Charlotte Read was an environmental activist, conservationist, and educator from Northwest Indiana.[1] She was known for her efforts in advocacy to preserve the Indiana Dunes.[1][2]
Early Life
Charlotte Read was born on March 27, 1929, in Chicago, Illinois, to two Swedish immigrants.[1] Her father was a building contractor and painter when she was young. She grew up near Jackson Park, Chicago.[1] She attended the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and graduated with a Bachelor's in Science in Economics in 1950.[1]
Career
Charlotte and her husband Herbert Read (Herb) started the Izaak Walton League's Porter County Chapter in 1958.[1] In 1959, after Charlotte and Herb moved to Indiana to live near the dunes to raise their two sons.[1] In 1974, Charlotte became the first employee for Save the Dunes Council. She served as the Executive Director of Save the Dunes Council till 1992.[3] She acted as the middleman between the organization, the government, and other local conservation groups.[1] She led the organization into successfully preserving Northwest Indiana's Dunes and Lake Michigan.[1] She was also the first Executive Director of Shirley Heinz Environmental Fund, now called as Shirley Heinz Land Trust.[3]
Works Cited
- "Charlotte Read (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2025-05-22.
- "Charlotte Read, a fierce advocate for the Indiana Dunes and an 'unstoppable force,' dead at 90". Chicago Tribune. 2019-05-03. Retrieved 2025-05-22.
- "Longtime NWI environmentalist Charlotte Read dies at 90 years - Post-Tribune". edition.pagesuite.com. Retrieved 2025-10-14.