John Tippett, Executive Director, Friends of the Rappahannock (VA). John Tippett has served as Executive Director of Friends of the Rappahannock (FOR) since he came to the organization in 1995. His professional interests include the design and implementation of Low-Impact Development practices, watershed assessment and planning, and integrating the science of watershed management into the local land-use planning process. During his tenure with FOR, the organization has been instrumental in achieving several notable accomplishments, including the removal of Embrey Dam, the establishment of a 31-mile riverfront conservation easement, and the passage of a suite of precedent-setting ordinance amendments to support Low-Impact Development in Staff ord County, Virginia.

A former Kellogg Foundation fellow through Partners of the Americas, John has worked as a consultant on environmental projects in Eastern Europe, the Philippines, and South America. Highlights include development of custom software and the training of government officials on its use for basin-wide pollution management in the Danube River basin. In the Philippines, he taught advocacy and fundraising to leaders of local non-profi t river conservation groups.

A native of Southern Maryland, John says he “fell in love with rivers as a child.” “I virtually grew up on the water. My first stomping ground was the Lower Potomac…and later it became all of the Bay’s western tributaries. I count it a real privilege to be able to work each day on something I care about so deeply.”