The Ron Bowen Environmental Legacy Award

Honoring a public servant who has gone above and beyond to foster environmental stewardship.

This award honors the legacy of WSA co-founder, Ron Bowen by recognizing an individual who has made a unique contribution to environmental stewardship in Anne Arundel County by connecting government or institutional resources with private sector investments to generate significant environmental actions.

The Ron Bowen Environmental Legacy Award presentation will be made during WSA’s Annual Conference on Saturday, March 9th, 2024.

2024 Honoree: Ginger Ellis

Environmental Planning Administrator for Anne Arundel County’s  Bureau of Watershed Protection and Restoration 

WSA is thrilled to honor WSA Co-founder and long time environmental leader, Ginger Klingelhoefer Ellis as this year’s Ron Bowen Environmental Legacy Award Honoree.  With over 30 years of experience in  natural resource management in the Chesapeake Bay region, Ginger has been the backbone of many initiatives to restore our local environment.  From co-chairing the Patuxent River Commission and leading Tributary Strategy Teams earlier in her career, to advising the County’s Stop POOlution pet waste campaign in recent months, Ginger’s  wise advice and strategic vision helps focus restoration efforts.  Her deft and steady leadership of numerous programs,  spanning decades,  has ensured that good ideas become reality.   While we think co-founding WSA is one of the best things she has done in her career, her contributions to environmental action extend far beyond WSA.     

“Ginger's environmental ethic, both personally and professionally, drives her to seek opportunities to heal, rehabilitate, and protect our natural resources. In her professional position, Ginger looks for opportunities where government can lead by example while empowering residents, NGOs, stewards, and other organizations to follow and expand on her lead,” said Janis Markusic, Program Manager for the Bureau of Watershed Protection and Restoration. “On the surface, Ginger's position as a County Planning Administrator may seem primarily administrative (as the name implies); however, she continually goes above and beyond in her leadership role and sets the environmental example for her staff by promoting environmental action from within, as well as via cooperation with County residents and our NGOs.” 

Thank you,  Ginger,  for decades of paving the way for environmental action that matters.  Your  tenacious work,often behind the scenes, is what has  made WSA  and so many other collaborations  between community and government efforts, successful.  You truly do embody Ron Bowen’s legacy of environmental action through resident and government partnership. 

About Ron Bowen

Ron Bowen served as the Director of the Anne Arundel County Department of Public Works, DPW. Ron was recognized for his outstanding leadership in establishing county wide environmental assessment data and state of the art restoration solutions. Ron retired from his director position in 2013 and unfortunately, he passed away in May of 2018.

One of Ron’s proudest roles was as a co-founder of the Anne Arundel County Watershed Stewards Academy, WSA. Ron recognized that we could maximize our environmental action by combining the resources of Department of Public Works with an engaged population of trained environmental leaders. Ron’s organizational and technical skills were crucial in developing WSA’s mission and structure.

Ron served as an integral advisor to WSA, assisting in training and developing a unique relationship with concerned community leaders. Ron strongly believed that government alone could not solve our environmental problems. If we combined government resources with the enthusiasm of trained community leaders, we could create an army of empowered citizens. Ron was tireless in this effort, devoting countless hours that went far beyond his job description. He never said, “This is not my job.” He rolled up his sleeves and got directly involved in countless community projects. He truly became an environmental hero who was loved and respected by his professional colleagues and the residents of Anne Arundel County.

WSA initiated the Ron Bowen Environmental Legacy Award in 2018 as part of its 10th Anniversary Celebration. The intent is to honor the legacy of Ron’s contributions, which have lived on as a model of government leadership, and continues to be a critical foundation for the success of WSA. The Award will recognize and honor the efforts of an individual who comes from a local, state, or federal government agency or a non-profit organization. The purpose of the Award is to honor Ron and the awardee, and to encourage the continuation of Ron Bowen’s vision of agency and citizen partnership to make Anne Arundel County a cleaner and healthier place to live.

Read more about Ron’s impact here.

2023 Honoree: KEN PENSYL

former Program manager for sediment, stormwater and dam safety divisions of Maryland Department of the environment

In over 40 years of service to the environmental field, Ken made incredible contributions to statewide stormwater regulations at the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) and at the local level here in Anne Arundel County. Ken helped usher a paradigm shift from collecting and conveying stormwater to holding and treating it in the landscape.

Ken also shared his expertise with WSA as a key instructor for our Stormwater Success Course and our Watershed Steward Certification Course. His enthusiastic explanations of stormwater ponds and engaging site tours were an important part of learning for hundreds of community leaders across the County.

It is with great pleasure and gratitude that we honor Ken Pensyl, posthumously, with the 2023 Ron Bowen Environmental Legacy Award.

Read more about Ken’s impact here.

Past Recipients

2021:  Earl “Bud” Reaves

Anne Arundel County Forester

Thought of by so many as Anne Arundel County’s own Lorax, Bud  Reaves speaks for the trees and has spent the last decade plus helping Stewards speak for the trees in their own communities. Bud shares his passion for planting and protecting trees with Stewards and communities, empowering them to plant native species. With his knowledge of invasive plants and critical areas, Bud offers his expertise on a variety of Steward projects and trains community members to remove invasive species through the Anne Arundel Weed Resistance.

2020: Claudia Donegan

Director of the Center for Habitat Restoration and Conservation in DNR’s Chesapeake and Coastal Service

“Claudia’s reach and dedication to ecosystem restoration is felt far beyond the confines of DNR and WSA. She lives and breathes restoration and is tireless. Her environmental scientist expertise is conveyed in an enthusiastic way that connects with people of any age or environmental skill set. She embodies the Ron Bowen legacy of engaging citizens,” said Betsy Love, former Chair of the St. Luke's Environmental Committee and Master Watershed Steward.

2020: Kevin Smith

Executive Director of Maryland Coastal Bays Program.

“Kevin’s coach-style support was present throughout the entire [Berrywood] project such as permitting and construction including difficult gates to go thru with unfamiliar agencies such as Army Corp of Engineers. This unwavering support was key to our success,” said Bob Royer, member of the Berrywood Watershed Committee.

2019: Erik Michelsen

Administrator of the Watershed Protection and Restoration Program

"Not only does Erik help build infrastructure around the restoration movement in Anne Arundel County, but he helps connect the pieces to make the movement work on a large-scale. Erik has helped create many dedicated places where Stewards are able to find resources, funding, and are able to execute projects in their communities," said Kate Fritz, Executive Director of the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay and Master Watershed Steward. "Erik, much like Ron, continues to collaborate and coordinate work across the restoration movement in Anne Arundel County. Erik leaves a legacy of dedicated funding available at different scales of implementation, across Anne Arundel County, enabling a predictable future of action and implementation for cleaner water."