The Pennsylvania Environmental Council honored Joanne R. Denworth and Joseph M. Manko with the Curtin Winsor award at its 37th Annual Philadelphia Dinner this week.

Though each is still active in environmental leadership positions today, Denworth and Manko are being honored for life-long achievement especially the important role they played in expanding the Council’s work statewide.

They helped the Council collaborate with businesses, communities and government to tackle critical environmental challenges facing the Commonwealth including hazardous waste, water quality, brownfields remediation, and land use.

“Individually, Joe and Joanne brought a wealth of experience and insight to their work with the Council. Collectively, they took the Council to another level, helping to make it Pennsylvania’s leading environmental organization,” said Brian J. Hill, President and CEO of the Pennsylvania Environmental Council

Denworth is a land use and environmental lawyer, who works in the Governor’s Office of Policy, on state agency policy issues relating to land use, community development, environmental protection, conservation and recreation, transportation, water and sewer infrastructure, agriculture, and historic preservation.

Denworth served as president of the Pennsylvania Environmental Council for 12 years. She established four regional offices and spearheaded coalitions for land use reform, enhancement of urban environments, open space protection and resource-conserving development.

As a direct outgrowth of her work with the Council, she founded and became president of 10,000 Friends of Pennsylvania, a statewide organization dedicated to revitalizing cities and towns, conserving rural lands, and reducing sprawl.

Gov. Rendell had this to say about Denworth: “Joanne Denworth could truly be the Joan of Arc of the environmental movement. She has been an effective advocate for environmental progress who never lost sight of her goal of protecting and improving the environment whether working in or out of government. Every Pennsylvanian owes her a tremendous debt of gratitude.”

“It’s very special for me to receive the Winsor Award from PEC, an organization I nurtured and grew for so many years, and whose key staff I mostly hired and still love, “said Denworth. “I’m particularly proud of the project work we started in all regions of the state, which has been ably carried on and expanded by my successors. It was a treat to work with Joe Manko as Board Chair all those years, Curt and Eleanor Winsor, whom this Award honors, taught me a lot about fund raising, as well as statewide environmental issues, and enabled me to build on the organizational foundation they had laid.”

Manko is a founding partner of Manko, Gold, Katcher & Fox, LLP. He joined the PEC Board almost 30 years ago, after serving as Regional Counsel for EPA’s Mid-Atlantic Region.

During his board membership, Manko served in numerous capacities, including the Legislative Committee, and played a major role with fundraising. Upon the retirement of Curtin and Eleanor Winsor and then Susie Montgomery, Manko was instrumental in convincing Joanne Denworth to leave her law practice and take over the reigns at PEC. He agreed to serve as Chairman of the Board with Joanne serving as Executive Director, then President.

For many years, Joe and Joanne ran PEC, greatly increased funding and staff, expanded the number of projects, and opened additional offices across the state. Together, they helped make PEC a major player in the environmental movement and a respected advocate for environmental progress with the legislature and the Governor’s office.

Gov. Rendell noted of Manko: “Joe Manko is as fine an environmental attorney as there is in the United States and has done a superb job as Chairman of the PennVest Board. He fights for environmental progress and justice every day and most often succeeds in a big way. His impact and effectiveness are unmatched.”

“Joe Manko helped build consensus on challenging issues facing the Commonwealth – addressing hazardous and solid waste, promoting land use reforms, encouraging the reuse of industrial sites and using market-based approaches to solve environmental problems, such as air pollution,” said Pennsylvania Environmental Council President Brian Hill. “Through his actions and leadership, he changed the course of the organization.”

In response to receiving the award, Manko said “Curt Winsor was one of my mentors. With his untiring work ethic and wonderful sense of humor, he helped launch me. I then had the pleasure of watching PEC grow from Curt’s original vision of having PEC serve as a mediator between, and partner with, the various organizations in the environmental movement, government and business, to its current position as an advocate for the protection and restoration of Pennsylvania’s natural and built environment that has garnered the respect of the community. Accordingly, I am honored to receive this award in Curt’s name and memory from his Pennsylvania Environmental Council.”

Manko served as Commissioner to Lower Merion Township for 27 years until his retirement in July 2006, making him the township’s longest serving elected official. He also serves as Director of the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, as an Honorary Director of the Lower Merion Conservancy and is a member of the Montgomery County Greenhouse Gas Reduction Task Force.

Manko was recently elected by the Philadelphia Board of Judges to serve as a commissioner on the Fairmount Park Commission. While Chair of the Council, he served on Governor Ridge's 21st Century Environment Commission, and currently serves as Governor Rendell's designee to chair the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority (PennVest) Board of Directors.

The Winsor Award was established by the Pennsylvania Environmental Council’s board of directors in 1988 in memory of the Council’s founder and longtime president, Curtin Winsor. Periodically, the Board has chosen to recognize exemplary individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to enhancing the Commonwealth’s environment.

For more information, visit the Pennsylvania Environmental Council website.

6/15/2007