Kathy Leonard Czepiel is land protection manager at the environmental organization Save the Sound, where she is involved in multiple projects, including the drive to transform a 102-acre forested wetlands and former industrial site into an urban public park, the fight to save 236 acres on the Niantic River from a massive development, and an effort to protect thousands of acres of water company lands for future generations.

In addition, Kathy is the author of A Violet Season, a historical novel set in New York State’s Hudson Valley that was named one of the Best Books of 2012 by Kirkus Reviews. The same year, she was awarded a creative writing fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts.

As a journalist, Kathy has reported on issues related to family farming, water conservation, local and state government, education, and business. She has written nearly 600 feature stories for New Haven’s Daily Nutmeg, covering every corner of the city. She taught English and writing for two decades in public high school and at Quinnipiac University.