Our People of the Century      Lester Brown: An Influential Thinker

A Cumberland County native, Lester Brown founded in 1974 and remains president of the Worldwatch Institute in Washington, D.C.

The institute’s mission, reflecting Brown’s philosophy, is to foster “the evolution of an environmentally sustainable society.”

To that end, Brown has written and spoken extensively around the world. The Washington Post described Brown as one of the world’s most influential thinkers.

He earned a degree in agricultural science from Rutgers University in 1955, a master’s degree in agricultural economics from the University of Maryland and an M.P.A. from Harvard.

Author of more than 20 books, recipient of 19 honorary doctorate degrees and winner of countless national and global awards, Brown farmed tomatoes in Southern New Jersey during high school and college.