NEW YORK, NY – The Water Insecurity Correction Coalition is proud to announce the bittersweet news regarding the Executive Director position at the nonprofit. Since the organization’s founding in 2019, Annabel Gregg has served as the ED of WICC. After nearly three years leading WICC, Gregg will be stepping down from the Executive Director title, effective July 1st, 2022.
Gregg started the nonprofit after the success of the first and second Run Fast For Flint 5k fundraisers in 2018 and 2019, recognizing the power that collective action creates. Since its start, Annabel has led the organization through multiple fundraisers for Flint, MI; Houston, TX; Newark, NJ; and more. She serves as chair of the Mari Copeny Award & Scholarship program, which has awarded over 18 scholarships to promising, community-oriented high school seniors in Newark, Flint, and Greenwich, NY. Amongst other projects, Gregg also coordinated the Summer Internship Program in 2020 and 2021 and facilitated the development and implementation of the Upstate Water Contamination Project in 2022. She will be staying on the Water Insecurity Correction Coalition, Inc. Board of Directors as Board President throughout the remainder of her FY22 term, and will act as Consultant on the Upstate Water Contamination Project and other future projects on an as-needed basis.
“I am extremely grateful for having worked with such amazing, dedicated young people for three years,” says Gregg. “The mission of WICC will remain a part of my career philosophy and long-term goals. The fight against water insecurity is still one I will be a part of. I am so excited to see the organization flourish under new leadership, and I know Arianna will carry WICC in the right direction.”
Excitingly, former Advocacy Team Coordinator Arianna Trapp will be stepping up to fill the Executive Director role, effective on the same aforementioned date. Trapp started as an intern on the advocacy team in 2020 and was promoted to the team coordinator position in 2021. During her tenure at WICC, Arianna has researched drought-induced water insecurity in the San Joaquin Valley of California, met with legislators to discuss water contamination in rural Kentucky, and hosted a WICCourse educational panel event on the history of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
"I started off as an intern with WICC, so this has really been the best journey,” reflects Trapp. “I am excited to lead WICC in this new chapter and to see what we can do moving forward. There is still so much work to be done and we have an amazing group of young people to do it with."
In other notable organization staff news, former Fundraising and Finance Director Sam Grimmke stepped down from his position, effective June 1st, 2022. Sam was one of the founding members of WICC, and led the organization through many important fundraising initiatives and the nonprofit’s first round of grant applications. He will remain on the Board of Directors for the remainder of his FY22 term and as a Consultant on the Upstate Water Contamination Project. Grimmke’s position will be filled by Madeline Van Shelven, former Fundraising Team Coordinator since 2021. Like her new Executive Director, Madeline started as an intern on the fundraising team in 2020 and has worked on many fundraising projects since then. Madeline is a J.D. Candidate at Loyola University Chicago School of Law.
Advocacy Director Nolan Lyons, another founding member of WICC, will be stepping down from his position as AD, effective August 1st, 2022. Lyons led the Advocacy Team through many innovative legislative and education projects, most notably the Fall 2021 Infrastructure Program, where he coordinated the team’s efforts to pass water infrastructure legislation in New York and Kentucky. He will be succeeded by newcomer Nico Gentile, a BS/MS Candidate at the University of Rochester who is currently based out of California. Gentile founded and coordinated the Massachusetts Climate Education Organization.
For more information on this exciting transition period and the WICC organization, please visit yeswicc.com/about.