Terry Backer is the Executive Director of Long Island Soundkeeper, the second of the “Keeper” based organizations. A Connecticut native, Mr. Backer’s father supported his family as a commercial lobster and shell fisherman. Mr. Backer developed a deep respect for the water, as Long Island Sound served as his family’s “sphere of life” for decades. As a young man, Mr. Backer earned a license as a Merchant Marine Officer from the US Coast Guard.

After witnessing years of degradation of the Long Island Sound water quality, Mr. Backer, along with John Cronin and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., founded the Long Island Soundkeeper organization in 1987. Backer, in his capacity as Executive Director of Soundkeeper, has brought numerous Clean Water Act lawsuits against polluters of Long Island Sound as well as a federal lawsuit that challenged the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

Mr. Backer has been a Connecticut State Representative since 1993 in the 121st Assembly District. He is also the Chairman of the Appropriations Sub-Committee on Conservation and Development.