014; Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D. and Kathryn Sullivan, Ph.D., in 2013; John Briscoe, Ph.D. in 2012; and Olivia Newton-John and husband John Easterling, in 2011.
