Climate Change Preparedness in New Jersey:
Leading Practices & Policy Priorities

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Conference registration is currently sold-out. If you would like to be placed on a waiting list, please email a note to raimy.schutzman@rutgers.edu

Wednesday, May 22, 2013
7:45 AM to 5:00 PM
Cook Campus Center, Rutgers University

59 Biel Road, New Brunswick, NJ

Hosted by the New Jersey Climate Adaptation Alliance
The purpose of this conference is to highlight climate preparedness and resilience activities underway in New Jersey,as well as leading practices throughout the United States, in order to enhance climate change adaptation capacity in New Jersey.

To register, click here.
For directions and parking information, click here.

Agenda:

7:45–8:15: Registration and Continental Breakfast
8:30: Welcome
James H. Hughes, Dean, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy

• Anne Hoskins, Senior Vice President for Public Affairs and Sustainability, PSEG
• Honorable James J. Florio

8:45–9:30: New Jersey Insights
Introduction: Gary Sondermeyer, Vice President of Operations, Bayshore Recycling, Inc.

• State of New Jersey's Climate – Professor. Tony Broccoli, Rutgers University
• Results of Statewide Polling – Professor Michael Greenberg, Rutgers University

9:30–10:45: Leading Practices and Trends Nationally (Panel 1) – A national overview of leading practices, innovations and trends for climate change preparedness and resilience in the following sectors:

• Agriculture – William Hohenstein, Director, Climate Change Program Office, USDA
• Coastal Communities – Margaret Davidson, Director, NOAA Coastal Services Center
• Natural Resources – Bruce Stein, Director Climate Adaptation, National Wildlife Federation

Moderator: Nick DeNichilo, PE, President and CEO, Hatch Mott MacDonald

10:45–11:00: Break

11:00–12:30: Leading Practices and Trends Nationally (Panel 2) – A national overview of leading practices, innovations and trends for climate change preparedness and resilience in the following targeted sectors:

• Public Health – Michael A. McGeehin, Former Division Director, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Transportation – John Posey, Director, East–West Gateway Council of Governments
• Utilities – Sue Tierney, Managing Director, Environmental Analysis Group
• Water Resources – Paul Fleming, Manager Climate Resiliency Group Seattle Public Utilities and Chair,, Water Utility Climate Alliance

Moderator: Kathleen Ellis, Chief Operating Officer, New Jersey Natural Gas

12:30–1:45: Lunch
Robert M. Goodman, Executive Dean, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences

Reducing Risks to Vulnerable Populations
Introduction: Dr. Nicky Sheats, Thomas Edison State College

• Dr. Beverly Wright, Executive Director, Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, Dillard University

Overview of climate change adaptation activities in the United States at the state and federal level
Introduction: James Bach, Chief Operating Officer, The Louis Berger Group, Inc.

• Vicki Arroyo, Executive Director, Georgetown Climate Center

 

2:00–4:00: State of Climate Preparedness in New Jersey – Three concurrent panels of New Jersey speakers who will focus on climate change preparedness and resilience efforts in New Jersey.

Preparing for Climate Change in New Jersey: Preparing our Residents
Moderator: Chris Sturm, Senior Director of State Policy, New Jersey Future

• Public Health – George DiFerdinando Jr., MD, MPH, FACP, Director, NJ Center for Public Health Preparedness at University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey – School of Public Health
• Insurance – Megan Linkin, Ph.D., CCM, Natural Hazards Expert, Vice President Global Partnerships, Swiss Re America Holding Corporation
• Social Services – Robert Kley, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Mental Health Association in NJ
• Emergency Management – Bob Butkus, Domestic Preparedness Planner, Ocean County Sheriff's Department, Office of Emergency Management
• Water Resources – Dan VanAbs, Associate Research Professor, Rutgers University
• Underserved Communities – Roland Anglin, Director and Associate Research Professor, The Joseph C. Cornwall Center for Metropolitan Studies, Rutgers University

Preparing for Climate Change in New Jersey: Preparing our Infrastructure
Moderator: Jeff Perlman, North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority

• Coastal and Inland Flooding – Mark Mauriello, New Jersey Association for Floodplain Management
• Transportation and Planning – Jon Carnegie, AICP/PP, Executive Director, Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center, Rutgers University
• Water Utilities – Dennis Doll, President & Chief Executive Officer, Middlesex Water Company
• Energy Utilities – Kim Hanemann, Vice President for Transmission, PSEG
• Natural Resource Restoration – Patty Doerr, Director of Coastal and Marine Programs, The Nature Conservancy of New Jersey
• Lands Management and Stewardship – Michael Catania, Executive Director, Duke Farms Foundation

Preparing for Climate Change in New Jersey: Preparing Our Communities
Moderator: Jennifer Gonzalez, Environmental Planner, County of Passaic Department of Planning & Economic Development

• Community Engagement – Randy Solomon, Co–Director, The Sustainability Institute at The College of New Jersey
• Coastal Communities – Tim Dillingham, Executive Director, American Littoral Society
• Urban Communities – Ana Baptista, Ph.D., Environmental & Planning Projects Director, Ironbound Community Corporation
• Agricultural Communities – Mark Robson, Dean of Agricultural and Urban Programs, Professor of Entomology, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Rutgers University
• Community and Regional Planning – Lucy Vandenberg, Executive Director, PlanSmart NJ
• Community–based Tools – Lisa Auermuller, Watershed Coordinator, Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve

4:00–5:00: Reception

This is a working agenda: it is subject to change prior to the conference date.

NJCAA appreciates the support and assistance of our partners:

Honorable Thomas H. Kean
Honorable James J. Florio
American Littoral Society
Association of Environmental Authorities of New Jersey
Bayshore Recycling
Clean Air – Cool Planet
County of Passaic; Dept. of Planning & Economic Development
Edgewood Properties
Ferriero Engineering, Inc.
David Henry
Ironbound Community Corporation
Isles, Inc.
John S. Watson Institute for Public Policy, Thomas Edison State College
New Jersey Association of County and City Health Officials
New Jersey Audubon
NJ Center for Public Health Preparedness at UMDNJ
New Jersey Conservation Foundation
New Jersey Future
NJM Insurance Group
New Jersey State Chamber of Commerce
North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority
Norz Hill Farm & Market
PlanSmart New Jersey
Paul Pogorzelski
Regional Plan Association
The Sustainability Institute at The College of New Jersey
Swiss Reinsurance American Holding Corp.
Terhune Orchards