Allison Whipple Rockefeller is a philanthropist and socialite.
Education:
Graduate of Trinity-Pawling and Hamilton College
Personal:
Married to Peter C. Rockefelller. Three teenage children.
Previous marriage ended in divorce.
Background:
Allison Whipple Rockefeller is the Founding Chair of the Rachel Carson Awards Council and a keen supporter of National Audubon's Women in Conservation Program. Allison has dedicated much focus to the creation, preservation and promotion of American parkland and open space on the national, state, and local level. She is a prominent advocate for sustainable community development and brownfield remediation and reuse. She is also committed to environmental education and connecting youth with nature. Allison Rockefeller is deeply committed to the communication of American heritage, history, and values, especially as these pertain to our national resources and the role of nature in shaping American history and American character.
As a native New Yorker, Allison has particular interest in New York City and New York State conservation efforts. She served as Commission Member to the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation in the Saratoga/Capital District (1998-2003) and currently serves as Commission Member in the State agency's New York City Region.
Allison's passion for American parkland and open space began as a high school volunteer with the Student Conservation Association. Allison spent 10 weeks in backcountry restoration work crews in Canyonlands and North Cascades National Parks. Twenty years later Allison became the first Alumna Chair of the Board.
Mrs. Rockefeller is also interested in the interpretation of the natural history of the Adirondack State Park and the promotion of the Park's relationship to New York City's vast and vibrant park system. Allison serves on the Advisory Council of the Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks, which is planning a two-day climate change conference in June of 2008. The conference will bring together hundreds of leaders from the business, non-profit and government sectors to address problems and solutions regarding climate change.
Allison is also a long-time member of the Women's Committee of the Central Park Conservancy. She serves on the Upper Park Partners Committee, which oversees an initiative with four historic Harlem Parks offering technical assistance to maintain and preserve these important landscapes.
Mrs. Rockefeller's interest in environmental advocacy, education and habitat preservation has brought her into the world of National Audubon and Audubon New York, where Allison is highly committed to the Society's "Women in Conservation Program" and serves as the Founding Chair of the Rachel Carson Awards Council.
Lastly, Allison Rockefeller has joined the effort in environmental revitalization and brownfield reclamation in the State of New York. She is Founder of Cornerstone Parks, the "Pumps-to-Parks" Initiative, which works to create a network of small parks and community centers by converting closed gas station sites and their buildings into open green space and centers for community use. "Pumps-to-Parks" is working with state government and communities to build a statewide model for permanent open space, community economic development, brownfield reclamation and adaptive reuse. New York State's "Pumps-to-Parks" program will serve as a national model, in an effort to address the challenge of the 200,000+ closed gas stations in America.
