Congratulations to Tim Robertson, founder of Nuka Research and long time CIRCAC partner, on being named the 2023 Pacific States/British Columbia Oil Spill Task Force Legacy Award winner.

“It’s really cool and kind of humbling,” Robertson said at a recent Environmental Monitoring Committee meeting in Anchorage. Tim joined EMC as a public member in 2022, following his retirement. 

He brings a notable career’s worth of achievements to that group, emerging as a local leader in advocating on behalf of affected communities in the years following the Exxon Valdez oil spill. The definition of a Legacy Award is fairly self-evident, but what it means to the recipient is entirely personal. For Tim, it’s an opportunity to take stock of his work alongside that of respected colleagues. 

“I truly take it to mean everything that I’ve done, not just one part or piece; and the work I’ve done with the Regional Citizens Advisory Councils, the State of Alaska, and internationally. I have known and worked with many of the people who have received the award from Cook Inlet, Alaska, and all around.”

As a founding board member of the Prince William Sound Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council, Tim represented the organization in the negotiated rulemaking following the passage of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990. He helped establish the Seldovia Oil Spill (SOS) Team and remains an active volunteer to this day. Tim went on to provide technical expertise and facilitation to a diverse array of clients in Alaska and beyond until his retirement from Nuka Research, which he co-founded in 2004, at the end of last year. 

Find a full list of this year’s Legacy Award winners here.