PROVIDENCE, RI: Clean Water Action announced their 2026 awardees to be honored at the organization’s 24th Annual Breakfast of Champions, happening on Friday, May 22nd at 9:30am at the Edgewood Yacht Club in Cranston, Rhode Island.
“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. When Trump gave us anti-environment headwinds, Rhode Island built wind power. Now more than ever, it’s important to celebrate our victories and honor the advocates who make those wins happen!” said Emily Howe, Clean Water Action’s RI Director.
The 2026 awardees are as follows:
2026 David R. Gerraughty Award for Lifetime Commitment to the Environment - Sheila Dormody, Chief of Policy and Resiliency for the City Of Providence
Sheila has been at the forefront of Rhode Island’s efforts to address climate change and stand up for environmental and social justice for over 30 years. Throughout her outstanding career as an organizer, Sheila fought for and won campaigns to protect neighbors from lead pipes, promote producer responsibility for e-waste, enact a RI Renewable Energy Standard, and clean up emissions from diesel buses. She was also a national leader in the effort to phase out the sale of products containing toxic mercury.
“Sheila hired and trained so many of New England’s current environmental leaders during her years at Clean Water Action in the early 2000s. Her legacy is not just the victories that she won, but also the countless advocates whose skills and passions she cultivated,” said Cindy Luppi, Clean Water Action’s Senior Director for State Policy and Program.
Open Space Champion - Kate Sayles, Executive Director of RI Land Trust Council
Kate has been a leader in the 2024 and 2026 fights for the strongest possible Green Bonds for Rhode Island, ensuring that open space preservation and climate resilience are prioritized and funded, with every dollar she raises unlocking another dollar for land conservation.
Excellence in Environmental Journalism - Steve Ahlquist
Steve is an independent journalist who has covered the environment, social justice, activism, and politics in Rhode Island for years, bringing a particularly focused lens to covering local struggles for environmental justice. Steve’s tireless work ensures that people in power hear the voices of those who are not, and that bullies are held accountable. His most recent reporting appears in his Substack, SteveAhlquist.news.
Clean Jobs Partner - Aislinn Hanley, Climate Jobs Rhode Island Program Director
Aislinn has been a leader defending Rhode Island’s growing renewable energy sector from federal attacks and rollbacks. Her advocacy, alongside the efforts of our union partners, has resulted in Rhode Island becoming one of the first states in the nation to host a commercial-scale offshore wind farm, Revolution Wind, now providing power to over 350,000 homes.
Legislative Champions - Rep. Tina Spears and Sen. Mark McKenney
Rep. Spears and Sen. McKenney have both been Rhode Island climate resiliency leaders with Rep. Spears leading the efforts to pass the “Blue Wave Bond for Coastal Preparedness Act,” a $100 million fund to address rising sea levels and increasing coastal storms, and Sen. McKenney sponsoring legislation to reform the beleaguered Coastal Resources Management Council. Additionally, both have been leaders in the efforts to improve recycling in Rhode Island, with Sen. McKenney serving as a co-chair of the Bottle Bill Study Commission.
For tickets and more information about the Breakfast of Champions, please visit: cleanwater.org/ri-breakfast.
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Since the organization’s founding during the campaign to pass the landmark Clean Water Act in 1972, Clean Water Action has worked to win strong health and environmental protections by bringing issue expertise, solution-oriented thinking, and people power to the table. www.cleanwater.org