Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton addresses attendees of the AISWCD MAGIC of Conservation summer training conference & annual meeting after being named Legislator of the Year.
Illinois Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton was honored with the award for Legislator of the Year Tuesday July 16 during the Association of Illinois Soil & Water Conservation Districts’ 2024 MAGIC of Conservation summer training conference and annual meeting in Springfield.
Lt. Gov. Stratton brings her visionary leadership to more than a dozen councils, commissions, boards, and agencies as chair or executive liaison. These span the Illinois Council on Women and Girls; the Governor’s Rural Affairs Council; the Military Economic Development Committee; and the Rivers of Illinois Coordinating Council. Her portfolio also includes overseeing the administration’s Justice, Equity, and Opportunity Initiative; chairing the board of the Restore, Reinvest, and Renew Program; and leading office initiatives that address the needs of Illinoisans—ranging from efforts to build a strong, diverse teacher pipeline, to helping create pathways to economic empowerment for women, to establishing the Ag Connects Us All Agricultural Equity and Food Insecurity Initiative. She leans on empathy and expertise to open doors and expand pathways uplifting communities statewide.
AISWCD Legislator of the Year Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton with (from left) Tom Beyers, association president, Dale Shumaker, association vice president, and Tammy Willis, Illinois State Conservationist of the National Resources Conservation Service.
Lt. Gov. Stratton chairs the Rivers of Illinois Coordinating Council which works to address watershed and water resource concern; has developed the Ag Connects Us All initiative to advocate for agricultural equity and battle food insecurity; and works with state agencies to improve watershed quality, farm resilience, and rural quality of life.
In addition to showcasing how Ag Connects Us All, Lt. Gov. Stratton is passionate about her service to the waters of Illinois. Notably, the Lieutenant Governor chairs the Rivers of Illinois Coordinating Council which advises the Governor and state agencies on ways to better coordinate and optimize funds affecting the Illinois River Watershed and rivers statewide.
In collaboration with local communities and organizations, the Rivers of Illinois Coordinating Council works to address watershed and water resource concerns and to encourage strategies that protect, restore, and expand critical habitats, soil conservation, and water quality practices. It also encourages local communities to develop watershed management plans to address stormwater, erosion, flooding, sedimentation, and pollution problems.
For her dedication to championing both soil and water related initiatives across Illinois, the AISWCD Board of Directors was honored to present Lt. Gov. Stratton, one of our state’s leading champions of soil and water conservation, with our most celebrated Legislator of the Year Award for 2024.
The farmers and landowners implementing conservation agriculture practices are grateful to your continued support of the state’s Soil and Water Conservation Districts, which strive to preserve the natural resources of the agricultural industry that connects us all and the communities across Illinois that depend on vital services provided by our front-line, boots on the ground SWCD staff and directors. Thank you for being a continued champion of agriculture, conservation, and the stewardship of Illinois natural resources.
Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton gets recognized as Legislator of the Year by Tom Beyers, President of the AISWCD.
Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton listens as she’s introduced to attendees of the MAGIC of Conservation summer training conference.
Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton gets awarded Legislator of the Year by the Association of Illinois Soil & Water Conservation Districts’ President Tom Beyers (right) and Vice President Dale Shumaker at the MAGIC of Conservation 2024 summer training conference.
Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, AISWCD Legislator of the Year, with (from left) Tom Beyers, association president, Judy Beyers, auxiliary president, Siobhan Warren, youth minister at First Presbyterian Church of Jacksonville, Dale Shumaker, association vice president, Tammy Willis, Illinois State Conservationist of the National Resources Conservation Service, and Michael Woods, AISWCD executive director.
Local soil and water conservation districts work with farmers and landowners to make waterways cleaner by building soil health through conservation agriculture practices and through other projects to slow and clean water.
