UNITY – Members of the WE Lead program, a cocurricular organization that encourages the environmental career aspirations of female students, will present the 2006 Women’s Environmental Leader Award at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 7, at Quimby Library, Unity College.

This year’s recipient will be Alix Hopkins of Pownal, founding director of Portland Trails. The award ceremony is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served following the ceremony.

A writer and author, Hopkins latest nonfiction book is “Groundswell,” which demonstrates how community building that involves citizens, volunteer leaders and professionals is an effective way to achieve goals to benefit a variety of constituencies.

Hopkins has worked in land conservation for more than 20 years. Her experiences include learning to control avalanches in Utah, working as a rancher in Wyoming, processing salmon at a cannery, working in public relations, political organizing and serving as a freelance photojournalist.

In the late 1980s, Hopkins worked at the Natural Lands Trust, a regional organization headquartered near Philadelphia; in the 1990s she was the founding executive director of Portland Trails. She is chairwoman of Mountain Division Alliance, which promoted the vision for a 50-mile rail-with-trail, now in the works.

Hopkins serves as co-president of the Pownal Land Trust, is a board member of the Maine Coast Heritage Trust, the Northern Forest Canoe Trail and several other community-oriented nonprofits.

Copy the Story Link