Recycling Coordinator for a City

Loving the outdoors as a child enjoying nature walks, she turned her passion into a career to protect and educate about the environment. 

FAMILY BACKGROUND

Joan Batory (JB) was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her parents were of Polish descent. 

CHILDHOOD

Philadelphia features many public parks, including one of the largest within a city, Fairmount Park (about 4100 acres), where her parents often led family hikes to appreciate grass, meadows and trees apart from the city streets. 

EDUCATION

After graduating from West Catholic High School for Girls, JB enrolled at what was then Immaculata College (now University), earning a Bachelor’s degree in history with additional courses in education. 

Keeping alive her interest in the environment, JB was awarded a fellowship to pursue a Master’s degree in environmental studies at Glassboro State College (now Rowan University).

FOCUSING HER CAREER ON PUBLIC SERVICE AND EDUCATION

JB was a popular history teacher at Woodrow Wilson High School in Camden, NJ when environmental inequities she observed in underserved South Jersey communities sharpened her interest in environmental justice, climate solutions, energy conservation and waste disposal. So, she went on to champion environmental sustainability, develop public policy for millions of people and make substantial changes in the way everyday life can affect the quality of the environment in which we all live. 

First hired by Chester County, PA (two counties west of Philadelphia) to lead their early recycling program, then hired by Philadelphia’s Mayor, JB’s work to protect the environment and educate the public about it, led to JB leading the following activities on behalf of two successive county and city governments:

• Organized recycling programs
• Updated waste management procedures
• Established enforcement policies for all 50 municipalities within Chester County
• Innovative programs included one that featured garbage-eating worms
• Improved recycling collection schedules and equipment
• Expanded door-to-door environmental education outreach and partner programs with city schools and community groups
• Created and supported progressive public policy wherever she worked
• Wrote critical editorials and letters to the editor about government cuts in environmental funding and other issues. “People need help, and agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency and our own state environmental agency provide that help, she said in a 1981 letter to the editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “Less government is better? No. Adequate government saves lives.” 

CAREER SATISFACTION

With all her initiatives attracting the attention of environment-friendly officials, JB served (one at a time) as Director of the Camden County Environmental Commission and later was appointed a regional planning manager for the National Park Service. 

As a member of the New Jersey Pinelands Commission, JB helped develop its 1.2 million acres into a biosphere reserve that is recognized by the United Nations. 

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This career story is based on an obituary written by Gary Miles, published by the Philadelphia Inquirer on July 31, 2024 plus internet research.