Pennsylvania Environmental Council 2024 Uplifting Communities Award

The Pennsylvania Environmental Council’s 54th Environmental Partnership Dinner returned to Philadelphia on Tuesday, Nov. 12 to recognize and celebrate those who have demonstrated a commitment to environmental excellence and leadership in southeastern Pennsylvania.

When the Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershed Partnership (TTF) began, more than two decades ago, it was “a scrappy, under-funded newcomer,” said PEC Executive Vice President Patrick Starr during the 54th Environmental Partnership Dinner in Philadelphia on November 12, 2024.

“Today, TTF is a model for watershed community outreach, education, and stewardship,” continued Starr, who was among the organization’s founding members, along with Susan Myerov, PEC’s former Watersheds Program Director who is now Director of Environmental Planning at the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission.

In honor of these accomplishments, TTF received this year’s Uplifting Communities Award. The award also recognized the contributions of TTF’s founding Executive Director, Julie Slavet, who celebrated retirement earlier this year. Her successor, Justin DiBerardinis, credited the organization’s success to Slavet’s “determination, infectious vision, and unstoppable energy.”

“TTF was still, for the most part, an idea when Julie arrived here,” DiBerardinis said. “Julie built that year over year into something real, something that people understood and wanted to be a part of.”

Julie has also been a close friend of PEC, and we expect that she’ll continue to be a frequent face around the watershed and at TTF events. We wish her a happy and well-earned retirement!

To see a full list of awardees from the 2024 Environmental Partnership Dinner, and to watch videos about their work, click here.