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Betsy Bennett

Louisville, Kentucky
Conservation Chair
Cumberland Chapter

Betsy Bennett joined the Sierra Club in 1983 "because I wanted to make the world a safe and healthy place for my two children, who were nine and six at the time." Her interest in conservation and politics was spurred on by a job as news editor for the rural Danville, Kentucky, Advocate-Messenger, where she "covered everything" in a 7-county area.

"I was interested in clean water issues," she says, "and I remember taking my kids out to a bridge over the Kentucky River that was being repainted. The old lead paint was being sandblasted and the dust was falling into the water below. We hid in the bushes on the streambank and took photos. Unfortunately, the picture quality was so lousy due to the paint dust that the photos couldn't be printed."

Bennett, who in college majored in French with a focus on Albert Camus, is a fiem believer that one individual can create positive change. "At the first Cumberland Chapter meeting I attended I volunteered to be the newsletter editor, and my activism mushroomed from there. Those activities ultimately led me to law school when my children reached high school. I graduated in 1993, the oldest person in my class!"

After passing the Kentucky bar, Bennett "landed" in a private practice with fellow Cumberland Chapter activist Hank Graddy. The two recently played key roles in convincing a judge to remand a controversial air permit for Peabody Energy's proposed Thoroughbred Power Plant in western Kentucky.

Bennett is currently vice-chair of Kentucky's Environmental Quality Commission. She and her husband Bruce Hart enjoy bluegrass music, traveling, and spending time with their beagle, Dakota.

Published: February 27, 2007