In 1970, Virginia Governor Linwood Holton appointed Gerald “Jerry” McCarthy the first executive director of his new state Council on the Environment, a position that launched a career devoted to the environment and public service. He served in numerous executive and board member positions in state, regional, and national agencies charged with environmental protection, conservation, and philanthropy.  Beginning in 1977, he served for thirty-six years as the founding Executive Director of the Virginia Environmental Endowment, a grant making foundation uniquely created in the aftermath of The Kepone Disaster that poisoned the James River: that environmental catastrophe is the catalyst for this book. 

Jerry has served nine recent Virginia governors as a member of state boards including the Commonwealth Transportation Board, the Commission on the Future of Virginia's Judiciary, the Virginia Conservation and Recreation Foundation (Vice Chair), and the Chesapeake Bay Citizens Advisory Council (Chair), the Virginia Uranium Advisory Committee, and as an advisor to the Commission on Virginia’s Future.  

Jerry has written Op-Ed pieces published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, and the Fredericksburg Free-Lance Star, most recently on the importance of preserving the National Environmental Policy Act. He has also published several blog posts about how to achieve greater impact through philanthropy. He was a founder of the Chesapeake Bay Funders Network, the Environmental Grantmakers Association, and the Association of Small Foundations (Now: Exponent Philanthropy), all of which promote collaboration and effectiveness among grant making foundations. In addition he’s served for six years as a Board Member of the Southeastern Council of Foundations (Now: Philanthropy Southeast). 

Since stepping down from the leadership of VEE in 2013 he has remained active in several environmental organizations and continues to serve on the Membership Committee of Exponent Philanthropy, a national association of foundations.