Allison Whipple Rockefeller ’76, a Putnam County native, joined Trinity-Pawling in 1974. A lover of nature, she enjoyed the “uplifting and inspiring” beauty of campus. During her three years at T-P, Allison developed lasting relationships with faculty members who ingrained in her a strong value system and direction that she’s carried throughout her life. When reflecting on her time at Trinity-Pawling, Allison shared that the support and dedication from faculty members Bill Smythe and John Lloyd Owen made a profound impact on her life, stating: “The irony is, we think we don’t need structure when we are teenagers, but that is what we crave most. It is the single greatest gift that Trinity-Pawling gives us forever. It is the foundation of the life I live today, one of discipline and expectation for myself.”
Allison embodies the mission of Trinity-Pawling and lives a life of fides et virtus. She has dedicated her life to supporting national, regional, and community-level conservation causes – focusing on parks and open spaces – and to championing women who support environmental initiatives. Allison served as the first alumna Board Chair of the Student Conservation Association – an organization she volunteered with during her time as a student at Trinity-Pawling. Allison has also served as a Commission Member for the New York State Department of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation under four governors and is a longtime Board Member of the Central Park Conservancy’s Women Committee. She is the founder of Cornerstone Parks, the Pumps-to-Parks Initiative designed to create a network of small parks and community centers from the more than 150,000 abandoned gas stations in towns across the United States. Allison is also the founder of National Audubon’s “Women In Conservation” and started, in 2004, it’s prestigious Rachel Carson Award, one of the most important national awards for American women leaders in the environment.
Thank you, Allison, for your commitment to nature and for serving as an example to the entire Trinity-Pawling community of how to live a life of faith and virtue!
Credit: http://www.audubon.org/about/rachel-carson-awards-council