News > News > Riverkeeper > Riverkeeper hires Jessica Roff to lead advocacy & engagement efforts

Riverkeeper hires Jessica Roff to lead advocacy & engagement efforts

OSSINING — Riverkeeper, New York’s clean water advocate, announced today that Jessica Roff has joined the organization in the newly created Director of Advocacy and Engagement role. Roff comes with a wealth of experience as a community organizer and environmental activist.

A lawyer by training, Roff was previously the Programs Manager for Catskill Mountainkeeper and was the Downstate Regional Organizer for New Yorkers Against Fracking, organizing in downstate New York against extreme fossil-fuel extraction and infrastructure.

Previously, she organized with Occupy Sandy on hurricane relief and rebuilding, working with Rockaway community members and civic leaders to run a distribution center, address public health issues, and promote sustainable development.

Roff was also a  lawyer at the U.S. Department of the Interior in Washington, D.C., where she practiced Federal Indian law. Prior to that, she worked for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, where she addressed many civil rights issues including those that affect Native Americans and inner-city African American men.

In 2008, Roff left the Department of the Interior to return to New York City where she began organizing with the Brooklyn Food Coalition and with anti-fracking efforts in New York.

“Jessica’s extensive community engagement experience and incredible advocacy and legal skills make her a fantastic addition to the Riverkeeper staff team,” said Riverkeeper President Paul Gallay. “She’s going to help Riverkeeper reach new levels of success in defending the Hudson and its tributaries; protecting our drinking water; and supporting and helping to empower communities up and down the river.”

Roff began the position on October 30.

“As a fourth-generation Brooklynite, I have been shaped by the Hudson and the people along its path. I am thrilled to take on this new challenge and look forward to using this opportunity to find new ways to support grassroots and frontline work in New York and throughout the Hudson Valley,” said Roff.

Roff is an avid baker, cook, and biker and lives in Brooklyn.

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