LEWISTON – River conservationist Naomi Schalit will kick off the second portion of the Great Falls Forum’s seventh season on Thursday, Jan. 20.

Schalit will present a talk titled “It’s Just the Androscoggin – Challenges to River Restoration in Maine” at 11:45 a.m. at the Lepage Conference Center at St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center.

Schalit is a Princeton University graduate and is the first executive director of Maine Rivers, a statewide conservation group whose mission is to protect, restore and enhance Maine’s river systems.

At Princeton, Schalit studied religion and politics in the Near East.

She and her roommate were the first women editors of Princeton’s literary and arts journal, The Nassau Literary Review. Schalit also worked with the Sierra Club, Friends of the River, several political campaigns and Mother Jones Magazine.

For the past 20 years she wrote for newspapers and magazines across the country. She worked for the former Maine Times and spent five years as a reporter and producer for Maine Public Radio.

At MPR, she concentrated on environmental and public interest reporting, and won both national and statewide awards for her work, which was also featured on National Public Radio’s news programs, in NPR’s environmental magazine, Living On Earth, and on the Canadian Broadcasting System.

Lunch is $7 with preregistration, $10 at the door, if space is available.

Make lunch reservations by calling Jeanne Lachance at 689-2843 on or before Tuesday Jan. 18.

The Great Falls Forum is a monthly public platform for thought-provoking speakers and discussion. Everyone is welcome. No dues, no obligations.