OFFICIAL SITE OF THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY
2025 Governor’s Environmental Excellence Award Winners
Richard J. Sullivan Award: Joseph Seebode
Joseph Seebode, Deputy District Engineer for the New York District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, has dedicated more than 35 years to advancing coastal resilience, environmental restoration and sustainable water management. Seebode’s leadership helped guide post-Hurricane Sandy recovery efforts and other major projects such as the deepening of the Port of New York and New Jersey. A lifelong steward of waterways, Seebode exemplifies collaboration, innovation, and dedication to making the region safer, more resilient, and environmentally sound.
Climate Change Mitigation: Duke Farms
Duke Farms, a 2,700-acre center of the Doris Duke Foundation, is transforming its campus through its Natural Systems Energy Project to sharply reduce emissions and sequester carbon through reforestation and natural climate solutions. The project also includes a new solar energy system for powering the campus and aims to support an 80 percent reduction in emissions by 2030.
Climate Resilience: City of Newark Office of Sustainability, Resilience & Community Transformation
The City of Newark Office of Sustainability, Resilience & Community Transformation leads initiatives to enhance climate resilience, focusing on the disproportionate impacts of climate change on vulnerable communities. In the past year, the office expanded its “Beat the Heat” campaign and implemented urban cooling strategies including tree planting, pocket parks, and cool roof projects.
Environmental Justice: Montclair State University PSEG Institute for Sustainability Studies
The Montclair State University PSEG Institute for Sustainability Studies’ Green Teams Internship Program empowers diverse student teams to support communities facing disproportionate climate impacts. In 2025, ten teams partnered with nonprofits and municipalities—including Newark, Paterson, Montclair, and West Orange—to deliver projects that improved air and water quality, expanded tree canopies, strengthened food security, and advanced nature-based flood and heat resilience measures.
Healthy Communities: Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions (ANJEC)
ANJEC empowers New Jersey communities to protect natural resources and promote healthy, resilient environments. In the past year, ANJEC advanced this work through the restoration of the Parvin-Tarkiln Watershed in Vineland, adding tree pits, rain gardens, and riparian buffers that enhance local water quality and stormwater management.
James J. Florio Emerging Environmental Leader: Landon Hoberman
Landon Hoberman is the founder of the Student Environmental Ambassador (SEA) Program, a youth-led initiative empowering students to reduce plastic waste and promote civic engagement. Since 2023, SEA has reached more than 50,000 students with over 725 ambassadors across 14 states and three countries. Through initiatives like #reducebyrequest, SEA has prevented over 1.8 million single-use utensils from entering the environment, saved local restaurants more than $45,000, and inspired state legislation.
Healthy Ecosystems and Habitats: Hunters Helping the Hungry
Hunters Helping the Hungry is a nonprofit organization that connects deer hunters, inspected processors, and food banks to provide venison to families in need. The organization supports responsible deer management that restores forest health, protects biodiversity, and strengthens food security. Recently, partnerships with the New Jersey Department of Agriculture and New Jersey Farm Bureau eliminated processing fees and increased processor payments, boosting deer donations and meal distribution statewide.
Sustainability and Waste Reduction: Table to Table
Table to Table, New Jersey’s first and largest food rescue organization, delivers surplus fresh food to those in need. In the past year alone, the organization rescued more than 23 million pounds of food and expanded its data-driven network to reach the most food-insecure areas. Since its founding, Table to Table has prevented more than 240 million pounds of food waste and significantly reduced methane emissions.
Watershed Management and Water Resources: PolyGone Systems (in partnership with Atlantic County Utilities Authority)
PolyGone Systems, a Princeton University spinoff cleantech company, is pioneering technology to remove microplastics from waterways. In partnership with the Atlantic County Utilities Authority, PolyGone launched the world’s first municipal-scale microplastic removal pilot in 2024 and successfully captured millions of microplastic particles from wastewater.
Environmental Education: Erin Colfax, Unity Charter School
Erin Colfax is a Science Integrationist at Unity Charter School in Morristown and brings sustainability to life through hands-on, inquiry-based science education for grades K–8. Colfax engages students in real-world projects like water quality monitoring and biodiversity studies and led a project to transform the school’s lower field into a living classroom that deepens environmental literacy and stewardship.
Richard J. Sullivan Award
The Richard J. Sullivan Award honors an individual who demonstrates exceptional leadership and outstanding accomplishment in safeguarding public health, protecting and enhancing New Jersey’s diverse natural resources and creating vibrant, sustainable communities that provide economic opportunity for all.
About Richard J. Sullivan:
(February 27, 1927 – December 10, 2013)
On Earth Day April 22, 1970, New Jersey Governor William T. Cahill created the Department of Environmental Protection, a new agency within state government, and appointed Richard J. Sullivan as its first Commissioner.
He spearheaded environmental protections that established New Jersey as a national leader in coastal protection, land preservation and pollution control. As Commissioner, Mr. Sullivan helped establish Liberty State Park, which features a 36-acre salt marsh named the Richard J. Sullivan Natural Area.
The Pineland Commission’s Richard J. Sullivan Center for Environmental Policy and Education also honors his significant contributions. He is one of New Jersey’s most respected conservationists and public leaders, dedicating his life to protecting our natural resources.