Tom Watson is the interim Executive Director of Sustainable Westchester and served as a Board member for two years before his appointment in 2026. A native of Yonkers and longtime resident of Mount Vernon, Tom brings his 25 years of experience as a consultant in resource development, strategic planning, communications and nonprofit excellence to the position.
A former journalist for LoHud, Hudson Valley magazine, The New York Times, the Chronicle of Philanthropy, Wired and many other publications, Tom was an early dot-com digital entrepreneur before co-founding a major nonprofit consulting firm, and later creating his own practice CauseWired, named for his best-selling book about the rise of digital activism.
Tom serves on the Board of the Westchester Human Rights Commission, and is a professor in the Nonprofit Management masters program at Columbia University. Tom is a deeply committed native plant gardener who loves a good compost pile. He’s also the guitar player for the Westchester band Retro-North, which plays across the county at community events.
