View Celeste De Palma’s presentation
Monthly Meeting and Lecture
“Restoring America’s Everglades: Current State of Affairs and Next Steps” by Celeste De Palma, Director of Everglades Policy, Florida Audubon
Date and Time
Tuesday, September 5, 7:00 p.m.
Program Overview
Come hear Celeste De Palma discuss the state of America’s Everglades restoration, and next steps to support the effort.
About Celeste De Palma
Celeste De Palma is the Director of Everglades Policy at Audubon Florida, the oldest conservation organization in the state. In her role at Audubon Florida, Celeste shapes, leads, manages and implements strategies and actions to advance Audubon’s mission and conservation objectives for the Florida Everglades. A critical member of Audubon Florida’s senior leadership team, she oversees the Everglades science and policy team, coordinates and implements Everglades policy efforts with staff across Audubon Florida’s programs, and leads Audubon Florida’s advocacy efforts with Congress, federal agencies, the Florida Legislature, state agencies, and Everglades Restoration decision makers such as the Army Core of Engineers and South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) to advance Audubon policy and appropriation priorities for Everglades Restoration. She engages grassroots, grasstops, and partners in this work to build a more diverse constituency of Everglades champions who can be mobilized to support Audubon’s Everglades priorities.
Prior to her current role, Celeste was the Everglades Policy Associate, a position in which she successfully orchestrated the advocacy efforts of a consortium of non-profit environmental groups, including Audubon Everglades, in a year and half struggle culminating in the signing of a 20-year lease agreement with SFWMD in March 2018. This agreement ensures that our beloved Arthur R Marshall National Wildlife Refuge will remain intact and that all of its approximately 145,000 acres will remain managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. She also previously served as Conservation Outreach Coordinator for Tropical Audubon Society, the Audubon grassroots chapter in Miami-Dade County. During her time at Tropical Audubon, Celeste specialized in land-use issues and led the revitalization campaign of the Hold the Line Coalition that focused on stopping urban sprawl into the Everglades. Celeste’s dedication to the protection of natural resources and habitats grew out of her direct experience with social issues related to the exploitation of natural resources. During her undergraduate studies, Celeste spent one month in the Peruvian Amazon on a research-based study abroad program, where she saw firsthand the dramatic effects of poor resource management and how critical it is for people to be informed and aware of the environmental impacts of human activity.
Born in Argentina, Celeste came to the U.S. as a teenager and made Miami her adopted city, where she proudly became an American citizen in August 2016. She holds a B.S. in biology from Florida International University. The first National Wildlife Refuge System Advocate of the Year (2018), Celeste has received many honors and recognitions, including the George M. Barley Conservationist of the Year Award at the 33rd Annual Everglades Coalition Conference in January, 2017 and the Audubon Florida Staff Member of the Year at the October 2017 Audubon Florida Assembly. She is a 2013 New Leaders Council Miami Alumna and was a Toyota Together Green Fellow. She writes and speaks on radio and in videos frequently about conserving the Everglades. We are thrilled to be welcoming her as our speaker at our September 4 “season beginning” monthly meeting.
More Meeting Information
Also at the meeting, our expert, Clive Pinnock will speak about the September Bird of the Month, the Peregrine Falcon. Come hear more about this fascinating bird from our expert, Clive Pinnock.
Meeting and program is free and open to the public. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for light refreshments, in rooms 101 and 102 at FAU Pine Jog Environmental Education Center, 6301 Summit Blvd (near Jog Road) in West Palm Beach. We look forward to seeing you there!
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