Leading oil and gas reform organization expands presence in northeast U.S.
Durango, CO, April 14th –“We are very pleased to welcome Nadia Steinzor to our staff team, said Gwen Lachelt, Director of EARTHWORKS Oil & Gas Accountability Project. Beginning April 14, Ms. Steinzor will lead the organization's campaign work in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia and Maryland. “The Marcellus Regional Organizer position represents a milestone for us and we are honored to be adding our voice and expertise to the great effort to reform gas drilling practices in the eastern United States, Lachelt stated.
Nadia Steinzor has worked for over 15 years in communications, writing and editing, and research on environmental and social issues. She has experience as a consultant for progressive non-profit organizations and has held positions at Zero Population Growth, the International Center for Research on Women, and most recently as Director of Communications at the Mohonk Preserve.
From its beginnings in Durango, Colorado, EARTHWORKS Oil & Gas Accountability Project quickly established itself as the national go-to organization for communities facing energy development. With a decade of experience passing precedent-setting laws and rules protecting landowner rights, water quality and public health in the Rocky Mountain West, EARTHWORKS is expanding its presence in the country's newest gas drilling boom region.
Chesapeake Energy estimates that the Marcellus shale has 262 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas reserves. The Marcellus covers a 54,000 square mile region in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia and Maryland – roughly an area the size of Florida. Thousands of wells will likely be drilled impacting many land and mineral owners, communities and watersheds. Leasing is occurring at a rapid pace and residents are being approached every day to lease the minerals under their land to gas development companies.
Steinzor's charge is to help reform state oil and gas regulations, educate and support impacted communities and promote EARTHWORKS' federal reform agenda which includes passing the FRAC Act to remove the exemption of fracturing from the Safe Drinking Water Act and achieve full disclosure of the chemicals used in drilling and fracturing fluids.
“Nadia has the combination of skills, experience and energy to build on our great success working with communities to prevent and minimize the impacts caused by energy development, said Jennifer Krill, EARTHWORKS Executive Director. “We are delighted that she is joining our team.”
Nadia holds an M.S. in Environmental Policy from Bard College and both an M.A. in Peace and Development Studies and a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. Nadia lives in Willow, New York, in the eastern Catskills.
— ENDS —
EARTHWORKS is dedicated to protecting communities and the environment from the destructive impacts of mineral development, in the U.S. and worldwide.
