Littoral Society Members Day Combined Sun, Fun, and A Host of Great Coastal Champions

Sun, fun and great food! We hope everyone who came out for Littoral Society Members Day enjoyed it as much as we did.

​The sun was courtesy of Mother Nature, who delivered some great weather to Sandy Hook on Saturday, June 21 for this annual celebration of the Society's most dedicated supporters. The fun was abundant, with engaging activities like seining, a bird walk, a fascinating botany exploration, and even some collective beach cleaning. The delicious fuel for the event was provided by Red Bank's Local Smoke.

Beyond the festivities, a highlight of Members Day is always the opportunity to recognize those who go above and beyond for coastal conservation. This year, we were incredibly proud to present Coastal Champion Awards to five outstanding individuals whose dedication and impact have been truly exceptional.

Honoring Our 2025 Coastal Champions

Emily Fano
We were thrilled to honor Emily Fano for her extraordinary leadership and vision in advancing climate resilience education.

As Director of Climate Resilience Education at the National Wildlife Federation, Emily's work with the Climate and Resilience Education Task Force has championed equitable climate education across New York City.

She's also been a driving force behind the Resilient Schools and Communities (RiSC) program, a key partner of the American Littoral Society for five years. Through RiSC, thousands of NYC students have engaged in real-world climate solutions, planting over 61,000 beach grass culms and removing tons of debris, transforming shorelines and inspiring young environmentalists.

During the the most recent planting season at Coney Island Creek Park, over 400 students from 20 public schools helped plant more than 14,000 culms of native American beach grass and remove 1,600 pounds of debris — part of a multi-year effort to combat flooding and erosion in one of the city’s most climate-vulnerable neighborhoods.

Emily's inclusive leadership and dedication to environmental justice make her a true force for change, proving education's power in confronting the climate crisis.

Dena Robertson
Dena has been an invaluable volunteer with the Society for over two years, bringing her commitment and diverse skills to our cause. Residing in the Bradley Beach/Ocean Grove area, she embodies a love for the coast.

Dena's organizational and logistical expertise has been crucial behind the scenes for events like Members Day and our annual Squid and Spaghetti Night. Her hands-on dedication extends to reef building, where she's helped with planning logistics and physically contributed to our most recent reef at Moores Beach.

Richard Ryan
Rich Ryan is a true innovator who has propelled our Fish Tagging Program into the 21st Century. As the creator of the Fish-Trak app, he's revolutionized how our tagging members submit data. Now, instead of mailing cards, they can instantly record information about tagged or recaptured fish.

An avid fisherman and tech enthusiast, Rich seamlessly merged his passions, helping us decrease paper waste and significantly increase efficiency, all while fueling vital citizen science and conservation efforts.

Steven Fromm
Steve has been a long-time, invaluable volunteer with our Fish Tagging Program since 2018. His assistance has profoundly improved the program, bringing a wealth of knowledge and a readiness to help in any way needed.

Volunteering with the program allows Steve to work directly with information collected by our dedicated fish tagging members, data that is then used by agencies to manage sustainable commercial and recreational fishing practices. It's also a special opportunity for him to work alongside his old friend and fellow 2025 Coastal Champion recipient, David Dowds.

David Dowds
Dave is the unsung Information Technology genius behind our Fish Tagging Program. His expertise has not only helped us refine our tagged fish database but has also enabled the creation of incredible interactive data maps. These maps allow our volunteer taggers to visually track where fish from eight different species have been tagged and recaptured since the program's inception.

As we rapidly approach the milestone of one million tagged fish, Dave is playing a crucial role in helping us meticulously record all the incoming information from our dedicated volunteer taggers.

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