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2022 Smith Nature Symposium Awards Ceremony & Dinner
Greenbelt Cultural Center
1215 N Green Bay Rd, North Chicago

September 30, 2022 | 5:30pm-9:30pm

Join Brushwood Center as we celebrate the 39th Annual Smith Nature Symposium Awards! Enjoy this inspirational evening honoring the extraordinary leadership of Cristina Mittermeier and Paul Nicklen and their momentous impact on ocean justice and conservation as photographers, marine biologists, and founders of SeaLegacy.

Led by our acclaimed emcees, television journalist Bill Kurtis and producer Donna LaPietra, the Awards Dinner includes live music, stunning artwork, locally-sourced cuisine, and a celebration of community.
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The Smith Nature Symposium is Brushwood Center’s largest fundraising event of the year, and all funds raised from the evening directly benefit our programs for children, families, professionals, and veterans across our community. We cannot wait to celebrate this special event with you!

Watch the Awards Ceremony

Cristina Mittermeier

2022 Distinguished Environmental Leadership Awardee

​World-renowned conservationist and photographer Cristina “Mitty” Mittermeier believes that stunning visual storytelling is the key to unlocking critical action to help heal our ocean and save our planet. Beginning her career as a marine biologist in her native Mexico, Mitty soon discovered the power of imagery in ocean advocacy work. She went on to become an internationally recognized National Geographic photographer, public speaker, and founder of The International League of Conservation Photographers. She is the recipient of many prestigious awards, including the Smithsonian Conservation Photographer of the Year Award and the Imaging Award for Photographers Who Give Back. She was also named one of the 100 Latinos Most Committed to Climate Action.

Paul Nicklen

​2022 Distinguished Environmental Leadership Awardee

​Paul Nicklen is a Canadian photographer, filmmaker, and marine biologist who has documented the beauty and the plight of our planet for over twenty-five years. He was inducted into the International Photography Hall of Fame in 2019 and, in that same year, was appointed to the Order of Canada. He has placed first in the World Press Photo’s Nature Stories category four times and was named Wildlife Photographer of the Year in 2012. In the past two decades, Nicklen has collaborated with scientists, filmmakers, conservationists and explorers to create awareness and inspire action for global issues like climate change. He is a Sony Artisan of Imagery and has honorary degrees from both the University of Victoria and Simon Fraser University.

Working together on front lines of conservation, often onboard the SeaLegacy 1, Paul and Cristina are also partners in life.  Both are marine biologists, Sony Artisans of Imagery, and earlier this year they received an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts, Honoris Causa, from Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada. In 2014, they co-founded SeaLegacy, a non-profit organization that propelled ocean conservation onto the world stage through the power of visual storytelling, impact campaigns and the funding of sustainability projects.  Guided by science and driven by purpose, SeaLegacy is the global marketing, education, and communication agency for the ocean.

Cristina and Paul's photography will be on exhibition at Brushwood Center September 12 - October 30.

View Exhibition Information

“As a photographer and conservationist my work is about building a greater awareness of the responsibility of what it means to be a human. It is about understanding that the history of every living thing that has ever existed on this planet also lives within us. It is about the ethical imperative—the urgent reminder that we are inextricably linked to all other species on this planet and that we have a duty to act as the keepers of our fellow life forms.”

​– Cristina Mittermeier

Meet the Masters of Ceremonies

​​Donna La Pietra and Bill Kurtis

Donna La Pietra and Bill Kurtis will grace the stage as Masters of Ceremonies of the Smith Nature Symposium. Their contributions to news-broadcasting, documentary film production, and conservation have made them longtime legends in Chicagoland. After starting his career as a journalist, Bill became the news anchor for CBS at Chicago’s WBBM Channel 2, where he met Donna, who would become the channel’s Executive Producer. Bill is also the judge and voice of the popular news radio show, Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! Donna and Bill are known for their documentary film production company, Kurtis Productions, and for their devotion to supporting local non-profits. They are also committed to protecting the environment and increasing educational opportunities around nature. This passion is no better demonstrated than at their home on the North Shore, Mettawa Manor. Donna and Bill have created stunning gardens on the site, restored 25 acres of tall-grass prairie, and protected all but eight acres of the 65-acre property with conservation easements. They continue to host educational programs and scientific research at Mettawa, which is at once an ode to art and nature and a testament to their commitment to the natural world. Donna and Bill both serve on Brushwood Center’s Advisory Board.

About the Award

The Distinguished Environmental Leadership Award was first presented in 1984 to Roger Tory Peterson, the esteemed American naturalist, ornithologist, artist, and educator. Recent honorees include Winona LaDuke (2021), Bill McKibben and Sue Halpern (2020), Amory Lovins and Judy Hill Lovins (2019), and Robert Redford and Sibylle Szaggars Redford (2018). ​​

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Host Committee

Co-Chairs: Amy Heinrich and Disha Narang
Barbi and Thomas E. Donnelley II
Celeste Flores
Francia E. Harrington and Vern Broders
Amy and Rob Heinrich
Patricia and John Leonard
Michael M. Levin
Suzanne Malec-McKenna and Joseph Ferguson
Jean Meilinger and John Schneider
Disha and Akhil Narang
Carmen Patlan
Lorra Rudman
Ellen Rudnick and Paul Earle
Adele Simmons
A Gail and William Sturm
Martha Twaddle and Tom Millar 
Barbara Waller
​Kimberly Waller

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Sponsors
A special thank you to all of our generous sponsors!​
Ambassador
Amy and Rob Heinrich
Michael M. Levin and Family
Jean Meilinger and John Schneider
Adele Simmons
A. Gail and William Sturm

Friend
​Andrea and Richard Amend
Henry and Lele Barkhausen
Bold Bison Communications & Consulting
​Bob and Winnie Crawford
Thomas Donnelley and Barbara C. Donnelley Family Fund of The Donnelley Foundation
Illinois Environmental Council
Jackie Ramdin Johnson and Carl Johnson
Patricia and John Leonard
Suzanne Malec-McKenna and Joseph Ferguson
Lorra Rudman
Ellen Rudnick and Paul Earle
Union of Concerned Scientists
Clea Van Voorhis

In-Kind Sponsors

Special Thanks To

Emmett Williams

Program Sponsors

The Chicago Community Trust
Gorter Family Foundation
Harold M. and Adeline S. Morrison Family Foundation
Hunter Family Foundation
John and Kathleen Schreiber Foundation
Illinois Arts Council Agency
Illinois Humanities
Mid-America Arts Alliance
Oberweiler Foundation

Support the Symposium