Greetings,

EGA’s Fall Retreat brings us back to the Mohonk Mountain House in the historic and beautiful Hudson Valley. This is our time to examine the past while planning for the future of environmental philanthropy and the larger community.

New York’s history provides appropriate context as we gather to address the pressing environmental challenges before us. Here, the Iroquois Nations created the oldest form of a participatory democracy, providing the framework for American governance. It was during the 1960s and '70s that Hudson Valley citizens victoriously fought a proposed power plant, forming the legal basis of public participation in environmental decision-making. Thirty years ago, the tragedy at Love Canal captured the nation’s attention, leading to the creation of clean-up requirements and the birth of the anti-toxics movement. Now we will create a new chapter in New York’s environmental story as we learn from each other and work together to shape a more promising future at this critical point in history.

One thing we know is that the coming months will bring change. In November, Americans will choose the next President and a new Congress. Environmental issues have widespread public support. Candidates have campaigned on mitigating climate change and using green jobs to help fix our economy. Even more is happening internationally. The programming at this year’s Retreat will give us the ideas and tools to capitalize on this change and build a better tomorrow.

The Retreat provides a look at the wide range of solutions for tomorrow that are ready today. The featured conversations challenge our thinking of how philanthropy functions regarding assets allocation, strategy formulation and solution innovation.  The small sessions cover a broad spectrum of issues and strategies. We also have the opportunity to hear from Dr. Vandana Shiva as a keynote speaker.

In closing, we would like to express our heartfelt thanks to the Program Committee members for their thoughtfulness and dedication, the Host Committee for providing a rich array of local learning opportunities and wonderful sense of place, and of course the EGA staff for its hard work in pulling it all together and allowing us to share this time with one another.

Warmest Regards,