Did you know that New Jersey is home to more than 75 threatened and endangered species? Susan Kraham will make sure you do if you’ve created an impediment to their repopulating.

Susan’s duties as director of policy and counsel to the president of the New Jersey Audubon Society give her a perfect platform to tackle developers and Trenton policy makers who consider projects that endanger the state’s birds, other wildlife, and open spaces. She’s regarded as a tough litigator who’s won cases big and small, but she is also something just as important—a wife and mom.

“What we do affects those around us,” she says. And as more people attempt to squeeze more from our state’s resources, Susan is on the lookout to fight anything that can pose a threat to these fragile habitats.

Susan has been with the NJAS for two years and splits her time between doing in-house corporate counsel and implementing policy that is consistent with the society’s mission.

Susan points out a bird sighting from the New Jersey Audubon Society’s Bernardsville classroom to her boys (from left) Louis, Henry, and Kalman.

“What interests me the most about environmental law is how we use it to impact our relationship with the ecosystem. What messages are we sending to our community when we make decisions about how to consume resources? That is the fundamental issue which brings me to do what I do,” she says.

Susan wants state residents to see environmentalists as more than just some pie-in-sky purists. “I don’t think people realize how much income is generated into our state from maintaining open space,” she says. “The effect on the economy from having outdoor recreation opportunities is enormous. In addition, property values increase a great deal with access to open space.”

The NJAS also works closely with farmers. “One of our biggest initiatives right now is restoring habitats for grassland birds. We’ve been working with farmers to help access state and federal incentives. Essentially, folks are being paid to farm for endangered species. This means they could delay mowing in certain areas or plant certain types of vegetation that will attract grassland birds,” she says.

Susan and her boys take a stroll through the 276-acre Scherman-Hoffman Wildlife Sanctuary, a natural habitat that supports more than 200 species of wildlife.

Susan says the deer population’s intense growth over the last few years is reason for concern. “We have been working on trying to manage the white-tailed population to protect our forests. There are many folks who would rather keep the deer alive and not worry about the forest. However, if we don’t do something soon, we are in danger of losing our forests.”

Susan’s workload includes traveling to Trenton to work with the Department of Environmental Protection on policy issues or visiting some of the state’s other Audubon sites. But it’s after the workday ends that her favorite job begins. Before coming to the NJAS, Susan was a professor at Rutgers Law School and an attorney for the Rutgers Environmental Law Clinic. The detail that made her new position so attractive was that she was allowed a four-day work week.

“I work because I really like what I do and it’s very fulfilling for me,” she says. “I think it’s better for my kids to have a happy, satisfied mother—they know I am doing something I care about.” In fact, her children actually think her job is pretty cool. She adds, “I was able to participate in the banding of the Red Knot shore bird, which is on the verge of being extinct. We banded them so we could track them and the kids were really impressed.”

So every Friday, she gets a chance to connect with her three active 11-, 8-, and 5-year-old boys.

“All of my kids are involved in athletics so I am constantly shuttling one to soccer, or the other to baseball games or practices.”

A Jersey girl all her life, Susan lives in Maplewood with her husband of 16 years, Adam Joseph, their sons, and two rescue-shelter dogs, Stitch and Sophie.

“The town has become quite diverse economically, racially, and spiritually,” she says. “It affords us the opportunity to meet a variety of different people.”

As someone who loves the outdoors, it’s not surprising that Susan and her family love to hike and fish. They are also big fans of the Maplewood Community Pool in the summer.

Susan is a role model for moms looking to achieve that elusive balance of family and work. She is also thrilled that her family really cares about what she does. She says the most important advice she gives her children is to think about how what they do affects others. Not a bad rule for all of us to adhere to.

For more information on the NJAS, visit their website at www.njaudubon.org.

Photographed by Steve Legato