Lilly Dick chose Newport in 1967, and she’s been choosing to work on behalf of this community every day since. 

Lilly grew up in Washington, D.C. and studied and spent time in Europe, but something about Newport, with its beautiful shores, open spaces, and deep history felt like home to her. When her husband was leaving his Navy service, they looked around, thought about where they wanted to live and raise their family and saw no reason to leave.  

The Island is much the better off for that confident decision long ago. 

Lilly has touched countless aspects of Island life, serving in municipal government, teaching at Rogers High School, volunteering, and working tirelessly for historical preservation and environmental causes.  

She supported the Aquidneck Island Land Trust since its inception in 1990, working alongside the Land Trust as a founding leader of its frequent partner, the Newport Tree Conservancy. She loves the Island’s small, close-knit communities. 

“In a big city like New York or London, it can be hard to know where to start getting involved. In Newport, if you work hard, or just volunteer, you can really make a difference in your community,” she said. 

As Board Chair, Lilly leads the Land Trust’s volunteer board; allowing her to play an ever-greater role in the same organization where her late husband of 30 years, Ronald Dick, also served in leadership. 

“It would be hard to find another person who has made such a positive difference in community,” Land Trust Executive Director Terry Sullivan said when Lilly Dick joined the Board of Directors last year.  

“Lilly is dedicated to conserving our parks and open spaces, to restoring our watersheds and protecting our drinking water supplies, and to ensuring that our Island can be resilient in the face of climate change impacts, including increasingly damaging storms sea level rise,” Sullivan said. 

The mission of the Aquidneck Island Land Trust speaks to Lilly’s deeply held values; “I want to do something that lasts, not something that’s just immediate,” she said.  

“Conservation of the lands and waters and habitats – that’s true sustainability if you do it right.” 

To her, the Island has always been a place where people come together and collaborate for the greater good. That partnership and camaraderie motivated her as she worked on long term projects like the gas light project, or Newport’s trees, the restoration of Washington Square, and the decade-long effort to open Spring Park in Newport, AILT’s 101st conserved property.

“I’ve always said, there’s nothing that you do by yourself. You always need to have a group of likeminded people who believe in what needs to be done, and who will roll up their sleeves and do it,” she said. 

That spirit of collaboration keeps her moving forward as she tackles a new world of complex sustainability challenges, like the growing Island-wide resilience effort that incorporates so many of the causes that she cares about – from habitat protection and urban trees to art and education.  

“It’s the whole gamut of what makes a healthy community,” she said.  

Lilly recalled driving her son to medical appointments in Boston when he was a small child in the 1980s. As they left the Island’s green shores, the sea and sky outside his car window was transformed to car lots and apartment blocks and miles upon miles of pavement. 

“He asked me: ‘Will there be anything left for us?’ his wistful words left a lasting impression on me. I am determined to leave open spaces for children to play in, to dream, to engage with nature,” she said.  

Lilly’s decades-long loyalty to her favorite organizations, and her persistence in succeeding in the face of difficulty and delay are part of what make her such a critical leader of the Aquidneck Island conservation community.  

Everyone can get involved, wherever they live, she said. If you don’t have land to conserve, you can donate money or offer your time and skills – there are so many ways of serving your community that suit your personal passions. 

“It’s our responsibility to leave the planet and our community in the best place we possibly can.”