Inside Audubon’s Annual Women in Conservation Luncheon

This past week, the National Audubon Society celebrated the legacy of female leadership in environmental conservation with its annual Women in Conservation luncheon. The prestigious Rachel Carson Award was presented to Rose H. Harvey, former Commissioner of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, and The Garden Club of America, whose president Dede Petri accepted on behalf of the organization. Held at the ever glamorous Plaza Hotel, this year’s event, hosted by NBC News' Chief Environmental Affairs Correspondent Anne Thompson, highlighted the value of public parks and native plants for birds and people, as well as the amazing community organizing and advocacy efforts that help ensure a cleaner, healthier environment for all. 

Allison Whipple Rockefeller, the founder of Audubon Women in Conservation and the Rachel Carson Award, spoke at the ceremony with a nod to the award’s namesake, sharing her passion for the projects and dedicated group the program honors. And guests enjoyed a delicious, locally-sourced vegetarian menu catered by Great Performances, owned by Rachel Carson Awards Council member Liz Neumark.

Notable guests included: Allison Whipple Rockefeller, Rose Harvey, Dede Petri, Laureen Barber, Jayni Chase, Norma Dana, Barbara de Portago, Kim Elliman, Gloria Fieldcamp, David B. Ford, Trip Gabriel, Jeanine Behr Getz, Erik Kulleseid, Diane Lewis, Shelly Malkin, Alexis Maybank, Josie Merck, Bibhu Mohaptra, David O’Neill, Peter Rockefeller, Susan Cohn Rockefeller, Simon Roosevelt, Betsy Barlow Rogers, Catherine Sidamon-Eristoff, Karen Thomas, Anne Thompson, Lucy Waletzky, George and Victoria Whipple and more.

Click through for an inside look at the stunning affair!

[Photos by Sunny Norton]