The mission of the Environmental Forum Committee of The City Gardens Club of New York City is to present annual educational forums on important environmental topics to a wide audience including CGC members and the general public.
On Thursday, January 23, 2025 we are holding our 18th annual forum “Our Evolving Waterfront – 520 Miles of Opportunity” at Temple Israel of The City of New York and online.
Meet The Panelists
Jonathan Boulware
Captain Jonathan Boulware, President and CEO of South Street Seaport Museum, has steered the museum’s operations since 2013. A passionate advocate for experiential learning, he has reinvigorated the Seaport Museum’s education and public programs, and reestablished the role of the Museum as the beating heart of the original seaport of New York. Captain Boulware spearheads fundraising efforts for the restoration of the historic buildings and ships in the Museum’s collection. He also oversees a $40 million stability fund secured through an air rights transfer in 2021, and has recently seen visitor attendance triple. In addition to being engaged in resiliency planning for Lower Manhattan, Captain Boulware still maintains a USCG license as captain of vessels of 500 tons upon oceans and has been three times named to the City and State Manhattan Power 100 list.
Marcha Johnson
Dr. Marcha Johnson, a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), specializes in ecological restoration and shoreline designs with high habitat value. As an adjunct professor at the City College of New York’s Spitzer School of Architecture, she teaches graduate courses in landscape architecture and sustainability, and also serves as an in-house designer with NYC Parks. Currently, she is working on a forest restoration project in the Bronx and has led numerous projects to enhance the ecological benefit of waterfront properties along NYC’s waterways including alternatives to traditional seawalls and floodable multiple-use recreation areas. Dr. Johnson serves on the Advisory Board for Riverkeeper and on the Technical Advisory Board for Hudson River Park.
John Waldman
Dr. John Waldman is an author, scientist and a tenured Professor of Biology at the faculty of CUNY’s Queens College, where he has taught since 2004.
For the prior 20 years, he was employed by The Hudson River Foundation for Science and Environmental Research. Dr. Waldman received his PhD in 1986 from the joint program in Evolutionary Biology between the American Museum of Natural History and the City University of New York, and has an MS in Environmental Sciences from Long Island University. His research interests focus on the ecology and evolution of fishes, the historical ecology of rivers and urban waterways, and estuarine biology. Dr. Waldman has authored more than 100 scientific articles, as well as numerous essays for the NY Times, and several popular books.
Cortney Koenig Worrall
Cortney Koenig Worrall is CEO of The Waterfront Alliance, a coalition of private and non-profit groups, working together to revitalize accessible waterfronts. Cortney has redefined the Waterfront Alliance’s strategies leading to victories in comprehensive flood disclosure laws and secured new national clients for the Alliance’s WEDG (Waterfront Edge Design Guidelines) program. An expert in climate resilience policy, storm water planning, and community outreach, she has influenced state and city policy and executed the Waterfront Alliance’s strategy for five borough ferry service. She is a member of the NYC Bureau of Coastal Resilience Expert Advisory Group as well as the NYC Sustainability Advisory Group and is an advisor to the Climate Exchange on Governors Island. Ms. Worrall is a graduate of Mt. Holyoke College and holds an MA from Columbia’s School of International and Public Administration.