Work

Suzy Friedman is Regional Director for the Chesapeake Bay for the Center for Conservation Incentives at Environmental Defense Fund, where she has worked since January 2001.

Her work focuses on developing and implementing incentive-based conservation projects with farmers, conservation organizations, producer organizations, state and federal agencies, and other local partners with the goal of advancing cooperative conservation efforts on agricultural lands.

Her particular areas of interest are water quality, nutrient management, and innovative approaches to manure and litter management.

Suzy’s three main priorities are:

• Developing and implementing collaborative, on-the-ground projects with farmers and other partners that advance agricultural conservation goals in particular water quality goals in the Chesapeake Bay and Western Lake Erie Basin watersheds
• Advocating for expanded and improved agriculture conservation policies and funding at the state and national level
• Promoting the development and implementation of innovative and cost-effective tools and strategies for advancing agricultural conservation goals, including market-based approaches

Background

• Master of Science in Environmental Science and Policy, Johns Hopkins University
• Bachelor of Arts, History and Environmental Studies, Princeton University.

Co-author, Farming for Clean Water: Innovative Solutions to Reduce Chesapeake Bay Farm Runoff (2007); Getting More Bang for the Buck: Nine Suggestions for Improving EQIP State Ranking Criteria [PDF] (2003); Getting An Even Bigger Bang for the Buck (2004); and Food for Thought: The Case for Reforming Farm Programs to Preserve the Environment and Help Family Farmers, Ranchers, and Forest Landowners [PDF] (2001).

Co-Chair, Virginia Waste Solutions Forum; Member, EPA Farm, Ranch, and Rural Communities Committee; Director, Bay Farms Nutrient Use Efficiency and Community-Based Composting Project; Member, Chesapeake Bay Program Agricultural Nutrient and Sediment Reduction Workgroup; Member, NRCS State Technical Committees of Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.