Draft:Melanie Winter
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Melanie Winter
[edit]Melanie Winter is an environmental activist and water conservation leader. She is the founder and director of The River Project[1][2], a non-profit dedicated to equitable watershed-based, climate-resilient planning in Los Angeles. Winter[3] has been involved in water and land-use policy for 28 years, bringing significant funding for and national attention to the LA River).
Career
[edit]Theater
[edit]Melanie Winter was born on February 12, 1958 in Burbank, California. Moving cross-country, Winter spent 15 years working in NYC on and off-Broadway as an actor, dancer, choreographer, and photographer. Most notably, she appeared on Broadway in A Chorus Line and Pal Joey. Her career soon turned to on-camera[4] where she can be seen in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.
Activism
[edit]Winter's return to Los Angeles coincided with the Rodney King verdict, prompting her commitment to social justice activism. She helped found the Los Angeles Breast Cancer Alliance[5], and has produced events and raised funds for Sunset Hall, Women’s Action Coalition, Planned Parenthood, Bohemian Women’s Political Alliance (whose slogan was ‘Good Politics – Bad Attitude’), the ACLU, Sweet Relief Musicians Fund, and National Public Radio, among others.
In October 1993, Winter created the “War Mammorial[6]”- an installation consisting of 1,000 plaster casts of women’s torsos set on a sloping hillside. The number of casts reflected the number of women who die of cancer in LA County every year. The piece kicked off National Breast Cancer awareness month and received national media attention.
Prior to founding The River Project, Winter was the first executive director of Friends of the Los Angeles River, where she produced the River Though Downtown conference, designed their education and water quality monitoring programs, and tripled their membership and budget.
Winter's efforts has secured funding for the LA River. She spearheaded the Coalition for a State Park at Taylor Yard[7], whose success led to the acquisition and development of Rio de Los Angeles State Park.[8] Winter's work within the The River Project also led the development efforts of the award-winning Tujunga/Pacoima Watershed Plan[9], and created the urban acupuncture program, Water LA[10][11].
Other projects under Winter's purview include a feasibility study for restoration of the LA River and Tributaries through the Sepulveda Basin, development of a hydrodynamic model for Tujunga Wash which was adopted by the US Army Corps of Engineers, co-producing with the Dutch, the"Room for the River," and the creation of the Valleyheart Greenway[12][13] in Studio City, CA. Winter was involved in the development of a surface and groundwater model for the LA River through the Elysian Valley, which continues to inform planning efforts at Taylor Yard Development of the framework for the “Paddle the River[14]” program and several whitepapers on Distributed Nature-Based Solutions that informed the development of Measure W[15].
Winter has also completed the Los Angeles River Expedition[16], a 3-day excursion which secured the river’s protection under the Clean Water Act. Under Winter, The River Project has partnered with agencies, academia, NGOs, and local communities to design and implement holistic policies, projects and programs that multi-solve for climate and other intersecting challenges.
Winter is featured in the book “Edens Lost & Found,” published by Chelsea Green and the documentary[17] by the same name. She has appeared in numerous documentary films about the Los Angeles River including “Becoming California[18],” “Los Angeles: Dream of a Different City[19],” and “Rock the Boat[20]".” In 2012, she was featured as one of KCET’s “Extraordinary Women.”
Awards
[edit]In 2000, the USDA presented her with an award for her “tenaciousness in bringing about an integrated watershed vision for the Los Angeles River.” In 2003, she was honored by Sunset Magazine as the first recipient of their environmental award “Champions of the West.” In 2005, the San Fernando Valley Audubon Society presented her with their Conservation Award. In 2006, Winter was honored as “Woman of the Year” by Assemblymember Jackie Goldberg.
- ^ "Building the Foundations". Take Me To Your River. Retrieved 2025-08-01.
- ^ "The Los Angeles River". The River Project. Retrieved 2025-08-01.
- ^ "An L.A. River champion offers a vision for reimagining the waterway — and the city's future". Los Angeles Times. 2024-10-09. Retrieved 2025-08-01.
- ^ "Melanie Winter | Actress". IMDb. Retrieved 2025-08-01.
- ^ "breastcanceralliance.org | Support Breast Cancer Research and Screening". breastcanceralliance.org. Retrieved 2025-08-01.
- ^ Bryant, Rebecca (1993-10-02). "Exhibit Raises Awareness of Breast Cancer". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2025-08-01.
- ^ "The Coalition". Taylor Yard. Retrieved 2025-08-01.
- ^ Haas, Michaela (2025-01-06). "The LA River Kayaker on a 'Re-Naturalization' Mission". Reasons to be Cheerful. Retrieved 2025-08-01.
- ^ "Tujunga–Pacoima". The River Project. Retrieved 2025-08-01.
- ^ Cheerful, Michaela Haas for Reasons to be (2025-03-07). "The LA River kayaker on a 're-naturalization' mission". AppleValleyNewsNow.com. Retrieved 2025-08-01.
- ^ "Water LA". Water LA. Retrieved 2025-08-01.
- ^ Stacker (2025-03-08). "The LA River kayaker on a 're-naturalization' mission". KESQ. Retrieved 2025-08-01.
- ^ "Valleyheart Greenway". The River Project. Retrieved 2025-08-01.
- ^ "Paddle the River". Paddle the River. Retrieved 2025-08-01.
- ^ "Measure W". lachamber.com. Retrieved 2025-08-01.
- ^ "Melanie Winter: Director of The River Project". PBS SoCal. 2011-01-25. Retrieved 2025-08-01.
- ^ "Edens Lost and Found". Media Policy Center. Retrieved 2025-08-01.
- ^ KQED Specials | Becoming California. Retrieved 2025-08-01 – via www.pbs.org.
- ^ Stash - Free Documentaries (2024-07-23). Los Angeles Dream a Different City | Edens Lost & Found | S1E2 | Full Episode | Air Quality. Retrieved 2025-08-01 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Rock the Boat". www.rocktheboatfilm.com. Retrieved 2025-08-01.