Jem Pickard
Advocacy and Policy Coordinator
pronouns
(they/them)
Jem Pickard is the Advocacy and Policy Coordinator for the Hudson Valley, focused on building partnerships, strengthening coalitions, and advocating for a just, thriving future for Hudson Valley communities. Jem holds a Masters of Science in Environmental Policy from Bard College, where their research centered on Indigenous land stewardship and equitable democracy innovations for the Hudson River bioregion. Jem previously interned with Riverkeeper, DEC Hudson River Estuary Program, and Food and Water Watch.
Jem is also an arts producer with nearly two decades’ experience facilitating creative processes in collaboration with community groups, scientists, and policy folks. In 2007 they founded Future River (formerly Superhero Clubhouse), a non-profit utilizing tools of theater for climate and environmental justice. As an artist, Jem has created dozens of eco-theater works including Flying Ace and the Storm of the Century!, Salty Folk: An Oyster Musical, and There Will Be Monsters, a game-theater experience for a hopeful climate future. As an educator, Jem led the first decade of Future River’s annual eco-playwriting program for public school students.
Jem has always lived in New York. They grew up on unceded Haudenosaunee land (Syracuse and Ithaca), spent 18 years on Lenape and Canarsie land (NYC), and now live on Munsee and Mohican land (Dutchess & Columbia Counties). They hold a deep love and respect for the eastern woodlands ecosystems, great Mahicantuck, and the many communities of humans and neighbor species who call this wonderful region home.
Jem is also an arts producer with nearly two decades’ experience facilitating creative processes in collaboration with community groups, scientists, and policy folks. In 2007 they founded Future River (formerly Superhero Clubhouse), a non-profit utilizing tools of theater for climate and environmental justice. As an artist, Jem has created dozens of eco-theater works including Flying Ace and the Storm of the Century!, Salty Folk: An Oyster Musical, and There Will Be Monsters, a game-theater experience for a hopeful climate future. As an educator, Jem led the first decade of Future River’s annual eco-playwriting program for public school students.
Jem has always lived in New York. They grew up on unceded Haudenosaunee land (Syracuse and Ithaca), spent 18 years on Lenape and Canarsie land (NYC), and now live on Munsee and Mohican land (Dutchess & Columbia Counties). They hold a deep love and respect for the eastern woodlands ecosystems, great Mahicantuck, and the many communities of humans and neighbor species who call this wonderful region home.