Virginia Lee

Under Virginia’s leadership, the Town Council, along with town staff and actively participating citizens, achieved great things! Together we stopped the Federal Railroad Administration from railroading us; stopped the Invenergy power plant planned for Burriville from taking away our drinking water; made public safety improvements (in the Police Department, in our response to natural hazards especially floods, and in rescue services); updated our 30-year-old Harbor Management Plan for the salt ponds; improved sewage treatment; and upgraded roads and treated storm water runoff; supported the very highly ranked CHARIHO schools; built first-of-its-kind housing for low income seniors in Charlestown; and expanded recreation offerings for all ages, including a new multi-use trail as well as new playground equipment, ball fields and courts in all three parks in town. We also were frugal about spending tax dollars and have kept our tax rate one of the lowest of any town in Rhode Island.

Virginia Lee

Virginia loves the diversity of the people and the places of Charlestown and believes in true public service, the value of democracy, and the importance of a civil society. She has made a life’s work of studying the salt ponds, including Ninigret, Green Hill and Quonnie Ponds, and their watersheds, and she shares a deep appreciation of the value of the salt ponds to all the people who use and enjoy them. Her career at the the RI Sea Grant and at the Coastal Resources Center at the University of Rhode Island spanned 35 years, during which time she was engaged in activities and programs that applied scientific research, growth management and visioning techniques and public–private partnerships toward achieving coastal management goals, locally, statewide, nationally and internationally. First elected to the Town Council in 2014 and serving as its president from 2016 to 2020, she has contributed her knowledge and many skills to the Town Council’s work. She has long been active in public service, and, in addition to serving since 2014 on Charlestown’s Town Council, she previously served on the South Kingstown’s Town Council, zoning board and conservation commission.

Under Virginia’s leadership, the Town Council, along with town staff and actively participating citizens, achieved great things! Together we stopped the Federal Railroad Administration from railroading us; stopped the Invenergy power plant planned for Burriville from taking away our drinking water; made public safety changes and improvements (in the Police Department, in our response to natural hazards especially floods, and in rescue services); updated our 30-year-old Harbor Management Plan for the salt ponds; improved sewage treatment; and upgraded roads and treated storm water runoff; supported the very highly ranked CHARIHO schools; built first-of-its-kind housing for low income seniors in Charlestown; and expanded recreation offerings for all ages, including a new multi-use trail as well as new playground equipment, ball fields and courts in all three parks in town. We also were frugal about spending tax dollars and have kept our tax rate one of the lowest of any town in Rhode Island.

Education

MS in Oceanography, Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, Narragansett, RI
BA in Human Ecology, Connecticut College, New London, CT

Professional Experience

Senior Fellow, Coastal Institute, University of Rhode Island
US Program Manager, Coastal Resources Center, University of Rhode Island (1986 – 2012) & Assistant Director for Extension, Rhode Island Sea Grant, University of Rhode Island (2000-2012)
Staff, Coastal Resources Center, University of Rhode Island (1979-1985)
Former member of national advisory committees for the US Environmental Protection Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Co-author, Climate Change and Rhode Island’s Coasts (2012)
Co-author, Salt Pond Region Special Area Management Plan adopted by the RI Coastal Resource Management Council
Co-founder, Salt Pond Coalition
Co-founder, Salt Pond Watchers
Researcher and producer, first edition of Public Access to the Rhode Island Coast, a guide to coastal areas
Author, An Elusive Compromise: Rhode Island Coastal Ponds and Their People – a local best seller that captured our history, culture, and issues of our area and protection of the coastal ponds

Public Service

Charlestown Town Council (2014 – 2020); President (2016 – 2020)
Town Council Liaison to Waste Water Management Commission, Coastal Pond Management Commission, Historical Society, Charlestown Potable Water Working Group, and the committee updating the Harbor Management Plan
Former member, South Kingstown’s Town Council, Zoning Board, and Conservation Commission
Former member, Board of Trustees, South Kingstown Land Trust
Former member, Board of Directors, Save the Bay

Personal

Virginia loves living in Charlestown and playing with her four granddaughters. She has volunteered at the Women’s Resource Center, South Kingstown, RI, and the RI CAN Food Pantry, Charlestown, RI.