Ocean Hero

Inside the office of attorney Sarah Chasis you'll find a framed poster of a whale lobbing its tail on the glistening surface of Prince William Sound. It's one of many reminders of the work she's done over the past 33 years to protect the health of our oceans and coastal regions, including doggedly lobbying the federal government to tighten regulations for oil tankers in the wake of the Exxon Valdez spill. In the early 1990s, Chasis, who directs NRDC's ocean initiative, sued both the Coast Guard and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to force them to implement the Oil Pollution Act, which called for, among other things, the phase-out of a type of tanker that is easily pierced during collisions. In 1992, NOAA turned around and honored Chasis with its first-ever Coastal Steward of the Year Award. Today Chasis spends much of her time protecting fisheries; she pushed hard to ensure the passage of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act -- one of our strongest ocean-protection laws. This year, Smith College, Chasis's alma mater, recognized her as one of five women of "outstanding achievement." According to the award committee, Chasis is "one of the country's most influential voices for marine conservation."