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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
HONORING THE CAREER AND RETIREMENT OF CATHY GERAGHTY
WHEREAS, Ms. Cathy Geraghty will be retiring from her position at the Forest Preserves of Cook County as the Director of External and Strategic Initiatives in the Office of the General Superintendent on December 31, 2024. Cathy has held this position for the last 14 years and previously served as the Forest Preserves’ Director of Grant Development for 11 years; and
WHEREAS, as a Ph.D. candidate in Biological Sciences from the University of Illinois at Chicago, Cathy has been trained as an ecologist and evolutionary biologist, and she also studied land use law, public policy, and environmental economics; and
WHEREAS, Cathy's career path included 14 years at a variety of conservation organizations including Shedd Aquarium, Field Museum, Curtis & Edith Munson Foundation, Committee for the National Institute of the Environment, and as a researcher and instructor at multiple organizations, giving her a unique cross-disciplinary approach to conservation; and
WHEREAS, she has always urged the Forest Preserves to be ambitious and to do all it can to protect and sustain the lands and waters in its care and has been integral in creating and leading the Forest Preserves’ most ambitious and visionary plans and initiatives. These include the Forest Preserves’ first Sustainability Principles in 2010, the Forest Preserves’ first Science & Research Symposium in 2012, the 2013 Centennial Campaign Plan, developed to celebrate the Forest Preserves 100-year anniversary, and creating the 2014 Next Century Conservation Plan, the visionary strategy for protecting and caring for people and nature for the next 100 years; and
WHEREAS, Cathy has influenced and guided, together with partners and volunteers, several restoration and leadership initiatives that have positioned the Forest Preserves as a local, regional and national leader, among them the Conservation Corps, Centennial Volunteers, the Conservation and Policy Council, and the Natural and Cultural Resources Master Plan; and
WHEREAS, Cathy has always understood the importance of listening to opposing viewpoints with an open mind, of remaining objective, and to finding solutions and has always been committed to building relationships based on trust, consensus, and collaboration and has helped the Forest Preserves build strategic partnerships with government agencies, universities, non-profit organizations, and individuals to work collaboratively on shared goals and priorities; and
WHEREAS, in 1996, under Cathy’s guidance the Forest Preserves became a founding member of the Chicago Wilderness Alliance, a regional collaborative of hundreds of partners organizations and individuals working to implement landscape-scale approaches to conservation in and around the southern shores of Lake Michigan; and
WHEREAS, during her tenure Cathy has been responsible for bringing considerable resources to the Forest Preserves, first in her role as Director of Grant Development where she secured more than $64M in federal, state and private grant funding, then as Director of Strategic Initiatives overseeing the raising of more than $126M in grant funding, and then in in 2006 helping to found the Forest Preserve Foundation, a nonprofit organization committed to raising philanthropic support to support the visionary goals of the Forest Preserves of Cook County and that has raised a total of $3.2M to support ecological restoration projects, Conservation Corps programs, and other efforts that support the next generation of environmental advocates; and
WHEREAS, Cathy was instrumental in building a community of support to successfully pass a tax referendum, which voters approved in 2022, providing critical funds to ensure the Forest Preserves can conserve and protect nature and provide access to outdoor recreation for all people now and in the future; and
WHEREAS, Cathy has worked tirelessly to find solutions that ensure that both human and natural communities thrive, and she has never shied away from complex issues remaining committed to finding positive resolutions, making her a deeply valued colleague within the Forest Preserves, as well as on the many committees she advised; and
WHEREAS, Cathy was instrumental in advancing one of the Forest Preserves’ most challenging goals of acquiring and protecting a total of 90,000 acres of public land. She helped author the Forest Preserves’ 2020 Board adopted position paper on Acquisition and Disposition of Land in the Forest Preserves of Cook County which recommends finding creative new ways to continue to protect more land and begin exploring land conservation models beyond ownership; and
WHEREAS, Cathy is a steadfast supporter of volunteers helping to craft the Scaling up Volunteers in the Forest Preserves of Cook County position paper adopted by this Board in 2021 which focuses on increasing the number of volunteers and recommends that the model of volunteerism should be expanded to attract, welcome, and retain participants that reflects the diversity of Cook County; and
WHEREAS, Cathy serves on a numerous committees including the Chicago Wilderness Steering Committee, the Illinois Association of Conservation and Forest Preserve Districts, City of Chicago River Ecology and Governance Taskforce, and previously served on the Metropolitan Planning Council, Our Great Rivers Resource Team, Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning’s Natural Resource Committee, Alliance for the Great Lakes Board of Directors, Northeast Illinois Water Trail Council and the Mayor’s Nature and Wildlife Committee; and
WHEREAS, upon her retirement, Cathy will continue to dedicate herself to protecting and conserving nature and will join her husband Bob Geraghty, family, friends, and her dog, Mackinaw, in sailing and traveling adventures; and
WHEREAS, Cathy’s long-time leadership, expertise, and commitment have contributed to strengthening this agency’s infrastructure and reputation and have led to the Forest Preserves’ success in navigating the many complex and challenging situations in managing one of the largest conservation agencies in the nation; and
WHEREAS, she is one of the region’s most ardent champions of biodiversity and has dedicated her professional career and her free time to protecting nature, her passion and commitment to partnership and collaboration is one of the key ways the Forest Preserves has been so successful in both protecting native habitats and wildlife as well as building support and creating better access to nature for all people; and
WHEREAS, in the words of Interim General Superintendent, Eileen Figel, “Cathy’s genuine desire to do what is best for nature is imbued in everything she does. Throughout her professional career and her personal life, she has been an ardent champion of biodiversity. The impact of her work--both to the forest preserves and to our region--is invaluable. I am deeply grateful for her service and wish her a long and happy retirement.”
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that Toni Preckwinkle, President, along with members of the Forest Preserves of Cook County Board of Commissioners, Interim General Superintendent Eileen Figel, and on behalf of all citizens of Cook County, do hereby congratulate Ms. Cathy Geraghty on a long career in public service and thank her for her many contributions to the Forest Preserves of Cook County; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that suitable copies of this resolution be tendered to her and her family in recognition of her career, contributions to the Forest Preserves of Cook County, service to residents and visitors, and her passion for public service.
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