Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s reputation as a resolute defender of the environment stems from a litany of successful actions: prosecuting governments and companies for polluting the Hudson River and Long Island Sound; winning settlements for the Hudson Riverkeeper; arguing cases to expand citizen access to the shoreline; and suing sewage treatment plants to force compliance with the Clean Water Act. "He's a pioneer as an attorney in the area of municipal and government responsibility for environmental problems," says Hudson Riverkeeper John Cronin.

Mr. Kennedy serves as chief prosecuting attorney for the Hudson Riverkeeper and senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council. He is also a clinical professor and supervising attorney at the Environmental Litigation Clinic at Pace University School of Law in New York. Earlier in his career, he served as assistant district attorney in New York City. He has worked on several political campaigns and was state coordinator for Edward M. Kennedy's 1980 presidential campaign. He has worked on environmental issues across the Americas and has assisted several indigenous tribes in Latin America and Canada, successfully negotiating treaties protecting traditional homelands.

Among Mr. Kennedy's published books are the bestselling The Riverkeepers (1997), co-authored by Hudson Riverkeeper John Cronin; New York State Apprentice Falconer's Manual, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (1987); and Judge Frank M. Johnson Jr., A Biography (1977).

His articles have appeared in the New York Times, Atlantic Monthly, The Wall Street Journal, Esquire, The Village Voice, The Boston Globe, The Washington Post, Pace Environmental Law Review, and other publications.

Mr. Kennedy is a graduate of Harvard University. He studied at the London School of Economics and received his law degree from the University of Virginia Law School. After graduation, he attended Pace University School of Law, where he was awarded a master's degree in environmental law.

He is a licensed master falconer, and as often as possible he pursues a life-long enthusiasm for white-water paddling. He has organized and led several expeditions in Latin America, including first descents on three little-known rivers in Peru, Columbia and Venezuela.