SEJ President’s Report A Time of Change, a Time to Stay the Same By JEFF BURNSIDE Little did Jim Detjen know when he hired


a part-time worker more than 25 years ago for the newly launched Society of Environmental Journalists that it would lead to an astonishing era of leadership.


It was Beth Parke he hired. Under her leadership as executive direc-


tor, SEJ has grown into the world’s leading group of professional journalists who cover environmental issues. Beth has overseen a rise in membership peaking at nearly 1,600 from every U.S. state, across the Canadian provinces and many other countries. Beth has developed relationships with funders who help cover the costs of our pro- grams and operations totaling millions of dol- lars over the years. And Beth has watched over every SEJ conference as they’ve evolved to become the best in the journalism world.


In short, Beth Parke has become the dean of American jour- nalism groups and made environmental journalism better and more robust. Now, after accomplishing so much, she’s stepping down as


SEJ’s executive director around the beginning of 2017 for some well-earned time to do other things with her life. “I am forever grateful to SEJ for giving me the opportunity to help build something profoundly meaningful and learn something new every day,” she said in the official announcement. “For the 23 years I've worked with Beth,” said SEJ Associate Director Chris Bruggers, “I've been amazed at her boundless abilities as a vi- sionary.” SEJ Conference Director Jay Letto,


all know about these: The foundation world, from which most


of SEJ’s revenue comes, has evolved to be less eager to fund operational expenses that pay the bills, the salaries, the rent and keep the lights on. Beth has deftly navigated this change and helped us look for other accept- able revenue.


Several years ago, the board approved a change allowing SEJ to accept donations for general operations from anyone, capped at a certain amount. The change had almost no impact.


Several months ago, with unanimous approval from the SEJ board after vigorous discussion, Beth implemented an expanded and more expensive option for conference exhibitors that offers a bigger table, better signs and more recognition to help keep costs down for attendees. It begins at the


another staffer of more than 25 years, said Beth “has embodied and championed SEJ’s spirit of cooperation in our effort to seek elusive truths on complex environ- mental issues.” A search committee spent the summer reviewing dozens of ap- plicants and interviewing finalists to enable the SEJ board to select our new executive director. Beth has graciously agreed to help with a careful transition.


Beth Parke has become the dean of American journalism groups.


Sacramento conference. Except for media companies, foundations and our host insti- tution, SEJ has historically refused direct contributions to fund our conferences. Not only can no one influence our conferences, we don’t want to ever leave that appearance. You may, however, see small changes that we hope you find ac- ceptable. For example, supporters can underwrite the cost of coffee during breaks and get a sign or other acknowledgment next to the coffee. This allows attendees to drink or not drink at their discretion. Along with our host institutions, we’ve also thanked other underwrit- ers passively on screens. We hope that meets your approval. One thing is clear: There will never be a corporate logo on the podium, or a sponsor’s banner over the stage, as some other journalism groups allow. Not SEJ. SEJ’s board steadfastly refuses to create a new membership category for


But no one can truly replace Beth Parke. Beth’s departure also means the SEJ board is moving our head- quarters location from Jenkintown, Pa. near Beth’s home. Our new headquarters location, to be selected in conjunction with the new executive director, will offer specific benefits to SEJ. So it’s a time of careful change for SEJ and yet it’s also a time when SEJ holds steadfast against certain changes too. Here are some examples of both I want to share with you because it’s important we


certain non-journalists like public relations professionals or public information officers as we’ve seen in other journalism groups. The language of our membership categories is frequently tweaked to re- flect a changing journalism landscape and everyone should read the language on our website. But SEJ was founded by journalists for journalists — and there are no plans to change that whatsoever. Financial pressures and new technology mean there are changes


in SEJ’s publications program too. SEJ member surveys clearly in- dicate you prefer the content of the SEJournal to come to you in email. So Beth has approved a transition of that content to email under the SEJournal banner. Tipsheets, EJ Today and other world- class content written by SEJ members will all be delivered to you several times each month. The SEJournal will continue in print but


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