2026 Women & Wildlife Awards Reception
Wednesday, October 7, 2026 6:00 – 9:00 PM
The Boathouse at Mercer Lake, West Windsor Township, NJ
Celebrate the inspiring women protecting New Jersey’s rare wildlife and wild places.
We are proud to announce our 2026 honorees: Lenore P. Tedesco, PhD, Keara R. Giannotti, Kim Tinnes, and Barbara McKee. Congratulations!
Through science, education, advocacy, habitat restoration, policy, and community engagement, our Women & Wildlife honorees have made lasting contributions to protecting the state’s wildlife and inspiring future generations of conservation leaders. Since 2006, the Women & Wildlife Awards have honored individuals whose vision and commitment continue to shape the future of wildlife conservation in New Jersey.
Guests will enjoy a buffet dinner, open bar, live music, an awards presentation, and a silent auction. More than 200 guests—including honorees and their families, CWF staff and trustees, community and business leaders —are expected to attend.
The event is sold out! Please consider making a donation or bid from home on our silent auction items.
Women & Wildlife Silent Auction
Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s Women & Wildlife Auction is now OPEN!
Bid on unique opportunities to experience the wildlife our biologists protect, as well as overnight getaways, wildlife art and photographs, museum and brewery visits, tickets and gift certificates, and much more.
Exciting new items will be added daily until the auction closes on October 7 at 8:30 pm, so keep checking back!
All proceeds will benefit our mission to preserve rare and at-risk wildlife in Jew Jersey through field science, habitat restoration, education, and public engagement.
Lenore P. Tedesco, PhD
Dr. Lenore P. Tedesco has served as Executive Director of The Wetlands Institute in Stone Harbor, New Jersey, since 2011, leading its work in applied research, conservation, and environmental education. Her work focuses on protecting and restoring coastal ecosystems, with particular emphasis on sea-level rise, marsh restoration, coastal resilience, and nature-based solutions. Following Hurricane Sandy, Tedesco helped address impacts to horseshoe crab spawning beaches and migratory shorebirds and restore nesting habitat for beach-nesting birds at Stone Harbor Point. She also helped develop ReTURN the Favor, a collaborative volunteer program that has rescued more than one million horseshoe crabs stranded along Delaware Bay beaches. In 2019, Tedesco co-founded the Seven Mile Island Innovation Laboratory with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. The collaborative advances innovative approaches to marsh restoration and beneficial use of dredged material, with projects restoring more than 100 acres of wetlands and improving habitat for coastal wildlife. Tedesco is known for bringing diverse partners together to address complex conservation challenges and sharing lessons from this work with conservation practitioners nationwide. She is currently leading plans for a more resilient, sustainable, and biodiverse future for The Wetlands Institute’s facilities and campus. Tedesco holds a Ph.D. in Marine Geology and Geophysics from the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science and a bachelor’s degree in Geology from Boston University.
Keara R. Giannotti
Keara R. Giannotti is an environmental educator, naturalist, mentor, and nonprofit leader with more than 35 years of experience in the nonprofit sector. Her career has included extensive work with children, including summer camp and services for medically fragile children, as well as healthcare research, community planning, grant writing and fundraising, wildlife conservation and rehabilitation, and environmental education. Her work brings together scientific knowledge, educational vision, creativity, and a deep commitment to nature and the communities she serves. In 2003, Keara founded Project HEAL/Camp Creek Run, a 50-acre nonprofit camp and nature preserve in southern New Jersey. Since then, Camp Creek Run has reached thousands of children through summer camp, school field trips, and environmental education programs while also developing into a living laboratory for biodiversity education and community science. More than 1,000 species have been documented on the property, and Keara, her staff, and her students continue to expand the iNaturalist biodiversity inventory through field-based projects and wildlife surveys. Keara believes that children are “born naturalists” and that curiosity, exploration, and direct experiences in nature are essential to developing a lifelong connection with the natural world. Her own natural history interests are wide-ranging and include birds, insects, fungi, plants, wildlife ecology, and foraging, and she regularly leads walks, programs, and field experiences for children and adults. Her work has also included extensive community service, participation on nonprofit boards, and collaboration with other nonprofit, educational, and conservation organizations. Keara is a Rutgers Environmental Steward, Duke Farms Master Ecologist, and iNaturalist Ambassador. She holds a Master of Public Administration and a Master of Science in Natural Resources with an emphasis in Environmental Education and Interpretation.
Barbara McKee
Barb McKee has a professional background as an art teacher and has long been fascinated with New Jersey wildlife including bald eagles. Inspired by watching the live camera at the Duke Farm bald eagle nest and a class for teachers at Duke Farm, given by CWF Senior Biologist Larissa Smith, Barb aspired to become a nest monitor. She and her husband Rick used their passion for cycling and hiking to find several previously undocumented bald eagles’ nests. In 2018 she was assigned by CWF to the Bulls Island eagles’ nest and since then continues to monitor this nest. Barb currently monitors 54 nests of 4 different raptor species in central/northwest NJ including bald eagles, ospreys, peregrine falcons and American kestrels. She meticulously records critical data on the behaviors of the nesting pairs and their chicks needed for the CWF and New Jersey State biologists to use for wildlife protection. Barb reaches out to landowners and interested locals educating them on how to be good neighbors to wildlife. She edited the Eagle Volunteer Handbook for NJDEP Endangered and Nongame Species Program and has written numerous wildlife blogs for the CWF website. Barb is also a rescue volunteer for the NJ Raptor Alliance. She springs into action when a raptor or other wildlife needs rescue. She has many times answered the call, typically from Kathy Clark, for “eagle down” and has transported injured and rehabilitated raptors to and from appropriate wildlife clinics.
Kim Tinnes
Kim Tinnes has dedicated her life to the wildlife and wild spaces of New Jersey through a nearly 40 year career with New Jersey Fish and Wildlife. Over the course of her remarkable career, she has worked in many capacities and locations, becoming a creative problem solver, an enthusiastic educator, and a compassionate wildlife rescuer. Her deep knowledge of wildlife behavior and exceptional interpersonal skills have made her an invaluable member of New Jersey’s wildlife community and a trusted resource for colleagues, wildlife rehabilitators, law enforcement, researchers, and members of the public. Kim’s career has been hands-on and deeply connected to the field. During her 38-year career with NJ Fish and Wildlife, including 18 years as a Deputy Law Enforcement Officer, she was available to respond to wildlife issues throughout the state. Her work encompassed both game and non-game species and ranged from capture and relocation, to habitat management, to wildlife damage control. Her ability to understand wildlife behavior and translate that knowledge into effective action and management produces successful outcomes. Education and public engagement have been equally central to Kim’s service. She has served as both a Hunter Ed and Becoming an Outdoor Woman(BOW) instructor. Kim is a person who listens respectfully, explains complex issues clearly, and builds understanding, leading to a deeper understanding of wildlife management and conservation. Whether working with law enforcement, wildlife rehabilitators, fellow conservation professionals, new hunters, or members of the public, Kim consistently brings knowledge, humor, and a positive attitude to the interaction.
