Over the next two months, 23 local business leaders will dive headfirst into south Florida’s water-quality issues through field excursions and classroom sessions that empower them to become stronger environmental stewards.

From the program, cohorts will take away a deeper level of advocacy that they can share with their peers and business teammates to facilitate more widespread understanding of the role our water quality plays in the health of our economy.

“If we can use education to empower leaders in these different spaces, those leaders can then use that education and knowledge to empower others around them to become advocates themselves,” says Capt. Chris Wittman, CFCW Co-Founder.

The inaugural cohort consists of leaders from a variety of businesses and industries, ranging in size and scope. Among others, the tourism, real estate, hospitality, restaurant, and small business sectors are all represented, including folks like Matt Johnson of the IMAG History & Science Center in Fort Myers.

Cohorts will experience Everglades Restoration up close and personal, tour the Caloosahatchee River Estuary, forge powerful connections with like-minded executives, and learn how to be a positive driving force for Florida’s clean-water-driven economy.⁠

By more deeply engaging the business community in water-quality advocacy through programs like this, they hope to forge a stronger force for advocacy to expedite Everglades Restoration, ultimately protecting our ecosystems, our communities, and our economies for generations to come.

Visit CaptainsForCleanWater.org for more information.