Author: Staff Report

Few family names are as synonymous with Lake George and its protection as Hawley… Now, that proud family tradition is entering a new era, as the Lake George Association has named Lake George native and longtime New York City publishing and digital marketing executive Nancy Hawley as Director of Marketing and Communications for the Lake’s preeminent protection organization.

Ms. Hawley is the daughter of the late Ruth and Charles “Chuck” Hawley, a descendant of one of the founding families of the Town of Lake George – which was then known as Caldwell. Mr. Hawley served three decades as a Commissioner of the Lake George Park Commission (the New York State agency charged with protecting the Lake), including a decade as Chairman; he also served as Supervisor of the Town of Lake George. Professionally, Mr. Hawley ran Hawley Advertising, and personally, he was an acclaimed landscape and portrait painter, whose work chronicled the history and celebrated the beauty of the Queen of American Lakes.

“I just keep thinking how happy my Dad would be,” Ms. Hawley said of her new role. “I was keenly aware of how much he cared about Lake George and how hard he worked to protect it. I am incredibly fortunate to have grown up in such a special place and to be able to come home again,” Ms. Hawley added. “The Lake was always like an extension of our family, and I couldn’t be more passionate or more excited to put my experience to work for its protection.”

“Nancy is a world-class addition to our world-class protection team,” said LGA President Eric Siy. “Her marketing acumen will help us engage with, educate, and motivate our stakeholders toward protection in new and exciting ways, and her lifelong ties to the Lake will resonate loudly and clearly with everyone who shares her love for this incredible natural resource and regional economic driver.”

After graduating from Lake George High School, Ms. Hawley earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Curry College in Milton, MA, and entered the magazine publishing industry. In 1998, with digital publishing in its relative infancy, she was named managing editor of Condé Nast’s Epicurious.com, beginning a digital career that later took her to Time, Inc., Time Inc. Interactive, and Martha Stewart Living Omni media. In 2011, Ms. Hawley joined SYPartners, a business strategy and innovation consulting firm, to lead the launch of “Unstuck,” an interactive personal coaching tool designed to help people solve difficult work and life challenges. Most recently, she served as a content consultant for such high-profile brands as Apple Inc., Kellogg’s, Oprah, Starbucks, and Weight Watchers.

Throughout her career in New York City, Ms. Hawley retained close ties to Lake George and, in 2000, purchased a cabin in the town, where she now resides full-time. In her new role, Ms. Hawley is responsible for advancing the mission and programs of the LGA through the development and execution of a data-driven, integrated marketing and communications strategy to reach key stakeholders and partners, including property owners, donors, government entities, businesses, and the news media. Central to this effort will be the marketing of the Lake Protector Program, which utilizes a broad array of data to educate and empower property owners across the watershed to take direct actions to reduce the impacts of stormwater, wastewater, and other water quality threats.

As part of the program, an innovative new digital app has been created that equips both residents and visitors with their own Personal Protection Profile upon signing up as Lake Protectors: “I’m excited to use my decades of marketing and communications expertise to help people, particularly property owners, understand how urgent it is that we protect Lake George from escalating threats like harmful algal blooms and the hemlock woolly adelgid invasive insect,” Ms. Hawley said. “Our top priority is to create a groundswell of understanding that delivers a groundswell of protective actions on the part of property owners, businesses, municipalities, and visitors.”

The Lake George Association is the preeminent Lake-protection organization, providing technical and financial assistance to property owners; world-class research and direct protection programs through The Jefferson Project, the Lake George Waterkeeper, and an array of public-private partnerships; public education programs; and public policy advocacy, all with the goal of protecting the Lake’s water quality today and for the future.

For more information, please visit LakeGeorgeAssociation.org.