10-13-2024 W2W - Flipbook - Page 17
Hilary Harp Falk
45, President and CEO,
Chesapeake Bay Foundation
Assisting her father, Dave Harp, on early morning
trips in the 1980s to photograph the Chesapeake Bay
for The Sun Magazine, Hilary Harp Falk discovered
her passion. “We would go out on the bay, usually at
sunrise or sunset, when the light was best,” she said.
“And I fell hard in love with the Chesapeake Bay, its
edges, the salt marshes — and also the people.”
She studied environmental science in college and
took an internship at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
Then, she worked for the foundation as an educator
on Tangier Island. Her master’s degree took her to
New England, but, before long, she found her way
back to the bay.
Two-and-a-half years ago, she took the wheel at the
Bay Foundation amid a key time for the cleanup, with a
2025 deadline looming for pollution reductions. It has
since become clear that the bay states will fall short of
their obligations, but the work isn’t finished, Harp Falk
says. “I can’t think of a more important time for the
organization to lead,” she said. “It is calling on elected
officials to provide leadership at a critical time for the
bay. It is honoring the past and all of the progress that’s
been made, and also being very direct with the public
about the challenges that remain.”
— Christine Condon
PHOTO BY KIM HAIRSTON
WOMEN TO WATCH | 2024 | 17
