Office of Strategic Environmental Management
State-EPA Symposium 2008
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
Speaker Bios
Derry Allen
Derry Allen is Counselor, Office of Environmental Policy Innovation, at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In this job he is involved in a number of issues concerning environmental innovation, sustainability, environmental stewardship, planning and information.
Mr. Allen has served at EPA since 1978, where he has held a variety of positions, principally in the Policy Office. He was Director of the Office of Strategic Planning and Environmental Data from 1992 to 1998. He has also been Senior Policy Advisor to the Assistant Administrator for Policy, Planning and Evaluation, Deputy Director of the Science, Economics and Statistics Division and the Regulatory Integration Division, Associate Director of the Office of Policy Analysis, Acting Director of the Energy Policy Division, Chief of the Energy Development Branch, and Staff Director of the Interagency Resource Conservation Committee. In the course of these assignments he has been involved in a wide range of environmental, management and communications issues for the agency.
Before coming to EPA, Mr. Allen worked on the staff of the Secretary of Labor, at the Federal Energy Administration, at the Cost of Living Council and as a VISTA Volunteer with the City of New York Department of Correction.
He earned his B.A. with Honors at Yale University and his M.B.A. at the Harvard Business School. He has also participated in the Program for Senior Managers in Government at the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government.
Mr. Allen lives in Washington, D.C. He and his wife have three children. He is active in several community organizations. When he gets a break he enjoys reading and outdoor sports.
Arthur G Baggett, Jr.
Arthur G Baggett, Jr., serves as the attorney member with water rights experience on the five-member State Water Resources Control Board, which is responsible for protecting, preserving, and restoring the beneficial uses of the waters of California providing for their equitable use.
Mr. Baggett is past president of the Association of State and Interstate Water Pollution Control Administrators (ASIWPCA), a member of Dividing the Waters ( a project of western state judges that focus on adjudication of water rights), and has served on numerous Environmental Protection Agency advisory committees. As a scientist and teacher, he has guided for the Yosemite Mountaineering School, been on the faculty of Yosemite Institute and the University of Californias Sierra Institute, and served as adjunct faculty of San Joaquin College of Law, and Fresno State Universitys Department of Chemistry.
Mr. Baggett is a long time resident of EL Portal. He was co-founder of the Merced Canyon Committee which successfully advocated for protection of the upper Merced River and its tributaries under the federal Wild and Scenic River Act. He served two terms as a member of the Mariposa County Board of Supervisors and Mariposa County Water Agency. Mr. Baggett was sole proprietor of Baggett Solar Design and Construction Company, and practiced water, environmental, business, and family law in Mariposa.
In his spare time, Art enjoys part time status as a musician in his sons bluegrass and country band, Pine Crow, and skis and hikes the backcountry of the Sierra Nevada Mountains with family and friends.
Heather Barnhart
After studying environmental science, agronomy and forestry at Louisiana State University, Heather took a road less traveled to Niger, West Africa. As a Peace Corps volunteer, she initiated community-based gardening and tree nursery trainings, led field-based trainings of other volunteers, and held environmental education programs in Nigers Park W. After some world wandering, she landed at EPA Region 2 in August 2002. Heathers tenure at EPA has included work on State water quality assessment, monitoring and reporting and as an author on national guidance. She also served a six-week stint as a community involvement specialist for the national Hurricane Katrina response effort. Her current work at EPA focuses on sustainability, particularly individual stewardship and community-level sustainability initiatives. She received her M.S. from the School of Forestry at Louisiana State University and her B.S. in Environmental Science from the Department of Agriculture at Louisiana State University.
David Beck
David Beck holds an engineering degree from the University of Illinois and has spent his entire career working at EPA. For over two decades, David worked for the air office in the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, where he focused primarily on standards of performance for various sources of criteria and hazardous air pollutants. Starting about a dozen years ago, David gradually gravitated toward working on innovative projects that explore alternative and potentially superior ways of achieving environmental objectives. Since 1998, David has worked on innovative pilot projects for the National Center for Environmental Innovation (and its predecessor, the Office of Reinvention).
Ellen Beckmann
Ellen Beckmann is a transportation planner with the City of Durham and the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization which is the regional long-range transportation planning organization for the northwestern part of the Triangle. She recently managed the creation of the Durham Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory and Local Action Plan which was adopted in fall 2007. She received a Bachelors in Civil Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis and a Masters in Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Previous to working in Durham, she worked at the North Carolina Department of Transportation.
David Bend
Dave graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Washington University in 2003. After graduation he spent two years teaching seventh grade Texas History in the Rio Grande Valley as a Teach For America corps member. During his second year of teaching, Dave was named Harwell Middle Schools Teacher of the Year. After completing his two year teaching commitment, Dave joined the National Center for Environmental Innovations Evaluation Support Division. Dave recently completed his Masters degree in Environmental Science and Policy at Johns Hopkins University.
Cyrus Bhedwar
Cyrus Bhedwar joined the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority, Division of Energy Resources in June 2005. As State Energy Program Manager his responsibilities include administering and overseeing the Department of Energys State Energy Program a funding mechanism for energy efficiency and renewable energy programs throughout the State of Georgia. He works with other energy staff members to implement a variety of other programs and initiatives, include the development of a State Energy Strategy, the development of a wind energy resource map and public information programs. Prior to joining GEFA, Cyrus was a staff member at Southface Energy Institute for nearly two and a half years serving as the Liaison to the City of Atlanta. He developed and implemented energy conservation programs and practices for Atlantas operating departments, researched and prepared policy briefs for Atlanta City Council and coordinated energy conservation and sustainability education and communication for city employees and residents. He received his Masters Degree in Energy and Environmental Policy from the University of Delaware in May 2003.
Patricia Bonner
Pat Bonner has worked in public involvement for 35 years. Her experience ranges from local [San Diego County] to international [WHO and International Joint Commission], and includes working with/for private sector firms and NGOs. Pat coordinated EPA's award winning two-week Internet-based dialogue on A Public Involvement in EPA Decisions, at a discussion forum that brought together 1,166 people from 50 states, two territories and five other nations. She was responsible for the internal and external reviews that Led to EPAs updated Public Involvement Policy in 2003. Pat holds public involvement certification from the International Association for Public Participation.
Since leaving the private sector in 1974, Pat has worked for San Diego County, in Canada on Great Lakes environmental problems with the Department of States, with Region III on the Chesapeake Bay Program, as Director of External Affairs in Region 10, with the Council on Environmental Quality on Coastal America, with the World Health Organization on risk communications, in the Office of Water on the Great Water Bodies program and public education projects, and in the Office of Policy. Pat is the lead staff for Public Involvement Policy, Cooperative Conservation and collaborative problem solving.
She graduated from Carnegie Mellon University and earned her MS from Renssalear Polytechnic Institute. Pat has visited 80 countries, designs jewelry and enjoys jazz music.
John Bosch
John Bosch has been a senior engineer in OAQPS since 1971 with primary responsibilities over these 35-plus years in the fields of emission inventory theory and construction, AP-42 emission factors, the AIRS data systems, and emissions monitoring technologies
David Bray
David is a 1974 graduate of the University of Washington and has worked in the Region 10 air program for over 31 years. During that time, he has worked in nearly every one of the Clean Air Act programs and is considered to be one of the foremost experts on the Clean Air Act permitting programs. David is now the Special Assistant to the Director of the Office of Air, Waste, and Toxics, and provides management level support for the development and implementation of federal, state, tribal, and local air quality programs.
Rob Brenner
Dr. Rob Brenner is Director of the Office of Policy Analysis and Review, Office of Air and Radiation at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). He played a key role in the development, Congressional passage and implementation of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 the most significant and far-reaching environmental law passed in the last twenty-five years. Since passage of that landmark law, Rob has focused on innovative, cost-effective ways to implement its provisions, particularly through the use of market-based approaches such as emissions trading and other economic incentives. He has been a leader in EPA's efforts to promote development of new, more effective pollution-control technologies such as diesel retrofits, and has pioneered the use of economic analysis in evaluating the effectiveness of EPA programs.
President George H.W. Bush in 1993 and President Clinton in 1998 each conferred on Rob the rank of meritorious senior executive. In 2003, he received the Distinguished Executive Award for sustained extraordinary accomplishment from President George W. Bush. Before coming to EPA in 1979, Rob worked at Princeton Universitys Center for International Studies. He holds Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees in Economics and Public Policy from Princetons Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.
Douglas Crawford Brown
Douglas Crawford-Brown is the Director of the Institute for the Environment at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He is also a Professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering at UNCs School of Public Health. Since 1995 Doug has been Permanent Guest Professor at the Institute for Physics and Biophysics, University of Salzburg, Austria. He has served as a consultant for U.S. EPA on a number of advisory boards, providing expert reviews and recommendations for regulatory and scientific documents. Doug is a member of the North Carolina Legislative Commission on Climate Change, and a member of EPAs Science Advisory Board, Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee. Doug earned his B.S. in Physics, his M.S. in Theoretical Physics, and his PhD in Nuclear Science, all from Georgia Tech.
Kathy Callahan
A Bachelor of Arts graduate of Hunter College of the City University of New York, Ms. Kathleen Callahan joined the EPA in 1971. She has served in positions of increasing responsibility over her career with EPA in areas as diverse as enforcement, budgeting, policy analysis, management of all support programs, the Superfund Division, a multi-media, multi program division of Environmental Planning and Protection, which includes permitting and planning responsibilities in water, air, hazardous waste, radiation, indoor air, solid waste, environmental impact assessment and strategic planning for the Region. She served as the senior executive responsible for the EPA Region 2 response to environmental impacts resulting from the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. In November of 2003 Ms. Callahan was appointed Region 2 Deputy Regional Administrator, and she served as Acting Regional Administrator between November 2004 and August 2005.
Ms. Callahan has served on a number of national policy work groups on topics including human resource development, managerial excellence, and Superfund reauthorization. She is a recipient of EPAs Award for Managerial Excellence and is a member of the Senior Executive Service (SES). In December 1996 and 2003 she received the SES Presidential Meritorious Executive Award. She is most proud of her recognition by EPAs Administrator Christine Todd Whitman of the Award for Excellence in response given to the many EPA employees who devoted untold hours of work and expertise in the national response and recovery effort from the attacks of September 11, 2001 on the U. S. Ms. Callahan has a growing passion for understanding and addressing issues of sustainability..
Ms. Callahan and her husband, William Horner, Esq., have two children and reside in Queens, New York.
Jennifer Carfagno
Jennifer Carfagno is the Travel Analyst on First Outlook, the weekday morning program presented from 5-7 am. She joined the First Outlook team, including Kim Perez and Nick Walker, in February 2004. Jen participated in the on-camera meteorologist apprentice program from 2000 to 2004 and could be seen every weekend on The Weather Channel. In addition to her weekend on-air assignments, Jen gained valuable weather knowledge and experience from several key positions in the Meteorology Department at The Weather Channel. Jen was the liaison for the Meteorology Science & Strategy Department to several other business units. She also was the point person for The Weather Channel's tactical operations with the National Weather Service, the EPA AIRNow program and other related government agencies. Jen developed and led Weather Camps around the country for The Weather Channel and continues to speak to students about a passion of hers - science.
Jen began her meteorology career at The Weather Channel in 1997, after acceptance into the summer internship program. She earned her B.S. degree in meteorology from the Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA in 1998 and immediately joined The Weather Channel full-time. On sunny days, Jen likes to spend time outdoors, especially running, relaxing at the beach or working in the yard. On rainy days, Jen enjoys cleaning (really!), reading and planning her next vacation. She loves to travel and would like to visit all 50 states the old-fashioned way -- by U.S. Highway.
Scott Cassel
Scott Cassel is the Executive Director of the Product Stewardship Institute, which pursues initiatives to ensure that all those involved in the lifecycle of a product share responsibility for reducing its health and environmental impacts.
Prior to founding the Institute in 2000, Scott served seven years as the Director of Waste Policy and Planning for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs. He is also a founding Board Member and past-President of the North American Hazardous Materials Management Association, whose mission is to reduce the toxicity of the municipal waste stream. Scott has worked on product and waste management issues for the past 25 years for a start-up solid waste management company, a non-profit statewide environmental group, and several other state agencies, including the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority. He was also a syndicated newspaper columnist in Massachusetts.
Scott has a masters degree in environmental policy and dispute resolution from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and an undergraduate degree in Geology and Environmental Studies from the University of Pennsylvania.
Bill Chism
Bill Chism, Ph.D. is Chief of the Analytical Chemistry Branch at the EPA, Office of Pesticide Program. Bill has been with the EPA since 2000 recently completing an evaluation of the environmental impact of growing biofuel crops while working at the EPA National Center for Environmental Innovation and before that working in the Office of Pesticide Programs evaluating the benefits of pesticide usage. Bill has served as an EPA representative for agricultural issues to the Montreal Protocol on Ozone Depleting Substances. Prior to joining the EPA Bill conducted agricultural research for a pesticide manufacturer and the University of California. Bill earned his B.S. degree in Entomology at U.C. Davis, M.S. degrees in Agriculture at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, CA and Plant Physiology at U.C. Riverside, and Ph.D. in Weed Science at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA.
Kuenja Chung
Dr. Kuenja Chung is an environmental scientist in the Air Quality Analysis Section of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 6 office in Dallas, Texas. Dr. Chung has managed numerous research projects concerning the application of passive sampling techniques to air toxics species and has compared these with conventional methods. Dr. Chung has a doctorate in organic chemistry.
Lisa Comer
Lisa Comer has worked for the US Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, DC for 16 years. Prior to joining the federal force, she was a litigator (focusing on wetlands, water, and hazardous waste/Superfund cases) for the PA state environmental agency's (formerly known as the Department of Environmental Resources) Office of Chief Counsel in Harrisburg. In 1991, she began work in the EPA headquarters Office of Enforcement (now the Office of Enforcement and Compliance) where she focused on Superfund case and rule development and cross-cutting policy issues. Fulfilling her role as a "legal" advisor in OECA, she joined the innovative policy office in 1998, where she has worked on various projects, including the development of this collaborative effort exploring the UKs integrated permitting system.
Leslie Black Cordes
Leslie Black Cordes has two decades of experience in the sustainable energy field with particular emphasis in clean energy and global climate change policies. She currently serves as Chief of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agencys Energy Supply and Industry Branch where she manages a suite of the Agencys flagship voluntary programs that includes the Climate Leaders Program, the Green Power Partnership, the Combined Heat and Power Partnership, and utility policy initiatives directed at improving the market for energy efficiency and renewable energy.
Prior to her recent tenure at EPA, Ms. Cordes spent eight years at the non-profit Alliance to Save Energy, where she served most recently as Vice President for Program Development, and Acting Co-President. She also served as deputy director of the U.S. Agency for International Developments Energy Efficiency Program and as professional staff member for the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee where she worked for eight years on legislative initiatives to advance energy efficiency, renewable energy, and mitigate climate change.
Ms. Cordes has a B.A. in Political Economics from the University of California, Berkeley, and a M.S. in International Trade & Finance from Georgetown Universitys School of Foreign Service.
Steve Crawford
Steve Crawford has been Environmental Director of the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Pleasant Point, Perry, Maine, since 2003. Steve worked in the aquaculture industry from 1971 until 2000, building and managing the largest catfish farm in Oklahoma from 1976-1989, and developing the first and only nori (seaweed) commercial farm in the northwest Atlantic, in Cobscook Bay, Maine from 1990 to 2000. Steve has been a long-time consultant in bio-remediation technology in aquaculture systems. He also has expertise in public drinking and sewage treatment systems. He is author of several publications in peer-reviewed journals on topics ranging from fish and seaweed culture to use of Reiki for improving behavior and memory in Alzheimers patients. Steve is Chair of the United South and Eastern Tribes Inc (USET) natural resource committee, Chair of Tribal Air Monitoring Support (TAMS) steering committee, alternate member of NTC, National Tribal Water Council (NTWC) and several other committees and organizations. Steve earned a BS degree in Fish and Wildlife from the University of Rhode Island in 1970, a M.Sc. in Zoology, University of Oklahoma in 1976, and a M.Sc. in Psychology from Walden University in 2006.
Douglas Crawford-Brown
Douglas Crawford-Brown is the Director of the Institute for the Environment at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He is also a Professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering at UNCs School of Public Health. Since 1995 Doug has been Permanent Guest Professor at the Institute for Physics and Biophysics, University of Salzburg, Austria. He has served as a consultant for U.S. EPA on a number of advisory boards, providing expert reviews and recommendations for regulatory and scientific documents. Doug is a member of the North Carolina Legislative Commission on Climate Change, and a member of EPAs Science Advisory Board, Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee. Doug earned his B.S. in Physics, his M.S. in Theoretical Physics, and his PhD in Nuclear Science, all from Georgia Tech.
Michael Crow
Michael Crow is an independent environmental policy consultant, specializing in the Environmental Results Program (ERP), an innovative and cost-effective approach to measurably addressing problems associated with large numbers of small pollution sources. He has assisted more than a dozen states and USEPA in planning and implementing ERP activities and other innovative projects. Working with statisticians, he has led the development of user-friendly statistical tools and other measurement resources that are used by states in implementing a variety of innovative projects.
He served on the Board of Regents for the Multi-State Working Group's Policy Academy on Environmental Management Tools. ECOStates, Environmental Forum, Environmental Engineering and Policy, and The Environmental Law Reporter have published his research. Further, he has advised international aid agencies on improving assistance to small enterprises. He is a contributing author for the volume: Small Firms and the Environment in Developing Countries: Collective Impacts, Collective Action (2006).
Dr. Richard M. Cruse
Dr. Richard M. Cruse, Professor of Agronomy at Iowa State University, leads the colleges Agricultural Systems Initiative and is Director of the Iowa Water Center. He is currently serving on the National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy and Technology, an advisory council to the chief U.S. Environmental Protection Agency administrator and in 2007 was appointed to Iowa Climate Change Advisory Council, an advisory council appointed by the governor directed to develop greenhouse gas mitigation options for Iowa. He received his BS from Iowa State University and his MS and PhD from the University of Minnesota. He has authored/coauthored 66 refereed and numerous non-refereed publications addressing tillage, soil and water management, and cropping systems. He has worked extensively in Hungary, where he received an honorary doctorate from the Karoly Robert College and more recently developed a cooperative research program with the Northeast Institute of Geography and Agricultural Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin China. Dr. Cruse is Fellow of the American Society of Agronomy and the Soil Science Society of America.
Tom Darden
Tom Darden is the Chief Executive Officer of Cherokee and founder of its predecessors. Beginning in 1984, he served for 16 years as the Chairman of Cherokee Sanford Group, the largest privately-held brick manufacturing company in the United States and previously the Southeast's largest soil remediation company. From 1981 to 1984, Mr. Darden was a consultant with Bain & Company in Boston. Mr. Darden is on the Boards of Woodberry Forest School, Shaw University and the University of North Carolina's environmental department. He was Chairman of the Research Triangle Transit Authority and served two terms on the N.C. Board of Transportation through appointments by the Governor and the Speaker of the House. Mr. Darden is a director of a public REIT, Winston Hotels, Inc. (NYSE), and serves on the Board of Governors of Research Triangle Institute in Research Triangle Park, NC. Mr. Darden earned an MRP in environmental planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a JD from Yale Law School and a BA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a Morehead Scholar. His 1976 undergraduate thesis analyzed the environmental impact of third world development and his 1981 Yale thesis addressed interstate acid rain air pollution. He and his wife Jody have three children.
Steven DeGabriele
Steve DeGabriele currently serves as the Director of the Business Compliance Division of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. The Business Compliance Division develops and enforces environmental performance standards for Massachusetts businesses and industry for the air pollution, industrial wastewater, and the solid and hazardous waste management programs.
Steve has served in many capacities at the Massachusetts DEP over the past 33 years. His previous positions include Director of the agencys Office of Enforcement and Director of the Hazardous Waste Division.
Mr. DeGabriele received his Bachelors degree from the University of Pennsylvania, his Masters degree in Environmental Engineering from Northeastern University and has completed management training at the University of Massachusetts and Brandeis University.
Fred Dimmick
Fred Dimmick is currently a Branch Chief in the Office of Research and Development. He spent much of his career in the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards and has had experience with the needs and concerns of local and regional decision makers as well as researchers. Currently, he is the lead on a number of air quality projects with EPA partners, such as CDC, NASA, NOAA and the State of Maryland. He will provide an overview of the session, focusing on how EPA is working with collaborators to solve environmental problems by connecting scientists, policy and information technology worlds.
Carl Edlund
Carl Edlund, a charter member of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), is the Director of the Multimedia Planning and Permitting Division with the EPA, Region 6 in Dallas, Texas. He directs the EPA Region 6 programs for air pollution, hazardous waste, underground storage tank, solid waste, pesticides, and toxic pollutants including developing air quality improvement plans, issuing and overseeing air and waste permits. His program area includes cleaning up underground storage tank pollution, overseeing pesticide use, developing U.S.-Mexico border environmental initiatives and developing toxic contaminant strategies targeted to help sensitive groups of people.
Lyle Estill
Lyle Estill is co-founder of Piedmont Biofuels Industrial, Pittsboro, NC. He manages finance, recruitment, real estate, facilities, construction, and sales for the company. Lyle is also active in policy discussions, lobbying efforts, education and outreach. Lyle is a passionate spokesman for Piedmont Biofuels at many events across North Carolina.
Neal Fann
Neal works as a human health benefits analyst in EPAs Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards where he manages the Environmental Benefits Mapping and Analysis Program (BenMAP) software program. EPA uses BenMAP to estimate the human health benefits of changes in ozone, PM2.5 and PM10; we hope to configure future versions of the model to assess the benefits of reductions in certain air toxics. Neal has a Masters in Public Policy and is currently using BenMAP to estimate the benefits of the proposed changes to the ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards.
Sarah Meginness Froman
Sarah is a policy advisor in EPAs Office of Transportation and Air Quality. She focuses on greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation opportunities in the freight sector as part of the SmartWay Transport Partnership. Prior to this position, she served as a Presidential Management Fellow at EPA where her activities included helping states identify NOx and PM emission reductions measures for mobile sources, developing guidance on corporate GHG accounting and reporting standards as part of the Climate Leaders program, and taking a detail to a state-level agency in Melbourne, Australia to assist companies with comprehensive GHG management strategies. She has previously worked on GHG management strategies at the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives, City of Boston, and International Energy Agency. Sarah holds a masters degree from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.
Denise Gerth
Denise Gerth has worked for the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards since 1982. From 1995 to the present, she has worked on implementation of both the 1-hour and 8-hour the ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Denise works with the State and Local Programs Group on issues related to the 8-hour ozone NAAQS.
Kimberly Green-Goldsborough
Kim is a new member to the Office of Environmental Policy Innovation (OEPI) Environmental Results Program (ERP) team. Throughout her 2 decade career at EPA Kim has worked in several capacities, most recently as Team Leader for the Collaborative Problem Solving and Communications Teams in OEPI. Prior to joining OEPI Kim served as Director for the Center for Pollutant and Source Guidance in the Office of Radiation and Indoor Air, and started her career at EPA writing technical regulations in the Office of Underground Storage Tanks.
Kims path to this eclectic portfolio of responsibilities includes graduating from the University of Pittsburg with a B.S. in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, working as an engineer with Westinghouse Corp., and completing an M.S. in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie-Mellon University. To infuse a little pizzazz into her 20+ year career at EPA, Kim is completing a Graduate Certificate Program at Buffalo State Colleges International Center for Studies in Creativity.
Shari Grossarth
Shari Grossarth has been at the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) National Center for Environmental Innovation since September 2004. Much of Shari's work in the National Center for Environmental Innovation has focused on innovations in permitting and regulation, and she has been involved in EPA's integrated permitting collaborative effort with the UK from it's development in early 2005. She also has experience working with NPDES permitting at both the federal and state level and has been involved in efforts to explore the role of sustainability in environmental policy. She co-authored a paper on sustainability at EPA that was recently published in the journal Ecological Engineering. Prior to EPA, Shari worked in environmental consulting with a focus on National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) assessment and documentation.
Benjamin H. Grumbles
Benjamin H. Grumbles was confirmed by the United States Senate on November 20, 2004, as Assistant Administrator for Water at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Prior to that Ben served as Deputy Assistant Administrator for Water and Acting Associate Administrator for Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations.
Before coming to EPA in 2002, Mr. Grumbles was Deputy Chief of Staff and Environmental Counsel for the Committee on Science in the U.S. House of Representatives. He also served for over 15 years in various capacities on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, including Senior Counsel for the Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee
From 1993 to 2004, he was an adjunct professor of law at the George Washington University Law School, teaching courses on the Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, Ocean Dumping Act, and Oil Pollution Act.
His degrees include a B.A., Wake Forest University; J.D., Emory University; and LL.M. in Environmental Law, from the George Washington University Law School.
Ben was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky. He lives in Arlington, Virginia, with his wife, Karen, their two water-loving kids, and a puppy named Toby Potomac.
Paul M. Gunning
Paul holds master degrees in environmental science and public administration and has over 15 years of experience in developing and implementing voluntary programs. Working in both the public and private sectors, he has focused his efforts on environmental program development and implementation with a special emphasis on government/industry partnerships. As Chief of EPAs Non-CO2 Programs Branch, Paul is responsible for the implementation of all US voluntary programs that promote profitable opportunities for reducing emissions of methane and high-global warming potential gases. The branch is also responsible for the implementation of the Administrations Methane to Markets Partnership. This international Partnership will reduce global methane emissions to enhance economic growth, promote energy security, improve the environment, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Paul holds an M.S. in Environmental Science from S.U.N.Y College of Environmental Science and Forestry, an MPA from Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University, and a B.A. in Environmental Science from Binghamton University.
Hank Habicht
F. Henry (Hank) Habicht II currently serves as Managing Partner of SAIL Venture Partners, a leading venture capital fund investing in leading-edge clean energy, water and related technologies. He is the Vice Chairman of the Global Environment and Technology Foundation (GETF). GETF is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit corporation that fosters innovation in environmental management and applications of clean technology that make business and environmental sense. He is a founding Principal of Capital E, LLC, and also serves as Commissioner on the National Commission on Energy Policy. Prior to joining GETF, Mr. Habicht was Senior Vice President of Safety-Kleen Corporation, a provider of industrial and recycling services to more than 400,000 businesses. He was Deputy Administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from 1989 to 1993. He also served as Assistant Attorney General of the U.S. Department of Justice under the Reagan Administration where he directed the Environment and Natural Resources Division. Mr. Habicht holds a J.D. from the University of Virginia and an A.B. (magna cum laude) from Princeton University. He serves on the Presidents Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations, the Chesapeake Bay Blue Ribbon Financing Panel and the U.S. Secretary of Energy Advisory Board. In addition, Mr. Habicht serves on numerous boards including WaterHealth International, Resolve, Inc., 3E Company, the Dow Chemical Corporate Environmental Advisory Council, and the Advisory Boards for the Princeton Environmental Institute and the National Pollution Prevention Roundtable.
R. Bruce Hammatt
Bruce Hammatt is currently serving as Administrator and Technical Advisor to the Louisiana Secretary of the Environment. His primary responsibilities at this time include managing the removal of all abandoned vehicles and vessels from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita; and reducing environmental impacts of the releases of organic compounds seen with the Hawk Infrared camera. He has a Master of Science in Wildlife Management from Louisiana State University.
Gretchen Hancock
Gretchen Hancock is Project Manager in GE's Corporate Environmental Programs. Ms. Hancock coordinates GE's progress on its ecomagination commitment associated with reducing greenhouse gas emissions from its operations. Ms. Hancock also drives simplification and Lean activities into EHS at GE. She has over 15 years of experience with various environmental management programs, and has particular expertise in climate change and environmental compliance. Ms. Hancock is a certified environmental compliance and management systems auditor. She holds a B.S. degree in Geology from Dickinson College.
Alan Hecht
Dr. Hecht is Director for Sustainable Development, Office of Research and Development, at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). On detail to the White House, from 2001 to 2003, he was Associate Director for Sustainable Development at the Council on Environmental Quality (20022003), Director of International Environmental Affairs for the National Security Council (20012002), and White House coordinator for the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development. At EPA From 1989 to 2001, he was the Deputy Assistant Administrator for International Activities and Acting Assistant Administrator for International Activities from 1992 to 1994. Before joining EPA, Dr. Hecht was Director of the National Climate Program at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (19811989) and Director of the Climate Dynamics Program at the National Science Foundation (19761981).
Dr. Hecht is Adjunct Professor of Government, College of William and Mary, faculty member, Prince of Wales Business and Environment Program, Cambridge University, External Advisor, Erb Institute, University of Michigan Center for Resilience, Ohio State University. In 1999, he received the US Presidents Rank Award for Meritorious Service the highest award given to career US civil servants. Dr. Hecht received his Ph.D. from Case Western Reserve University.
Kristina Heinemann
Kristina Heinemann joined the Environmental Protection Agency in 1989 ready for a desk job after nearly a decade of laboratory and seagoing research in biological oceanography and phytoplankton ecology. Kristina began in EPAs Policy Office and over the years has had the opportunity to work in a variety of programs on a range of issues. These have included program evaluation, community-based environmental protection and regulatory reinvention -- particularly focusing on alternative compliance strategies for public drinking water systems.
Kristina is now a part of EPAs National Center for Environmental Innovation where she has focused on alternative (and innovative) approaches to MACT compliance for pulp and paper facilities and most recently, on integrated permitting in the EU and UK. Kristina was part of the integrated permitting research team that traveled to the UK in July 2007 to observe IPPC permitting first hand.
Kristina has a Bachelors Degree in Biology from Carleton College (Northfield, MN) and a Masters in Public Administration from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University (NY, NY).
Brooke L. Hemming
Brooke L. Hemming has served as an assessment scientist in the US EPA ORD National Center for Environmental Assessment since 2002. Her contributions include assessment of the science concerning the role of particulate matter and tropospheric ozone in global climate change, for the US EPA Air Quality Criteria Documents for PM (2004) and Ozone (2006). Brooke's current responsibilities include primary authorship, as well as management of the preparation and peer review, of a report on the US EPA ORD assessment of the potential impacts of climate change on US regional air quality. Prior to joining the US EPA as a civil servant, Brooke completed 2 years as a post-doctoral scholar in the Environmental and Chemical Engineering Departments at the California Institute of Technology, followed by a 2 year fellowship with the American Association of the Advancement of Science, assigned to the US EPA Office of International Affairs. Brooke completed her undergraduate studies in Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, and her doctoral studies in physical and atmospheric chemistry at Stanford University.
Garth Hickle
Garth T. Hickle is the product stewardship team leader with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA). He has been with the MPCA since 1996 working on product stewardship for various products including packaging, electronics and carpet. Prior to the MPCA he worked as a lobbyist on energy and environmental issues and at the Minnesota State Senate. He sits on the board of directors for the Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE) and the board of advisors for the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT). He is an adjunct faculty member at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.
He was named a Bush Foundation Leadership Fellow in 2001 and a research grant from the American Scandinavian Foundation in 2003, both to pursue research on product policy in Western Europe. He holds a B.A. from the College of Wooster, an M.S.E.L. from Vermont Law School and an M.A. from Hamline University.
Tom Hicks
Tom Hicks joined the U.S. Green Building Council in November 2004 after a distinguished career at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Tom oversees the development and implementation of all LEED rating systems.
Prior to joining USGBC, Tom spent nine years at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a Senior Program Manager within the Energy Star for Buildings program. Tom was the principal architect and program manager of the Energy Star commercial building rating system, the nations largest and best-known energy efficiency initiative. Energy Star has been utilized to assess the energy performance of over 30,000 buildings totaling over 5 billion square feet of floor space nationally.
Prior to the EPA, Tom worked with the U.S. Navy, where he formed the energy efficiency program for the U.S. Navy Public Works Center in Washington. This program performed energy audits for over 15 million square feet of floor space and completed lighting retrofits and energy efficiency upgrades totaling more than $50 million in value.
Tom has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland. Currently, he is working toward his Masters degree in Engineering Management from the George Washington University.
Alex Hobbs
Alex Hobbs has more than 38 years of engineering experience in the areas of electric power generation and delivery, water and wastewater treatment, as well as production agriculture and food processing. As an in-house consultant for a major southeastern utility, he has led applied R&D programs to evaluate advanced power production technologies, combined heat and power applications and use of solar, wind and biomass based renewable resources. Currently he is Associate Director for Renewable Technologies for the NC Solar Center and is working on Combined Heat and Power projects, opportunity fuels and biomass feedstock assessments for NC as well as demonstrating the economic value of reduced emission technologies for producing biobased fuels, power and products.
Marc Imhoff
Dr. Marc Imhoff works at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center as the Project Scientist for the Terra satellite - one of the primary missions of NASA's Earth Observing System. Dr. Imhoff specializes in the use of remote sensing and computer modeling to study human interactions with the biosphere and climate through the alteration of bio-geochemical cycles. He has worked extensively in developing the means to measure the effects of urbanization on biodiversity, food security, and climate. Dr. Marc Imhoff began his career at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in 1980 working to transfer satellite remote sensing technology to natural resource applications. He was a science team member on the Shuttle Imaging Radar developing uses for radar imagery to map wetlands and malaria breeding habitats in the tropics and developed long wavelength radar systems to penetrate forest vegetation and measure biomass for carbon studies. He was a Principal Investigator in NASA's Carbon Cycle Science and Land Cover Land Use Change Program and co-chaired an international panel studying the use of radar remote sensing applications for the Kyoto Protocol. He has degrees from The Pennsylvania State University and a PhD. in Biological Sciences from Stanford University.
Al Innes
Al Innes has spent the past 12 years at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, leading efforts in alternative permitting, inspection, self-audit and assessment, environmental management systems, assistance, pollution prevention and performance-based programs. Before working for the State of Minnesota, Al co-founded a pollution prevention nonprofit in 1990, produced public affairs programming at Twin Cities Public Television from 1987-1990, and worked in production and wastewater monitoring at a Twin Cities electroplating firm from 1982-1987. Al earned a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Minnesota in 1982.
Rhea Jones
Rhea Jones is a Supervisory Environmental Protection Specialist with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS). Ms. Jones works in the Air Quality Policy Division, the division responsible for developing policies and strategies for integrated air quality management of criteria pollutant and hazardous air pollutant programs in coordination with other OAQPS divisions. Currently, Ms. Jones manages the Geographic Strategies Group, the group responsible for developing and implementing air quality management policies and strategies to address regional, national, and multi-national scale pollution problems. Ms. Jones has led and supported numerous activities that contribute to the mission of the Agency, including developing regulations to control toxic air pollutants, serving in detail assignments to the Office of the Assistant Administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation in Washington, D.C., and to the OAQPS Policy Analysis and Communications Staff; and various special assignments for OAQPS, including serving as the Black Employment Program Co-manager and Campus Liaison and Team Lead for the EPA/NC A&T Summer Intern Program. Ms. Jones is a graduate of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, with a Masters Degree in Civil Engineering, and a graduate of East Carolina University, with a BS Degree in Biology.
Matt Keene
Matt Keene is a social scientist working with the U.S. EPAs Evaluation Support Division. He currently researches evaluation practice and theory across environmental organizations and disciplines and applies that learning to enhancing the quality of EPA program evaluations. His past work has focused on improving the practices of the environmental community through evaluation, adaptive management, and collaborative learning and decision-making initiatives. Some highlights from his work include assessing the effectiveness of protected areas; designing and conducting socioeconomic surveys of resource users; developing market-based and spatial policy alternatives for fisheries; facilitating collaborative efforts to design measurable and adaptive marine protected area management plans; and preparing draft language for the California Marine Life Protection Act. Matts graduate work analyzed methods of evaluating protected areas and proposed an approach to measuring the success of the global system of marine protected areas. Matt has a Masters degree in Coastal Environmental Management from Duke University and a BS in Biology from Virginia Tech University.
Claude Kennard
Claude Kennard is CEO and President of Metal Alloy Reclaimers, Inc. (Metaloy). For more than 30 years, he has worked within the hydrocarbon industry and for the past 15 years guided Metaloys development of processes and technologies that reuse non-hazardous catalysts and by-products generated within the hydrocarbon industry, embracing the concept of Industrial Ecology.