The Chattahoochee Riverkeeper (CRK) Board of Directors announced that Riverkeeper Jason Ulseth will be appointed executive director with expanded responsibilities beginning Aug. 7.
Chattahoochee Riverkeeper’s current Executive Director Juliet Cohen has announced she will step down to work with Cox Enterprises. Over her 15 years of service to Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, 6 as general counsel, and 8 as executive director, Cohen oversaw the growth of its membership, budget, and staff by more than 50 percent. The reach and breadth of programs like Trash-Free Chattahoochee and Neighborhood Water Watch have grown by more than 100 percent.
“Under Juliet’s leadership, the river is cleaner than it has been in decades, and communities throughout the basin are rediscovering the river,” Rutherford Seydel, Co-Chair of CRK’s Board of Directors, said.
Cohen co-led the organization alongside Ulseth, who began working for Chattahoochee Riverkeeper in 2007 as technical programs director and has served as Riverkeeper since 2015. Ulseth is a national expert on water quality and a leader in the water advocacy field.
“I grew up fishing and voting on the Chattahoochee River and jumped at the chance to be part of the organization way back in 2007 shortly after I graduated from the University of Georgia. The river has always been very special to me. So the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper is a perfect fit for my career, as I get to protect the river that I love,” Ulseth said.
Ulseth has demonstrated his strong leadership skills during the past 16 years and remains deeply dedicated to the CRK mission, Board Co-Chair David Kirkpatrick said.
“We’re excited that Henry Jacobs out of our Lagrange office is going to be rising through the ranks of our organization. He’s been a great asset to us ever since being an intern 10 years ago,” Ulseth said.
CRK promoted Jacobs to deputy director to provide support for the transition. Jacobs most recently served as Middle Chattahoochee director. During his tenure, Jacobs has grown the Middle Chattahoochee regional budget by more than 400 percent and has strategically grown the footprint of the organization’s operations and influence throughout the Middle Chattahoochee region.
“The river is always facing new challenges as we learn more about emerging contaminants like PFAS and microplastics to look forward to the next drought there’s always a lot of constraints and demands on the Chattahoochee River, and we’re going to have to be there to meet them,” Ulseth said.
PFAS chemicals are often called “forever chemicals” because they do not easily degrade in the environment or in the body, so they accumulate in both over time, according to the National Center for Health Research. They are used to make products stain- and grease-resistant, so they are found in many products in the home, such as clothes, carpeting, upholstery, food packaging, non-stick cookware, and even cosmetics.
CRK’s mission is to educate, advocate and secure the protection and stewardship of the Chattahoochee River, including its lakes, tributaries, and watershed, to restore and conserve their ecological health for the people and wildlife that depend on the river system.