July 14, 2010 - "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

This Margaret Mead quote can sum up a lot of what is happening in advocacy groups across the nation and across the world. First, there are small groups of people with a mindset to change things. Eventually, those small groups start up in other places, and eventually those many small groups can make some big changes.

Kathy Phillips knows that all too well. Anywhere in the world that Phillips goes, she can meet a friend. Phillips is part of a global network of s who are protecting the waters of the world for the rest of us.

Phillips is executive director of the Assateague Coastal Trust and also the . Within the Chesapeake region, there are 15 "RIVERKEEPER" programs, and because the coastal bays are the object of Phillips’ protection, she is called the COASTKEEPER. The waters she is responsible for are the inland bays just behind Ocean City, MD., and Assateague Island. This spring she was set to start her Swimmable Bays project and will test water quality samples in the northern coastal bays. She will work with the lab at Salisbury University to analyze bacteria and will post her findings online for the public.

"Ocean City and Assateague monitor the swimming beaches," Philips explained. "And the county monitors one swimming area. They do bacteria monitoring there, but all the rest of the bays, where people Jet-Ski and clam and raft, there is no real public database to see bacteria levels."