Leaders and Environmentalists from the Region Expected to Attend to Grow a Greener, Healthier Watershed.

Hackensack, NJ -- The Northern New Jersey Community Foundation (NNJCF) announces Captain Bill Sheehan, Executive Director of Hackensack Riverkeeper, will present the keynote address, The State of the Hackensack River, at the 2025 Hackensack River Nation Summit. The Summit takes place from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. at Fairleigh Dickinson University in the Student Union Building located at Sub Lane in Teaneck, New Jersey.

The Summit will bring together public officials, leaders of environmental and community organizations, and business leaders seeking to protect the Hackensack River watershed ecosystem and to connect more people to the waterway. The Hackensack River flows and impacts these municipalities in Bergen and Hudson counties: Oradell, Haworth, Emerson, New Milford, Hackensack, River Edge, Bogota, Teaneck, Ridgefield Park, Little Ferry, North Bergen, Secaucus, and Jersey City.

Featured presentations and workshops will discuss the following:

• cleaning up the Hackensack River Superfund site, led by the US Environmental Protection Agency;

• collaborating for better and more cost-effective stormwater management planning, led by the Northern New Jersey Community Foundation, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and New Jersey Future;

• choosing green infrastructure for watershed protection, led by United Energy Advisors;

• building trails in urban and suburban communities, led by the New York/New Jersey Trails Conference; and

• creating Strong Watershed Alliances, with the Hackensack Riverkeeper, Musconetcong Watershed Association, and the Waterfront Alliance.

Workshop Sessions

These workshops are confirmed and scheduled to take place.

• Collaborating for Better Stormwater Management Planning with Leonardo Vazquez, AICP/PP from the Northern New Jersey Community Foundation; Chris Sotiro, New Jersey Future; and Kristina Korervo and Miranda Muniz, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

• Building Strong Watershed Alliances with moderator Captain Hugh Carols from Hackensack Riverkeeper and panelists Cortney Worrall with Waterfront Alliance and Thomas Alesio, FAICP/PP, from Musconetcong Watershed Association        

• Green Infrastructure: Leaves and Branches with André Masud and Kevin Parham, United Energy Advisors

• Building Trails in Urban and Suburban Communities with Peter Dolan, New York/ New Jersey Trails Conference

• Hackensack River Superfund Cleanup with presenters from the United States Environmental Protection Agency, District 2

Summit exhibitors from environmental organizations and agencies in the Hackensack River watershed will also be available to meet, discuss their missions, and provide information about how to get involved with their work. The organizations scheduled to exhibit include Jersey Water Works, New Jersey Future, New York-New Jersey Trails Conference, Northern New Jersey Community Foundation, Ramapo College, and Sewage Free Streets and Rivers.

Date: Tuesday, February 25.

Time: 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Venue:
Fairleigh Dickinson University in the Student Union Building
860 Sub Ln
Teaneck, NJ 07666.

Registration

Registration for the Summit may be done conveniently online at https://tinyurl.com/HRNSummit. Tickets are available for the general public $80, government and nonprofit environmental commission and green team members $40, and students and green infrastructure champions $20. Special ticket prices for students attending Fairleigh Dickinson University, Montclair State University, Ramapo College, and Rutgers University may be purchased with a valid student email address.

For additional information about the Summit, contact the Northern New Jersey Community Foundation’s Executive Director, Leonardo Vazquez, at [email protected] or call 201-568-5608 extension 2.

Sponsors and Donations Appreciated

The NNJCF seeks sponsors and donations to support the Hackensack River Nation Summit and to grow greener, cleaner and healthier places through the Northern New Jersey Community Foundation’s work in the region. To date, sponsors for the Summit include Dimension Energy, PSEG Foundation and M&T Charitable Foundation.

Donations of any size are welcome and may be made online at https://www.nnjcf.org/donation/. Contributions may also be sent by check made out to 'The Northern N.J. Community Foundation', with ‘Hackensack River Nation Summit’ entered in the memo line. Send checks to the Northern New Jersey Community Foundation, 1 University Plaza, Suite 102, Hackensack, New Jersey 07601. For further information about sponsorships, donations, or the NNJCF, call 201-568-5608 or send an e-mail to [email protected].