Kerry Kirk Pflugh
Kerry Kirk Pflugh is the Executive Director for the New Jersey Conference of Mayors. She is responsible for coordination of the non-profit’s activities in concert with the President, executive Board and Board of Directors. The mission of the NJCM is to provide a unified and coordinated voice for the mayors of the state and the state and federal level on matters, policies and laws that could impact municipalities.
Previously, Ms. Pflugh was the Director for Local Government at the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. She was the department's liaison between New Jersey's 564 Mayors, 21 counties and the 75 programs in DEP. Prior to becoming Director, Ms. Pflugh was the Manager of Constituent Services responsible for communication planning, consultation and coordination of internal communications. Previously, she was the Manager for the Office of Watershed Education, Estuaries and Monitoring coordinating all the watershed education and communication programs for the Division of Watershed Management and a Research Scientist in the Division of Science for thirteen years.
Ms. Pflugh is also the President of the Friends of the New Jersey School of Conservation. The NJSOC has been providing students and teachers with environmental education experiences and training for more than 70 years. The NJSOC is internationally recognized as a leader in teaching the four curriculum areas using unique methods of experiential learning and learning through discovery. Ms. Pflugh and the Friends have spearheaded the successful effort to restore the historic former CCC education center and were recently named as managers of the NJSOC when Governor Phil Murphy signed legislation assigning the Friends legal responsibility for the management of the environmental education center.
Ms. Pflugh is also the chair of the recently established Warren County Environmental Advisory Committee, charged with advising the Warren County Commissioners on environmental matters in the county. She serves as a trustee on the Lake Hopatcong Foundation, Hackensack Riverkeeper and New Jersey League of Conservation Voters.
Ms. Pflugh’s area of expertise is strategic communication planning focusing on citizen participation in environmental management decision-making. She is the recipient of numerous awards including: Cabinet Liaison of the Year, New Jersey Conference of Mayors, April, 2019;
George Hammell Cook Distinguished Alumni Award for Outstanding Achievement in Professional and Civic Endeavors, April 2017, and The Elizabeth River/Arthur Kill Watershed Association Appreciation Award, October 2016. Her work in the area of fish consumption advisories earned her an Urban Hometown River Award from American Rivers for the category of education. She also was the recipient of the Friends of the Hackensack River Award in 2001 and received an Assembly Resolution from the New Jersey General Assembly for her work on behalf of the citizens of New Jersey. Other honors include: the Wave Award from the Association of Environmental Authorities in 1999 for the Harbor Watershed Education Urban Fishing program; the New Jersey State Customer Service Excellence Award in 2001; the Clean Water Award for the New Jersey Watershed Ambassador Program, and the USEPA Region 2 Environmental Quality Award for the Watershed Watch Network.
