ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVIST

During the 1980’s, Long Island was facing a serious threat from a local utility company who wanted to build and operate a nuclear power plant in Shoreham, New York. Helene believed that the operation of this plant was a catastrophe waiting to happen. She volunteered to co-chair The East End Shoreham Opponents, a group of local, concerned citizens who understood the dangers inherent in the nuclear industry.

“The core group of people who ran The East End Shoreham Opponents was such a remarkable group of people. We worked together like a well-greased machine. When one of us didn’t feel well, the others picked up the slack. We met weekly and became good friends and worked long hours to close a dangerous nuclear facility. After many years of marching, sit-ins, petitions, rallies, and speeches before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Public Service Commission, it was determined that the Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant would be shut down, decommissioned, dismantled, and ultimately entombed, since there was no safe evacuation for the three million people that lived on the island. This small group of committed citizens affected change. It was a victory for the people and a victory for the environment. In 2000, Senator Kenneth LaValle, nominated Helene for the Woman of Distinction Award that acknowledged her noteworthy achievements in the fight to close the Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant.

In the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, Helene was invited to become a founding member of The Joint Town East End Lyme Disease Task Force where she was involved in addressing the legislative issues regarding funding and educational awareness for the public sector.

When an outbreak of teen cancers in the East Hampton school district struck a significant number of students in the late 1990’s, Helene was invited to chair the environmental sub-committee for The East End Cancer Task Force. She worked with a group of local citizens, educators, physicians, and the director of the Natural Resources Department, investigating the unusual cluster of cancers.

In 2009, Helene brought Earth Hour to East Hampton. She gathered a group of concerned friends who worked together to make the public aware of the worldwide event. She visited schools and challenged local students and their families to participate in the World Wildlife Fund Initiative. Matthew Lester, one of her students, became the first East End Earth Hour Kid Ambassador for both the town and the village of East Hampton. Both governmental agencies adopted a proclamation stating that all non-essential lights during the one designated Earth Hour would be shut off in both the village and the town. Millions of people worldwide participate in the WWF yearly initiative. The main lesson to be learned is that every hour should be Earth Hour. It’s a call-to-action to be a warrior for the environment.

In 2013, Helene founded, with several local neighbors and friends, the Long Island Businesses For Responsible Energy, Inc., (LIBFRE), a not-for-profit organization with the mission to ensure that the future of Long Island utilities focus on safe, sustainable, and responsible energy infrastructure while supporting a 21st century energy upgrade that preserves the health, safety, environment, property values, historic sites, and scenic vistas of the unique area that encompasses the town of East Hampton.

In 2015, Helene joined The East Hampton Environmental Coalition comprised of 20 independent environmental groups representing thousands of local citizens. These organizations worked to preserve and improve the natural environment in East Hampton and have provided guidance for the development of the municipal government’s environmental policies.

From 2014 to 2019, Helene chaired the public relations committee for East Hampton Volunteer Ocean Rescue organization. She served as a lieutenant in the Auxiliary Squad for two years offering educational programs and a Water Safety/Hands-Only CPR training for the public.