The council was initiated in 1962 to help people care for and protect their natural resources to improve the local economy, environment and living standards. There are 277 authorized RC&D areas – two in New Jersey — in the United States, the Caribbean, and the Pacific Basin. The North Jersey RC&D works in four areas: land conservation, community development, water management, and environmental enhancement.

Previously, Gray was executive director of the New River-Highlands Resource Conservation & Development Council in Wytheville, Va., and Coordinator of Science-Based Conservation Programs & Research for Safari Club International Foundation in the Washington D.C. area. He holds a Master of Science in Wildlife Science from South Dakota State University.