Fourth Annual Pro H2O Event to Honor Iowa Conservation Leaders

The Iowa Environmental Council will honor Iowa conservation leaders Art Cullen, Frankin Codel - accepting on behalf of the Wells Fargo Green Team, Liz Garst and RDG Planning and Design for their continued commitment to Iowa’s environment at the fourth annual Pro H2O: Thirsty for Change event on June 1, 2017 at The Science Center of Iowa.

Art Cullen received the Pulitzer Prize for a series of ten editorials focused on the trail of money funding the legal defense of Sac, Buena Vista and Calhoun counties in the Des Moines Water Works Lawsuit. The names of donors to this defense fund were being kept secret, and The Storm Lake Times worked persistently with the Iowa Freedom of Information Council to reveal the funding sources.

Franklin Codel is the Senior Executive Vice President for Consumer Lending at Wells Fargo and Company. Franklin has been a member of the Iowa Environmental Council for 13 years. The Council is excited to have Franklin accept this honor on behalf of the 1000 member Wells Fargo Green Team.

Liz Garst has been a member of the Council since our formation in 1995. She is a board member and volunteer for Whiterock Conservancy, a non-profit land trust near Coon Rapids, which is dedicated to finding balance between agriculture, the environment and people. The Council is proud to have Liz as a board member and to honor her at Pro H20 for her leadership and advocacy in the environmental movement in Iowa.

The RDG Planning and Design team facilitated several discussions of the Iowa Soil & Water Future Task Force in a pro bono capacity and partnered with The Nature Conservancy to draft recommendations to strike a fine balance while pushing bold ideas forward to address one of Iowa’s most pressing challenges. “Without this leadership, collaborative spirit, and passion for conservation, our Task Force would not have reached such a level of agreement for our strategic direction”, said Bethany Wilcoxon, Capital Crossroads Director. “RDG has consistently demonstrated its commitment to the greater good of the community. The team is keenly aware of the challenges we collectively face and willingly dives into the midst of those challenges to help us find solutions collaboratively.”

What: Fourth Annual Pro H2O – Thirsty for Change

When: Thursday, June 1, 2017, 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Where: The Science Center of Iowa, 401 W Martin Luther King Jr Pkwy, Des Moines

The event will include drinks, hors d’oeuvres and live music from Chicago artist, Shawn Munday.

This event is open to all who wish to celebrate and support a shared vision for clean water, healthy land and continued advocacy for Iowa’s environment. Tickets are $50 per person and may be purchased at iaenvironment.org. All proceeds from Pro H2O will benefit the Iowa Environmental Council’s work to advocate for and advance policies that support a sustainable future for Iowa.

register for Pro H2O

The Iowa Environmental Council would like to thank this year’s generous Pro H2O sponsors:

Linda Applegate, BNIM, Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, Iowa Rivers Revival, The Leopold Center, Catherine Cowie and Damien Lock, Cyril and John Mandelbaum, Loraine May, Pamela and Doug Mollenhauer, NCP, Inc., Prairie Meadows, Wells Fargo Green Team, John D. Schmidt and Deb Wiley and Virtual IT.