By Hugh M. Carola

It is often said that the support of one's colleagues is the strongest support of all. On June 24 of this year Captain Bill Sheehan was honored by his colleagues at the Waterkeeper Alliance with a seat on the organization's Board of Directors. At the Alliance's annual conference - held this year at San Francisco State University - Sheehan received enough votes to earn him a spot on the seventeen-member panel.

"I knew that several of my fellow keepers were planning to nominate me but winning the election was something I'll never forget," said Captain Bill. "I look forward to serving with my colleagues as we continue to build the Waterkeeper movement around the world and to empower ordinary citizens to take back their waterways from the polluters and the others who would despoil them."

This was the second time that the Executive Director of Hackensack Riverkeeper was nominated in recent years; in 2004 he lost a close race to Petitcodiac Riverkeeper Daniel LeBlanc from Moncton, New Brunswick. Sheehan now joins LeBlanc as well as longtime friend and mentor Andrew Willner, the New York/New Jersey Baykeeper, on the Board.

One of the main functions of the Alliance Board of Directors is to evaluate applications for new Waterkeeper programs. Whether or not an application is approved is based on three things: compatibility with Waterkeeper purposes and goals, the likelihood of building a sustainable organization and an overall evaluation that a program is beneficial for the place in which it is proposed. Captain Bill is uniquely qualified to do this since for several years now he has helped mentor new Waterkeepers.

"People often hear me say that I have the best job in the world," said Captain Bill. "Now I have been given the ability to give other committed activists around the world the opportunity to say the very same thing."

Based in Irvington, New York, the Waterkeeper Alliance is the international center for the network of nearly 160 Waterkeeper programs. In addition to approving new programs, the Alliance also licenses the use of Waterkeeper names (Riverkeeper, Baykeeper, Coastkeeper, etc.), represents individual Keepers on issues of national interest and serves as a meeting place for members to exchange information, strategy and expertise. The Alliance meets at least once a year, rotating between regions, and communicates regularly in the interim. Next year's conference is scheduled to be held in New Orleans, Louisiana.