Keynote Speakers
A Global Perspective on Sustainability
Charles McNeill
Manager, Environment Program Team, United Nations Development Programme
Charles McNeill is the manager of the Environment Program Team within the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and in that capacity he oversees the development and implementation of UNDP's Environment Global Program. This program is designed to support UNDP's strategic initiatives in the priority areas of water, agriculture and drylands management, biodiversity and ecosystem services, climate change, environmental governance, poverty-environment linkages, and community-based activities, and to benefit UNDP's more than 140 country offices around the world.
In addition, he manages UNDP's Biodiversity Conservation and Poverty Reduction program, as well as UNDP's participation in the Convention on Biological Diversity. He oversees UNDP's work on the Equator Initiative, a multi-partner effort to identify and disseminate information about, and build capacity for, successful community initiatives in the Equatorial belt to reduce poverty through the protection and wise use of biodiversity. Dr. McNeill is also responsible for the work of UNDP's environment group on 'Public-Private Partnerships.'
Before undertaking these responsibilities in 2001, as Coordinator of the Sustainable Energy and Environment Division's Center of Experimentation for three years, Dr. McNeill helped establish and build UNDP's first major environment program. From 1992 to 1996, Dr. McNeill worked with UNDP's Global Environment Facility (GEF) program, first by developing and managing UNDP's $50 million GEF program in Africa on biodiversity and climate change, and subsequently by leading UNDP's policy and strategic planning work for the GEF.
Prior to joining UNDP in 1991, Dr. McNeill worked in the non-governmental sector, focusing particularly on hunger eradication and sustainable development programs in South Asia and throughout Africa. After receiving his Ph.D. in Genetics from the University of California at Davis with a specialization in conservation biology and plant evolutionary and population ecology, Dr. McNeill held several academic posts addressing a range of environmental and development issues.
A Regional Perspective on Sustainability
Al Appleton
Senior Fellow, Regional Plan Association
Albert F. Appleton (Al Appleton) is a Senior Fellow at the City University of New York Institute for Urban Systems (CIUS) where he coordinates their programs on operationalizing sustainability and on creating new 21st century water resource and regional landscape management institutions and strategies. He is a former Senior Fellow at the Regional Plan Association (RPA) in New York City (America's oldest and most prestigious regional planning NGO), a member of the Katoomba Group (a worldwide network of experts on the use of market tools to address environmental problems), an officer of the China Planning and Development Institute of Beijing, and an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Hunter College graduate program in Urban Affairs and Planning, where he teaches The Environment and its Economics, and Sustainability and Urban Development, and a member of the Advisory Board of the Reason Foundation, a Libertarian think tank. He also serves as an international consultant on issues of watershed management, water utility management and financing, regional land use, demand side services strategies and on establishing payments for ecosystem services (PES) programs. His most recent work includes developing a new system of financing environmental infrastructure for the City of Shanghai water and sewer system, and assisting the implementation of ecosystem service programs in the Danube River Basin. In 2003, he chaired the EPA sponsored, RPA organized conference, "Transitioning the Region to Sustainability."
The Willow School: If Education is the Solution, What is the Problem? - Changing the Model
Mark Biedron
Co-Founder/Trustee, The Willow School, and President, Sustainable Growth Technologies, LLC
Mark Biedron has 30 years of experience in the field of environmentally safe products, starting in 1975 as the Vice-President of Con-Lux Coatings, Inc, a manufacturer of low-VOC (volatile organic compounds) paints and coatings. In 1997, he founded Solid Wood Construction, LLC, a general contracting company specializing in green construction. Together with his wife, Gretchen Johnson Biedron, he founded The Willow School in 2000, an independent, elementary, non-profit day school in Gladstone, New Jersey. The school uses the principles of sustainability and sense of place as "integrating concepts" for curriculum, community outreach, and campus ecology. The Willow School's first academic building received the United States Green Building Council LEED Gold Certification. In 2004, he founded Sustainable Growth Technologies, a green building and design consulting company.
Mr. Biedron is a member of the United States Green Building Council, and of the University of Vermont's Rubenstein School of Environmental and Natural Resources advisory board. He is also a trustee of The Cloud Institute for Sustainability Education in New York City, and the New Jersey Conservation Foundation. He is also a LEED Accredited Professional.
Panelists, Moderators, and Rapporteurs
Thomas Abdallah
Chief Environmental Engineer, New York City Transit
Thomas Abdallah is a Professional Engineer with almost 20 years of service with New York City Transit (NYCT). He received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Rutgers University in New Jersey. Since 1987, he has been in the Environmental Engineering Division of NYCT, where he started as an Assistant Engineer. Mr. Abdallah has experience with all areas of the environmental discipline including National Environmental Policy Act issues, waste management, air and water quality and, most recently, environmental management systems.
Mr. Abdallah is directly responsible for NYCT's ISO 14001 certified Environmental Management System, which includes commitments to prevent pollution, minimize waste, save natural resources, and continually improve NYCT's environmental performance.
Felicity Arengo
Associate Director, Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, American Museum of Natural History
Felicity Arengo is the Associate Director of the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation where she helps oversee strategic planning, project development, and fundraising efforts. She is also adjunct professor at Columbia University. Dr.Arengo has over 10 years of field research and project experience in Latin America and is currently the Western Hemisphere coordinator of the IUCN Flamingo Specialist Group. She received an M.Sc. in 1994 and a Ph.D. in Wildlife Ecology in 1997 from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. For her doctoral dissertation she studied Caribbean Flamingo behavior and ecology in Mexico. Currently she is working with South American colleagues on flamingo and wetland research and conservation in the high Andes. Prior to joining the CBC in December 2004, Dr. Arengo was the Assistant Director of the Latin America and Caribbean Program at the Wildlife Conservation Society.
Brent Baker
Chief Executive Officer, Tri-State Biodiesel LLC
Brent Baker is the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of New York City based Tri-State Biodiesel LLC. Baker is a biodiesel industry pioneer who has been promoting and producing biodiesel since the fuel emerged in the United States about 11 years ago. Mr. Baker, who has been referred to as a "Johnny Appleseed of the biofuels movement" by PBS News Hour host Jim Lehrer, is an environmental advocate who has been focused on various sustainability issues for the last 18 years and is recognized as a national expert and spokesperson on recycled oil biodiesel.
Prior to Tri-State Biodiesel, Mr. Baker founded and directed the non-profit environmental organization, Biotour.org, specializing in biofuels and sustainability education. Through his work at Biotour.org and Tri-State Biodiesel, he has educated thousands of Americans about biodiesel and has been the subject of numerous print, radio, and television news articles including the New York Times , National Public Radio, and PBS News Hour.
Under Mr. Baker's leadership, Tri-State Biodiesel has developed a top notch business plan for urban, recycled oil-produced biodiesel, and has built an extensive network of investors, technology providers, buyers, advocates, and other interested biodiesel stakeholders in order to ensure his company's success beginning with the construction of New York City's first and only biodiesel refinery.
Hilary Baum
President, Baum Forum/Public Market Partners and Coordinating Director, NYC Food Systems Network
Hilary Baum produces educational seminars, conferences, and special events focusing on critical issues in food and farming. She is president of Baum Forum/Public Market Partners, a not-for-profit corporation; and coordinating director (acting) of the New York City Food Systems Network, an emerging collaboration of agencies and individuals engaged in work that furthers access to wholesome, regional food. Ms. Baum has been involved in the development of farmers' and public markets, agricultural marketing programs, and community-supported agriculture, and is co-author of Public Markets and Community Revitalization.
Chris Benedict
Architect, Chris Benedict, R.A.
Chris Benedict is a licensed Architect in the states of New York, New Jersey, and Washington D.C. She is a graduate of the Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture at The Cooper Union in New York City. Before starting her own architectural firm in 1995 she managed retail, commercial and residential projects for four architectural firms in New York City. Chris has presented her projects nationally. Ms. Benedict teaches about energy efficiency and sustainable practices to architects, engineers, students, and contractors.
Chanda Bennett
Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, AMNH
Chanda Bennett-Gantt, who will obtain her doctorate from Columbia University this fall, is a molecular ecologist at the Institute for Comparative Genomics at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH). Ms. Bennett-Gantt's doctoral research focuses on the population genetics of the introduced small Indian mongoose in the Caribbean and Hawaiian islands. During her academic career, she has been dedicated to environmental-education outreach and has used her experiences as a scientist to serve as a mentor at various institutions both in the U.S. and abroad. Ms. Bennett-Gantt's ambition to formulate practical strategies aimed at fostering the recruitment of historically underrepresented groups in the fields of environmental and conservation science will be actualized during her postdoctoral fellowship at the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation (CBC) in conjunction with the Network of Conservation Educators and Practitioners at the AMNH.
Jaimie Cloud
Executive Director, Cloud Institute for Sustainability Education
Jaimie P. Cloud is the founder and president of The Cloud Institute for Sustainability Education (formerly the Sustainability Education Center), whose mission is to ensure the viability of sustainable communities by leveraging changes in K-12 School Systems to prepare young people for the shift toward a sustainable future. The Institute monitors the evolving thinking and skills of the most important champions of sustainability, and transforms them into educational materials and a pedagogical system that inspire young people to think about the world, their relationship to it, and their ability to influence it in an entirely new way.
Ms. Cloud teaches extensively, and writes and facilitates the collaborative development of numerous instructional units and programs designed to teach core courses across the disciplines through the lens of sustainability. Examples include Ecological Economics for Life, Introduction to Sustainability, Changing Consumption Patterns, Systems Thinking, Core Content and Habits of Mind of Education for Sustainability, and From Global Hunger to Sustainable Food Systems. Ms. Cloud serves as Chair of the Green Map System and Chair of the Center for the Study of Expertise in Teaching and Learning. Memberships include the Advisory Committee of The Buckminster Fuller Institute and the Sustainability Education Planning Committee for the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS).
Carter Craft
Director, Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance
Carter Craft is an urban planner specializing in transportation and waterfront issues. He is director of the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance and editor in chief of Waterwire.net. His leadership in the community includes: co-chair of the Citizens Advisory Committee of the New York-New Jersey Harbor Estuary Program; Chair of Greenmap System; board member the East River Apprentice shop; and member of the advisory board for the Center for Maritime Systems at Stevens Institute of Technology, the Maritime Technology Program at Kingsborough Community College, and the Hudson Home Advisory Committee at Liberty Science Center. He is a founder of Right of Way, the Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club, and the New Jersey Committee for the East Coast Greenway.
Mr. Carter frequently guides walking and bicycling tours, and guest lectures at a number of local colleges and universities including Baruch College, City University of New York, Columbia University, the Cooper Union, Hunter College, Long Island University, the New Jersey Institute of Technology, New York University, as well as numerous civic, business and community groups. He has been a guest speaker for diverse groups ranging from the Institute for Urban Design, the Waterfront Center, the Southwest Florida Marine Industries Association, the New York State Association of Transportation Engineers, and the International Association of Cities and Ports.
Tara DePorte
Program Director, Lower East Side Ecology Center
Tara DePorte has been the Program Director of the Lower East Side Ecology Center since 2001. Her accomplishments include the development and implementation of citywide environmental education programs and creation of the East River Park Environmental Learning Center. She also serves as the NYC Department of Sanitation Manhattan Compost Educator and founder and implementer of NYC's first Women in Science Day. Recently, Ms. DePorte took on the role of U.N. Liaison and Regional Coordinator of the Women's Global Green Action Network. For this role, current projects include the development and coordination of capacity building trainings for international women participating in United Nations-sanctioned environmental conferences, development of the organization guidelines, and representation of organizational needs/goals at United Nations conferences and meetings.
Meg Domroese
Outreach Program Manager, Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, American Museum of Natural History
Meg Domroese is Outreach Program Manager for the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation (CBC). In association with the CBC's field projects, she develops training materials and workshops on interpreting biodiversity for educators and natural resource managers. Her experiences prior to coming to the Museum include interning at the US Embassy in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, teaching English in Madagascar, and working in the Interpretive Division at Grand Canyon National Park. Ms. Domroese has a Master of Science degree with a concentration in international development and conservation from Michigan State University.
Eugenia Flatow
Chair of the Board, New York City Soil & Water Conservation District
Eugenia M. Flatow is an industrial engineer with over 50 years’ experience as a management consultant, business proprietor and citizen advocate to gain public participation in setting public policy on the management of land and water for environmental protection and restoration. She served for four years as Executive Deputy Secretary of State under Basil Paterson, and five years in the Lindsay Cabinet as Coordinator of Housing & Development, Administrator of Model Cities and consultant to the Chairman of City Planning.
She is presently a Trustee and Chair of the Environment Committee for the City Club of New York, Chair of the NYC Soil & Water Conservation District Board, Treasurer of the Friends of Gateway and Neighborhood Open Space Coalition, Secretary of the Parodneck Foundation, member of the Management Committee of the NY/NJ Harbor Estuary Program, Coordinator for the Coalition for the Bight, and Vice President of the Environmental Policy Forum. She serves on numerous advisory committees for water quality, environment-based planning for economic development and science-based decisions for long-term civic planning. An article of faith for her advocacy positions is the empowerment of community leadership and participatory planning.
Her consulting firm specialized in the design of urban systems to support community development, neighborhood revitalization and the environmental quality of life. Clients have included the Bowery Savings Bank, New York Urban Coalition, City of Atlanta Model Cities Program, Dean Witter, Johnson & Johnson, and Science Press.
James Gilmore
Regional Natural Resources Supervisor, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Jim Gilmore has thirty years experience in Natural Resources management, restoration, and assessment. He has been with DEC since 1986. Since 1994, he has served as the Natural Resources Supervisor for DEC Region 2 (New York City) and is responsible for the implementation of Fish & Wildlife, Marine Resources, and Lands & Forests programs in New York City. He directs the activities of all the Regional DEC natural resources staff that are involved with regulatory and enforcement, habitat restoration, land acquisition and management, urban fisheries, urban forestry, wildlife, wetlands, grant programs, Geographic Information System, and all State-related natural resources activities within the five boroughs. He also serves as the Emergency Response Coordinator for DEC in Region 2. In 1990, he established and headed the first Regional Marine Resources program for DEC in New York City. Prior to his tenure at DEC, Mr. Gilmore worked for eleven years at an international environmental-consulting firm involved with aquatic impact assessment, primarily from power-generation projects. He was involved with projects in over twenty-five U.S. States and several foreign nations. Mr. Gilmore holds Associate and Bachelors degrees in Biology (SUNY) and a Master's degree in Marine Sciences, with a focus on marine fisheries management, from the Marine Sciences Research Center at Stony Brook.
Mark Grennan
Area Conservationist, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), U.S. Department of Agriculture
Mark Grennan is currently the NRCS Area Conservationist for the Southeast Area of New York State which also encompasses New York City. He is the program manager for the Grassland Reserve Program and is in his 29 th year of service in the United States Department of Agriculture. Mr. Grennan has held positions of Soil Conservation Technician, Soil Conservationist, District Conservationist, in three locations, Resource Conservation and Development Coordinator and Area Conservationist. He has also acted as the Deputy State Conservationist and State Conservationist while stationed in Massachusetts. He has served on the National Training Committee along with several committees at the State level both in New York and Massachusetts. Mr. Grennan is a graduate of the Northeast Leadership Development program and has served on a detail to Massachusetts State Senator Peter Webber as an Agriculture and Natural Resources staffer working from the State House in Boston, Massachusetts.
George Haikalis
President, Institute for Rational Urban Mobility
George Haikalis is President of the Institute for Rational Urban Mobility, Inc. (IRUM) a not-for-profit research organization concerned with improving public transportation and reducing car use in dense urban areas. Haikalis is a civil engineer and a transportation planner with broad experience in research and analysis. Mr. Haikalis was with the Tri-State Regional Planning Commission for nineteen years where he served as Director or Research and with NYC Transit where he was Director of Revenue Budget and Fare Structure Analysis. More recently, he has served as a transportation consultant, assisting a wide variety of civic, environmental and community organizations.
Mr. Haikalis is founder and Chair of Auto-Free New York, now a unit of IRUM, that is concerned with advancing concepts for auto-free streets in Manhattan. IRUM hosts a number of citizen initiatives including vision42 - a plan to create an auto-free light rail boulevard on 42nd Street. He is also Chair of IRUM's Regional Rail Working Group, an informal coalition of rail advocates advancing plans to convert the NY-NJ-CT region's commuter rail lines into a Regional Rail network with frequent service and integrated fares.
Elizabeth A. Johnson
Metropolitan Biodiversity Program Manager, Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, American Museum of Natural History
Elizabeth Johnson joined the Museum staff in 1997 and is responsible for linking the scientific resources of the Museum to conservation issues region-wide. She has worked with colleagues from the Museum's Division of Invertebrate Zoology and the Central Park Conservancy to conduct a survey of the leaf-litter invertebrates in the Park's woodlands, which led to the discovery of a centipede species new to science. She is also coordinating a New York State biodiversity assessment project working with key conservation partners with whom she recently co-edited a book, Legacy: Conserving New York State's Biodiversity. She currently serves on the advisory boards of the New Jersey Natural Areas Council, the Alliance for New Jersey Environmental Education, the Metropolitan Forest Ecosystem Council and is a member of the New York State Biodiversity Research Institute science working group. Previously, she was Director of Science and Stewardship for The Nature Conservancy in New Jersey.
Rabi Kieber
Sustainability Coordinator, Environmental Protection Agency, Region 2
Rabi Kieber is currently the Sustainability Coordinator for the US EPA Region 2. In this capacity, she has developed several far-reaching programs to increase sustainable development throughout the region, including the Green Building Competition for New York City. This national competition, which is jointly sponsored by EPA Region 2 and the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, attracts professionals from around the country to present their innovative New York City green-building-design projects and ideas. Ms. Kieber is also working with the USDA Forest Service, Columbia University, the New York City Department of Health, and Department of Parks and Recreation on an innovative pilot project in East Harlem, designed to transform the landscape by increasing canopy cover, revitalizing community gardens, creating green 'cultural tourism' corridors, and assuring proper repair and maintenance of existing parks. She is working with Pace University to develop a green-roof research strategy, and with several universities in Puerto Rico to promote sustainability and smart growth. During her tenure at EPA, Ms. Kieber has provided numerous grants and technical assistance to communities throughout the region.
Prior to joining EPA, Ms. Kieber worked on programs to support at-risk communities at Catholic Charities in the Archdiocese of New York. She was a field coordinator for Africare in Niger, West Africa, where she developed and implemented numerous agricultural and forestry projects. She is also a former Peace Corps volunteer. She received her Masters in Public Administration from Columbia University and a Bachelor in Natural Resources Management from the University of Michigan. She is a member of the United States Green Building Council New York Chapter.
Hilary Kitasei
Environmental Consultant, Harlem Brownfields Opportunity Area Project
Hilary Kitasei is a writer and advocate for integrated transportation and open space planning. For the Harlem River Brownfield Opportunity Area project, she analyzed the potential for using green infrastructure to link upland neighborhoods of the Bronx to a waterfront greenway across the Major Deegan Expressway and MetroNorth railroad. A leading advocate for preserving America’s urban parkways as linear parks and multimodal corridors, she spearheaded the nomination of the Henry Hudson Parkway as a Scenic Byway, the first in New York City (www.henryhudsonparkway.org). She has been appointed to serve as public advocate on numerous government commissions, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture Advisory Board to Study the Effect of Ozone Depletion and the New York State Department of Agriculture Plant Industry Technical Advisory Board, and has managed citizen education grant projects ranging from Sustainable Agriculture and Suburban Markets to Scenic Byways and the Urban Landscape.
Michael Klemens
Founding Director and Senior Conservation Scientist, Metropolitan Conservation Alliance, Wildlife Conservation Society
Michael Klemens received his doctorate in conservation biology and ecology at the University of Kent in the United Kingdom. He received his BS (Education) and MS (Zoology) from the University of Connecticut. He is a Senior Conservationist at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and has been on the scientific staff of the American Museum of Natural History since 1979, where he was instrumental in the creation of the Museum's Center for Biodiversity and Conservation (CBC). His career is founded on almost three decades of herpetological research in the United States and Africa.
Dr. Klemens' research has led him to the conclusion that, in order to bring about tangible conservation results, scientific research cannot be conducted in a vacuum. Based on this conclusion, Dr. Klemens founded the (MCA), a WCS program to bridge the gap between conservation science and land-use planning. Through MCA, he has translated biological data and conservation concepts into planning tools that achieve better conservation at local and regional scales. Specifically, the MCA has created six multi-town conservation planning compacts, in Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey. These compacts seek to improve biodiversity conservation at the inter-municipal level by intelligently planning for the needs of both wildlife and people. This pioneering approach to balancing the needs of ecological and human communities has led to interest in Dr. Klemens' work both nationally and internationally.
Dr. Klemens has also authored numerous publications pertaining to the distribution and conservation of amphibians and reptiles, as well as papers on the effects of suburban sprawl on wildlife and ecosystems. His most recent book, Nature in Fragments: The Legacy of Sprawl, co-edited by Elizabeth Johnson, the CBC's Metropolitan Biodiversity Program Manager, is the definitive book on this subject to date. He strongly advocates that scientists have a responsibility to actively engage in conservation efforts and to this end, serves on local, regional, and national steering committees and technical advisory boards.
John Krieble
Director, Office of Sustainable Design, New York City Department of Design and Construction
John Krieble is a New York State registered architect who has worked for 26 years in the public and private sectors. He has served for the last six years as Director of the Office of Sustainable Design in the New York City Department of Design and Construction. This office, which is responsible for developing the agency's sustainable-design program, incorporates cost-effective sustainable strategies into DDC projects through a number of vehicles including procurement, contract requirements, research initiatives, grants, and training. Mr. Krieble has also been active on a number of interagency working groups charged with improving the City's construction practices from the standpoint of sustainability. Most recently, he has advised the Mayor's office on developing rules and reporting forms for the recently enacted Local Law 86/2005, which requires many city-funded projects to achieve a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating.
Prior to joining the City in 1997, he worked in several private firms including Robert Stern Architects; Ehrenkrantz and Eckstut, Architects; and Croxton Collaborative, Architects.
Judith LaBelle
President, Glynwood Center
Judith LaBelle is president of the Glynwood Center, which helps communities address change in ways that conserve local culture and natural resources, while strengthening economic well being. She has been actively involved in matters relating to the environment, land conservation, historic preservation and tax exempt organizations for more than 25 years. After several years as a member of the law firm of Berle Kass & Case in New York City, Ms. LaBelle served as Deputy Director and Counsel to the New York State Commission on the Adirondacks in the Twenty-First Century and as Corporate Counsel to the National Audubon Society before becoming the founding President of Glynwood Center. She also served as a member of the Metropolitan and Rural Strategies Task Force of The President's Council on Sustainable Development. She has served on the boards of several non-profit organizations including the Preservation League of New York State (which she served as Chairman for two terms), the Scenic Hudson Land Trust, the Hudson River Foundation for Science and Education, the New York Parks and Conservation Association, and the OMG Center for Collaborative Learning. She serves as an advisor to the Orton Family Foundation. Ms. LaBelle also served for several years as a gubernatorial appointee to the New York State Environmental Board. Ms. LaBelle has been a Loeb Fellow in Advanced Environmental Studies at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University and a Root-Tilden Fellow at the New York University School of Law, where she earned her Juris Doctor degree.
Elizabeth Lauck
Assistant Director, Marine Program, Wildlife Conservation Society (Bronx Zoo)
Liz Lauck is the Assistant Director of the Wildlife Conservation Society's Marine Program and is an expert in fisheries policy. At WCS, she helps manage a science-based conservation program that includes 14 major field projects being conducted in 12 countries. Her fisheries policy work has focused on improving the conservation status of tunas, swordfish, and sharks and on restoring populations of imperiled sturgeon and paddlefish.
Prior to joining WCS, Liz was a Fishery Manager with the Highly Migratory Species Management Division of the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service. In that position she led the team that developed the Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Tunas, Swordfish, and Sharks. She also served as a member of the National Bycatch Team, which was charged with developing a federal strategy to reduce fisheries bycatch.
Liz is a member of the U.S. Advisory Committee to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas. She is a 1996 recipient of the Dean John A. Knauss Sea Grant Fellowship.
Mary Leou
Director, Wallerstein Collaborative, New York University
Bio to come...
Paula Lukats
Manager, CSA in NYC Program, Just Food
Paula Lukats has held the position of CSA in NYC Program Manager at Just Food since May 2005. Originally from Ohio, she obtained her BS in economics and sociology in 1991 from the University of Notre Dame and, in 2005, her Masters in Social Work from Ohio State University. Recently she also earned a Certificate in Conservation Biology from the CERC Program at Columbia University. Paula has more than 10 years experience working in community and program development in New York City and has been involved in Community Supported Agriculture in the city since 2001.
Amy Lesen
Assistant Professor of Biology, Pratt Institute, Department of Math & Science
Amy Lesen is an ecologist and educator whose work focuses on the intersections between the sciences and humanities, sustainability and conservation, and the arts, design, and architecture. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Math and Science and in the Critical and Visual Studies Program at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, where she teaches courses such as the Ecology for Architects, the Biology of Color, the Ecology of Sustainability, and Eco-Metropolis. She received a Ph.D. in Integrative Biology from U.C. Berkeley and a B.S. in Marine Fisheries Biology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
Paul Mankiewicz
Executive Director, The Gaia Institute
Paul Mankiewicz received his doctoral degree from the City University of New York/New York Botanical Gardens Joint Program in Plant Sciences. Research interests have focused on the interaction of water, humic matter, nutrients, metals, and pollutant uptake in microcosms and mesocosms of plants, fungi, bacteria, as well as in soils, sediments, and artificial and defined media. Dr. Mankiewicz has had substantial experience with enhancing, restoring, and constructing wetland and terrestrial ecosystems. Beyond nearly twenty years of teaching and research experience at the City University, Columbia University, the New School University, and Pratt Institute, Dr. Mankiewicz has developed a number of fluid purification and measurement technologies, including inexpensive tensiometers for field and laboratory measurement of low-pressure hydrostatic forces in soils, peats, and communities of small plants. Dr. Mankiewicz has served as a consultant on issues of heavy metal and hydrocarbon contaminants, as well as erosion in urban soils, streams, and estuaries; and on the remediation and restoration of impacted ecological systems. A past president of the Torrey Botanical Society, the oldest such organization in the New World, Dr. Mankiewicz is a former chair of the Solid Waste Advisory Board of the Bronx, and Treasurer and Secretary of the Soil and Water Conservation District Board of New York City. He holds patents on composting technologies, a lightweight soil for green-roof construction, and recycled-glass products for stormwater treatment and habitat creation..
Luis Martinez
Air and Energy, Natural Resources Defense Council
Luis Martinez is an attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) energy program. His work focuses on state energy and climate policy, utility regulation, energy efficiency, and renewable energy programs. Prior to joining NRDC, Mr. Martinez was a special aid to the president of the Environmental Quality Board (EQB) in Puerto Rico. During his time at the EQB, he also served as legislative director for the agency and as special counsel for the Vieques and Culebra Island clean up. He is a member of the executive committee of the New York State Bar Association's Environmental Law Section and co-chair of the Environmental Justice Committee. He is a graduate of Tulane Law School and received a Bachelor's degree in environmental policy and behavior from the University of Michigan.
Erin McCreless
Assistant to the Director, Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, American Museum of Natural History
Erin McCreless organizes day-to-day logistics for Dr. Sterling and contributes research, writing, and editing for a variety of CBC projects, including the Living With Nature series, the Yellowstone to Yukon photography exhibit, and the Network of Conservation Educators and Practitioners. Erin graduated from Yale University in 2004 with a Bachelor of Science in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. She has conducted field research and studied conservation in western Virginia, Cape Cod, Hawaii, Costa Rica, and Cuba.
Paul McRandle
Senior Research Editor, The Green Guide
Paul McRandle is the Senior Research Editor at The Green Guide and has written on green consumer issues for Worldwatch, Grist, Mothering and other publications.
Ellen Pehek
Natural Resources Group, NYC Parks and Recreation
Ellen Pehek has served as Wildlife Biologist for the Natural Resources Group of New York City Parks and Recreation since 1998. She received her Ph.D. in ecology and evolution, with a specialization in aquatic community ecology and biology of rare species, from Rutgers University. She is involved in the design and implementation of research, restoration, and monitoring projects in New York City's woodlands and wetlands. Dr. Pehek is also responsible for proposing new research initiatives.
Before joining Parks, Dr. Pehek was an ecologist with The Nature Conservancy at their Delaware Bayshores Office. There she designed and performed surveys and experiments on wildlife and rare plants, supervised students and interns in survey work, trained staff and volunteers in survey and monitoring techniques, and led interpretative field trips. Dr. Pehek has served as a Wildlife Biologist for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Fish, Game, and Wildlife. Her work as a Resource Assistant took her to Texas, Arizona, and Oregon, where she conducted inventories and surveys of rare plant and animal species, researched management problems and implemented solutions, designed restoration plans, and wrote Environmental Assessments.
Don Riepe
Director, Northeast Region of the American Littoral Society
Don Riepe has been the Director of the American Littoral Society's Northeast Region for the past 25 years, and is now employed as the "Jamaica Bay Guardian." He recently retired from the National Park Service, where he worked as a naturalist and manager of the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in New York City. Currently, he serves as a board member for NYC Audubon and the NYC Sierra Club. Over the years, Mr. Riepe has written many articles on natural history subjects, and his photographs have been published in many journals including Scientific American, National Wildlife, Audubon, Defenders, Underwater Naturalist, Parade, and The New York Times. He has an M.S. in Natural Resources Management from the University of New Hampshire.
Anne-Marie Runfola
Education Coordinator, The Bronx River Alliance
As the Bronx River Alliance Education Coordinator, Anne-Marie Runfola works with schools and community organizations to enable them to use the river as an educational resource through programs such as the Bronx River Classroom and the Bronx River Stewards Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Program. Propelled by her long-term interest in education, Anne-Marie attained a B.S. in Organizational Communication, Learning and Design with a focus on Instructional Design and Instructional Media from Ithaca College, and an M.A. in Educational/Cognitive Psychology and Instructional Technology from Columbia University, Teachers College. At Teachers College, Anne-Marie explored how students visualize and understand complex systems in order to reason about them during the scientific inquiry process.
Prior to joining the Alliance in September 2003, Ms. Runfola worked as a junior- and senior-high school teacher and curriculum developer, and as an adult educator/instructional designer and education program manager. Among her volunteer experiences, she has served as Executive Committee Member and Fundraising Chair for the Sierra Club's Fox River Group (near Chicago) and was a member of the Fox River monitoring team. By joining the Alliance, Ms. Runfola has fused several of her passions: education, the environment and community empowerment.
Jennifer Stenzel joined the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation (CBC) staff as Publications Manager in November 2002, and is responsible for coordinating the production of a range of CBC printed materials, as well as content for the CBC website. She was previously Associate Director in the Museum's Development Department, where she worked with the Foundation and Government Support team. Ms. Stenzel began her career at the Natural Resources Defense Council, first as Public Information Officer in the Membership Department and later as Research Associate in the Urban Environment Program. Before coming to the Museum in 2000, Ms. Stenzel spent three years with the New York City Department of Design and Construction, where she co-authored sustainable building guidelines and worked to introduce "green building" practices into the design and construction of public buildings. Ms. Stenzel holds a B.A. in English from Hunter College and a Master's of Public Administration from New York University.
Eleanor Sterling
Director, Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, American Museum of Natural History (AMNH)
As Director of the Museum's Center for Biodiversity and Conservation (CBC), Eleanor Sterling oversees strategic planning and project development, leads fundraising efforts, and manages a multidisciplinary staff of over 25. In her capacity as a conservation biologist, Dr. Sterling studies biodiversity and the history of land use in Vietnam, leading to the publication in 2006 of Vietnam: A Natural History, co-authored with two colleagues at the CBC and published by Yale University Press. She is also the chair of the Palmyra Atoll Research Consortium and is working to document biodiversity on this remote atoll in the Pacific Ocean. She is especially interested in determining population densities and habitat use by sea turtles on the atoll to better plan for the conservation of turtle habitats and the overall management of the island. In 2000, Dr. Sterling spearheaded the establishment of the CBC's Network of Conservation Educators and Practitioners, which works to create and implement educational materials and teaching resources for biodiversity conservation at undergraduate, graduate, and professional levels around the world. Dr. Sterling has more than 20 years of field research experience in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, where she conducted surveys and censuses, as well as behavioral, ecological, and genetic studies of primates, whales, and other mammals. She is considered a world authority on the aye-aye, a nocturnal lemur found in Madagascar. For the last seven years, Dr. Sterling has served as an adjunct professor at Columbia University, where she now serves as the Director of Graduate Studies for the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology. Dr. Sterling sits on the Board of Governors of the Society for Conservation Biology, and is a member of the board and of the Management Committee of the Center for Environmental Research and Conservation (CERC). Dr. Sterling received a B.A. in psychobiology from Yale College in 1983 and M.Phil. and Ph.D. degrees in anthropology and forestry and environmental studies from Yale University in 1993. She joined the Museum in 1996 as the CBC's Program Director and was named Director of the CBC in 2000.
Carolyn Summers
Landscape Architect/Environmental Consultant, Metro Forest Council
Carolyn Summers began her career at the Trust for Public Land, producing a report on the Harbor Herons Project that has guided preservation efforts to create an urban wildlife refuge on Staten Island. She continued this work at New York City's Department of Environmental Protection as the agency's first Director of Natural Resources, which included implemention of a new native plants policy for all agency construction/restoration projects. Most recently, Ms. Summers initiated and directed the Harbor-Bight Project, to protect the region's coastal wildlife habitats, at the Natural Resources Defense Council. She currently works as a self-employed consultant on a variety of environmental issues.
Shino Tanikawa
District Manager, New York City Soil & Water Conservation District
Shino Tanikawa is the District Manager for the New York City Soil & Water Conservation District. She has a Master of Science degree in Marine Environmental Sciences from the Marine Sciences Research Center at Stony Brook University. As District Manager, she oversees the District's stewardship, environmental education, and soils programs. Among her achievements through the District, Ms. Tanikawa was involved with founding of the Bronx River Alliance, a highly successful community-based organization working to restore the Bronx River. She is also the President of the Metro Forest Council, a regional organization dedicated to preserving forests. In addition to her "day job," Shino is a volunteer science coordinator at PS3 in Manhattan, where she coordinates and conducts environmental education field trips, hosts professional development workshops, and teaches in the classrooms.
Harriet Taub
Executive Director, Materials for the Arts
Harriet Taub has served as the Director of Materials for the Arts (MFTA) since 2000. During her tenure, she has overseen the creation of Friends of Materials for the Arts (FOMA), a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to supporting the work of MFTA; she also serves as FOMA's Executive Director. Ms. Taub has implemented a series of programming initiatives, including Evening Shopping and Transportation, and created a vibrant education program consisting of a Summer Institute for educators and a year-long series of professional-development workshops in the area of Reuse Education. Under her leadership, MFTA has been recognized by the Broadway Theater Institute for service to the theater community and has received three Carnegie Corporation Awards. In 2005, MFTA received the Environmental Excellence award from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Prior to her appointment, Ms. Taub held the position of Education Administrator at MFTA, helping to implement the inter-city agreement between MFTA and the Department of Education. Working in the fashion industry for ten years, she was the founder and co-owner of Bumblewear, a children's clothing company, selling to stores across the U.S. Ms. Taub spent two years in London working in the film and television industry, and was co-producer of "Sosua", a documentary about a Jewish community in the Dominican Republic.
Betsy Ukeritis
Regional Environmental Educator, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Region 2
Betsy Ukeritis is the regional environmental educator for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's Region 2: New York City. She started the NYSDEC's New York City environmental education program almost four years ago. Ms. Ukeritis received a Bachelor of Science degree in Wildlife Ecology from the University of Maine in May 1999. She is a facilitator for Project WILD (Basic, Aquatic, Science & Civics, and Flying), Project WET, and Project Learning Tree. She is also a Certified Interpretive Guide through the National Association of Interpretation. She sits on the steering committee for the Environmental Education Advisory Council of NYC and is a member of the Bronx River Alliance's Education Team.
Joanna Underwood
Underwood Energy Associates: Planning for a Sustainable Future
Founder and Former President of INFORM, Inc.
Joanna D. Underwood founded and, for 31 years, served as President of INFORM, Inc., a national non-profit environmental research organization. During the last three decades, Ms. Underwood built INFORM into a prime force in assessing the impact of business practices, technologies and products on our environment and human health and in identifying and promoting ways to prevent waste and pollution at the source. Under her leadership, INFORM has won numerous awards including three from the US Environmental Protection Agency and from EPA Region 2.
In 2006, Ms. Underwood stepped aside to concentrate on one of the greatest sustainability challenges this country faces – ending the US addiction to oil-derived fuels in transportation and putting it on the path to the renewable and pollution-free fuels and advanced vehicles of the future. Based on her 15 years of guiding research on the she is currently advising public and private sector leaders on strategies for a sustainable future and speaking to university, environmental and business organizations on opportunities for innovation in transportation.
A graduate of Bryn Mawr College, Ms. Underwood, in l999, also received an honorary doctor of science degree from Wheaton College. She has participated in many business and government leadership forums, served on advisory boards for the US Department of Energy, participated during the Clinton Administration in the President’s Council on Sustainable Development, served as a board member of The Rocky Mountain Institute and was a member of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority from 1979 to 1999. Ms. Underwood currently serves on the Boards of the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation in New York City and the Clean Vehicle Education Foundation in Washington DC. In 2000, Ms. Underwood was chosen by The Earth Times as one of the world's 100 most influential voices in the global environmental movement.
