Our Next Speaker

Bill Street, President & CEO James River Association; “The State of the James”

Bill was born in Richmond, Virginia and grew up camping at the mountain headwaters of the James River and spending summers on the Chesapeake Bay. As a child, he remembers following his father as he waded into lush underwater grass beds dipping for soft shell crabs. But by the time he came of age to dip for crabs, those vital grass beds were gone - wiped out by pollution. Now with two sons of his own, Bill’s personal mission is to ensure that his sons enjoy healthy Virginia waters.

Bill joined the James River Association in 2005. Since that time the organization has made significant progress, not only in the programs they have implemented but also in the river itself. Prior to serving as CEO of the James River Association, Bill worked for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, as well as an environmental consulting firm, Malcolm Pirnie, in Newport News, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Duke University Wetland Center, and the Institute for Environmental Negotiation at the University of Virginia.

Bill is a double Hoo and a Dukie too with degrees in Commerce and Urban and Environmental Planning from Virginia and Environmental Management from Duke.