An Activist’s Activist Discusses Lessons Lost In The Environmental Mist
A Must Watch Story
(Caption: Jeff Tittel (R) and Bill Wolfe (L) – Hopewell/Merrill Lynch/BMS/ELSA battle, circa late 1990’s)
My good friend and former Sierra Club colleague Jeff Tittel was interviewed by Alan Steinberg.
All I can say is watch it.
Jeff traces his incredible personal background and professional and activist development through the evolution of the environmental movement. There are many lessons to be learned -all of which can be encapsulated in his telling of the back story of the amazing fight to preserve Sterling Forest.
Alan is a former US EPA Region 2 Administrator and Executive Director of the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission.
Here is Alan’s intro of Jeff:
In our latest episode, we welcome Jeff Tittel as our guest. He is recognized as one of the greatest champions for the environment. For 23 years, Jeff worked as the Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, retiring in 2021. In this episode, Jeff shares how he became involved in civic engagement at a young age and that his passion for the environment grew from that early start. In addition, he spoke about some of the legislation he helped to get passed in New Jersey, including the indoor smoking ban. We also discuss the current environmental issues with him, especially with President Trump in the Oval Office. Jeff also shared his critique of the various governors in office while leading the New Jersey Sierra Club.
I met Jeff around 1998. At the time, I was Acting Director of the Sierra Club NJ Chapter. The prior year, I had worked as Policy Director and was serving as Acting Director until Jeff took the helm. Jeff replaced Tim Dillingham.
Tim was not well liked by several Sierra Board members because he did not work well with the volunteers and local activists and preferred the inside Trenton top down political compromise game.
Jeff was hired to restore grassroots activism at NJ Sierra and increase membership, media visibility, and the political influence and effectiveness of the Club. He did all of that and much more.
At the outset, I sensed that Jeff didn’t completely trust me, primarily because I had been hired by former Director Dillingham, had spent the prior 10 years of my career as a DEP policy, planning, and regulatory wonk, and had little local political activist experience, aside from being elected as a School Board member in North Hanover. My work was more on the pollution or dirty side, while Jeff was more focused on land use and the green side.
Similarly, at the outset, I didn’t know Jeff at all, but sensed he was very politically oriented and a science and policy lightweight.
But it did not take long for us to get past our false assumptions about each other and become close friends. We worked as a powerful team. I did most of the issue and policy work and writing, while Jeff did the lobbying, media, fundraising, and activist support. We shared the strategy work.
Jeff is a genius when it comes to not just pithy sound bites (“dirty dirt” and “Viagara falls” come to mind), but understanding what’s really going on and communicating and advocating for regular people and the natural environment.
I’ve travelled extensively with him and he has an incredible recall and encyclopedic mind on local issues, history, and places – from awesome hikes, to politics, to good pubs – and not just in New Jersey but across the country.
Jeff has no use for the current crop of “environmental leaders” – he tags them as “Foundation driven” and with another famous sound bite as “Zoom – Chair Warriors” that just want to go to the meetings where they get screwed! (Ouch!)
His allusion to Trump as “Agent Orange” was another classic. And his warnings about the dangers of Trump was on the mark.
Jeff’s scathing criticisms of the Murphy DEP was on point as well, and something you will not hear from any NJ environmental group (around time 35:00).
Finally, he gives an informed assessment of the Gubernatorial candidates and the current political climate that will shape their politics.
Listen closely to what he has to say. There is much wisdom there.