Beyond that simple but important link, Junkin had no significant conservation experience, no background in nonprofit management, and a less than a complete understanding of the complex Chesapeake ecosystem when he agreed to work with the Waterkeeper Alliance to create a local organization to protect and preserve the Choptank, Miles and Wye Rivers.
But inexperience had never been much of a hindrance in Tim’s professional life. The Georgetown-educated lawyer had started one of Washington’s top law firms with a similar lack of a traditional background to do so. It also didn’t hurt that he had established a national reputation as a writer, authoring several books based on the Eastern Shore.
Pushed by his passion to protect the rivers that had meant so much to him as a kid and remarkable self-confidence, Tim built MRC will no volunteer leadership, no staff at the same time that a worldwide recession was beginning. Not the ideal circumstances for even the most gifted entrepreneur.
Fast forward almost a decade later and MRC is now considered one of the most efficient Riverkeeper programs in the United States. With a full-time staff of ten and one of the Eastern Shore’s most prominent list of board trustees, the Midshore River Conservancy runs dozens of environmental and educational programs every year serving four counties.
In his Spy interview, Tim reflects on the start of the MRC, its growing pains, and the slow but steady partnerships with farmers and watermen. While Junkin remains actively involved with his organization, he has recently turned the reins of leadership over to Jeff Horstman as MRC’s new executive director and talks about the pleasure he has in watching from the sidelines as new staff creatively push the organization to new levels of success.
This video is approximately seven minutes in length
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