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Center for Environmental Policy 4400 Massachusetts Avenue NW Washington, DC 20016 United States

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Speakers

  1. Dr. Susan Anenberg
  2. Dr. Georges Benjamin
  3. Paul Billings
  4. Carol Browner
  5. Ann Carlson
  6. Dan Fiorino
  7. David Hawkins
  8. John Haynes
  9. Tim Johnson
  10. Tom Jorling
  11. Gina McCarthy
  12. Wayne Nastri
  13. Margo Oge
  14. Vickie Patton
  15. Bill Reilly
  16. Dr. Mary Rice
  17. Peggy Shepard
  18. Sarah Vogel
  19. Tommy Wells
  20. Vicky M. Wilkins
  21. Harold P. Wimmer

Dr. Susan Anenberg

Associate Professor, Environmental and Occupational Health and Global Health, George Washington University, School of Public Health

Dr. Susan Anenberg headshotSusan Anenberg is an Associate Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health and of Global Health at the George Washington University. She serves as the Director of the MPH Concentration in Global Environmental Health. Dr. Anenberg studies the health implications of air pollution and climate change, from local to global scales. Dr. Anenberg has been a Co-Founder and Partner at Environmental Health Analytics, LLC, the Deputy Managing Director for Recommendations at the U.S. Chemical Safety Board, an environmental scientist at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and a senior advisor for clean cookstove initiatives at the U.S. State Department. Her research has been published in top academic journals such as Science, Nature, and Lancet Planetary Health. She has also led or contributed to many science-policy reports on air quality and climate change published by U.S. EPA, World Bank, World Health Organization, United Nations Environment Programme, and others. While employed at the U.S. EPA, she served as lead author for health impact assessments for the 2011 Mercury and Air Toxics Standards and the 2014 review of the Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards. She received her B.A. in Biology, Environmental Science from Northwestern University, her M.S. in Environmental Science and Engineering from the University of North Carolina, and her Ph.D. in Environmental Science and Engineering, Environmental Policy, from the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health.

Dr. Georges Benjamin
Executive Director, American Public Health Association

Dr. Georges Benjamin headshotDr. Benjamin has been executive director of APHA since 2002, and is leading the Association’s push to make America the healthiest nation in one generation. He came to APHA from his position as secretary of the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Dr. Benjamin became secretary of health in Maryland in April 1999, following four years as its deputy secretary for public health services. As secretary, Dr. Benjamin supervised the expansion and improvement of the state’s Medicaid program. In April 2016, President Obama appointed Dr. Benjamin to the National Infrastructure Advisory Council, a council that advises the president on how best to assure the security of the nation's critical infrastructure. He is a graduate of the Illinois Institute of Technology and the University of Illinois College of Medicine. He is board-certified in internal medicine and a fellow of the American College of Physicians, a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, a fellow emeritus of the American College of Emergency Physicians and an honorary fellow of the Royal Society of Public Health. At APHA, Dr. Benjamin also serves as publisher of the nonprofit's monthly publication, The Nation's Health, the association's official newspaper, and the American Journal of Public Health, the profession’s premier scientific publication. He is the author of more than 100 scientific articles and book chapters.

Paul Billings
National Senior Vice President of Public Policy, American Lung Association

Paul Billings headshotPaul Billings is the National Senior Vice President of Public Policy for the American Lung Association. In this capacity, he oversees the Lung Association's asthma, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, healthy air and tobacco control advocacy program. During his tenure at the Lung Association, he has led federal advocacy campaigns that resulted in stricter regulations on tobacco products, growth in research funding, improved patient access to preventive services and cleanup of air pollution from motor vehicles and power plants. Paul Billings has worked for the American Lung Association for more than 25 years. Paul received his B.S. in History from Bates College. He currently lives in Silver Spring, MD.

Carol Browner
Former Administrator, EPA

Carol Browner headshotCarol Browner was an EPA Administrator appointed by President Bill Clinton in January 1993. As EPA Administrator, her mission was to protect public health and the environment by safeguarding the nation's air, water, and land from harmful pollution. She strongly believed in the philosophy that safeguarding the environment means protecting where we live and how we live. It means protecting the health of our families and communities. It means providing Americans with real everyday benefits - fresh air to breathe, clean water to drink, safe food to eat, land on which it is safe to live. Prior to her work at the EPA, she was Secretary of Florida's Department of Environmental Regulation, one of the nation's largest state environmental agencies. She won praise for dealing effectively with difficult issues involving wetland protection, hazardous waste disposal, and Everglades cleanup. From 1986 to 1988, Browner worked in Washington for then-Senator Lawton Chiles, the late Governor of Florida. She also served as Legislative Director for then-Senator Al Gore. She graduated from the University of Florida in 1977 and earned a degree from its law school.

Ann Carlson Shirley Shapiro Professor of Environmental Law; Faculty Director, Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, UCLA School of Law

Ann Carlson headshotAnn Carlson is the Shirley Shapiro Professor of Environmental Law and the Faculty Co-Director of the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at UCLA School of Law. She is a leading scholar of climate change and air pollution law and policy, the co-author of a top casebook on Environmental Law (with Dan Farber and William Boyd), and the co-editor, with Dallas Burtraw, of a book from Cambridge University Press, Lessons from the Clean Air Act: Building Durability and Flexibility into U.S. Climate and Energy Policy. She has published numerous articles in leading law reviews, including California, Harvard, Michigan, Northwestern, and UCLA. Carlson is currently serving as the Speaker of the California Assembly’s representative to the Independent Emissions Market Advisory Committee. She is the recipient of the UCLA Distinguished Teaching Award, the Eby Award for the Art of Teaching and the Rutter Award for Excellence in Teaching, and is the 2017 University of California Sustainability Champion. Carlson is a magna cum laude graduate of both UC Santa Barbara and Harvard Law School.

Dan Fiorino
Director, Center for Environmental Policy, American University School of Public Affairs

Dan Fiorino headshotDan Fiorino is the founding Director of the Center for Environmental Policy and Distinguished Executive in Residence in the School of Public Affairs at American University. A faculty member in the Department of Public Administration and Policy, he teaches environmental policy, energy and climate change, environmental sustainability, and public management. Dan is the author or co-author of seven books and over fifty articles and book chapters. His most recent books are A Good Life on a Finite Earth: The Political Economy of Green Growth (Oxford University Press, 2018), Can Democracy Handle Climate Change? (Polity Books, 2018), and Conceptual Innovation in Environmental Policy (with James Meadowcroft, MIT Press, 2017). MIT Press also published the second edition of Environmental Governance Reconsidered (with Robert F. Durant and Rosemary O’Leary) in 2017. In 2019, A Good Life on a Finite Earth won the Levine prize of the International Political Science Association for the best book in comparative public policy published in 2018. Prior to joining American University in 2009, Dan had a career at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Among his positions at EPA were the Associate Director of the Office of Policy Analysis, Director of the Waste and Chemicals Policy Division, Senior Advisor to the Assistant Administrator for Policy, and the Director of the National Environmental Performance Track. The Performance Track program was selected as one of the top 50 innovations in American government 2006 and recognized by Administrator Christine Todd Whitman with an EPA Silver Medal in 2002. In 1993, he received EPA’s Lee M. Thomas Award for Management Excellence. Dan received his B.A. in Political Science & Minor in Economics from Youngstown State University and received his PhD & M.A. in Political Science from Johns Hopkins University.

David Hawkins
Former Assistant Administrator, Air, Noise and Radiation, EPA

David HawkinsDavid Hawkins has been working for the NRDC since 1971. He has spent his entire career with the NRDC except for four years as an EPA Assistant Administrator under the Carter Administration. After working with EPA, David Hawkins came back to NRDC with a focus on getting an improved Clean Air Act reauthorized by Congress in 1990. Hawkins then served as director of NRDC’s Air & Energy program for 11 years until assuming directorship of the organization’s Climate Center in 2001. With expertise in advanced coal technologies and carbon dioxide capture and storage, Hawkins served as a member of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Climate Change Science Program Product Development Advisory Committee. He is a graduate of the Columbia University School of Law. He is based in NRDC’s New York office.

John Haynes Program Manager, Health and Air Quality Applications, Applied Sciences Program, NASA Earth Science Division

John Haynes headshotJohn Haynes serves as Program Manager for Health and Air Quality Applications in the Applied Sciences Program of the NASA Earth Science Division at Headquarters in Washington, DC. John entered NASA Headquarters in 2002 through the Presidential Management Fellowship (PMF) program. John completed two detail assignments during his fellowship (NOAA and the US House of Representatives). John converted to a civil service management position at NASA Headquarters in August 2004 upon graduation from the PMF program. John graduated from the University of South Alabama in 1999 with a B.S. in meteorology. In 2002, he graduated with an M.S. in meteorology from the University of Oklahoma. The first portion of his thesis work (“Analysis of Warm Season Morning Convection across the Southern Great Plains”) was published in the December 2003 edition of Weather and Forecasting. The second portion of his thesis work (“The Evolution of Morning Convective Systems over the U. S. Great Plains during the Warm Season. Part II: A Climatology and the Influence of Environmental Factors”) was published in the March 2008 edition of Monthly Weather Review. John has received several awards during his tenure at NASA including a NASA Aviation Safety and Security Program Award, two NASA Group Achievement Awards, a One NASA Award, and a 2017 Team Excellence Award. John has also been honored by his alma mater (the University of South Alabama) as an Exceptional Alumnus of the School of Meteorology.

Tim Johnson Director, Emerging Regulations and Technologies, Corning Environmental Technologies

Tim Johnson headshotTim is the Director of Emerging Regulations and Technologies for Corning Environmental Technologies, Corning Incorporated. He is responsible for tracking emerging mobile emissions regulations and technologies and helps develop strategic positioning via new products. He has worked with Corning for 25 years and has been in his current position for 15 years. Tim received the 2007 and 2009 Lloyd l. Withrow Distinguished Speaker Awards from the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), and in 2008 was awarded the Fellow membership grade by SAE. In addition, he received California’s Haagen-Smit Clean Air Award in 2009. Tim has just completed an extended term as a member of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Clean Air Act Advisory Committee and is a member of the EPA Mobile Source Technical Review Subcommittee. He currently serves as Co-Chairman of the Diesel Emission Control Committee at the Manufacturers of Emission Controls Association (MECA) and is a project merit reviewer for US Department of Energy. In the past, Tim served on the US EPA Clean Diesel Independent Review Panel and was co-chair for the US EPA’s Advisory Working Group on Diesel Emission Control Retrofits. He earned his B.S. and M.S. in Engineering from the University of Minnesota and earned his PhD from MIT.

Tom Jorling Former Congressional Aide; former Assistant Administrator, Office of Water and Hazardous Materials, EPA

Tom Jorling headshotTom Jorling served as Assistant Administrator for Water programs at EPA and subsequently, as the Commissioner of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation responsible for both environmental protection programs and fish and wildlife and state forest lands, including the Adirondack and Catskill parks. Prior to moving to EPA, he served as Minority Counsel (Republican) to the US Senate Committee on Public Works during the period 1968 and 1972 when the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act were enacted by Congress. Thomas was extremely instrumental in drafting the Clean Air Act. Additionally, at other times in his career he has been a professor and Director of the Center for Environmental Studies at Williams College, Vice-President for Environmental Affairs for the International Paper Company and Chief Executive Office of NEON, an NSF funded ecological observatory program. Thomas did his undergraduate studies at the university of Notre Dame. After earning a graduate degree in Forest Ecology at Washington State University, he attended Boston College Law School.

Gina McCarthy President and CEO, Natural Resources Defense Council; Former Administrator, EPA

Gina McCarthy headshotGina McCarthy was a United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator from July 2013 to January 2017. Originally appointed by President Obama in 2009 as Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation, McCarthy has been a leading advocate for common-sense strategies to protect public health and the environment. Before working for the EPA, Gina served as the Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection. During her 30+ year career, she has worked at both state and local levels on critical environmental issues and helped coordinate policies on economic growth, energy, transportation and the environment. She received a B.A. in Social Anthropology from the University of Massachusetts at Boston and a joint M.S. in Environmental Health Engineering and Planning and Policy from Tufts University. When not in DC, Gina lives in the Greater Boston area.

Wayne Nastri Executive Officer, South Coast Air Quality Management District

Wayne Nastri headshotWayne Nastri was unanimously appointed by the SCAQMD Governing Board as Executive Officer in December 2016, after serving as Acting Executive Officer since April 2016. Previously in his career, he served from Oct. 2001 through Jan. 2009 as U.S. EPA's Regional Administrator for Region 9 – Southwest Region, which has jurisdiction over California, Arizona, Nevada, Hawaii and the Pacific Islands. In that position, he was responsible for policy development and operations, exercising management oversight for nearly 1,000 employees and an annual budget exceeding $700 million. He worked closely with the public, industry, and all levels of government in a wide variety of voluntary pollution prevention programs and energy conservation efforts, including development of diesel emission reduction efforts through development and implementation of the West Coast Diesel Collaborative, in which SCAQMD actively participates. Mr. Nastri also focused Region 9 efforts on development of strategies to address emissions associated with ocean-going vessels and marine ports.

Before his federal position, he served as Governor's Appointee on the South Coast AQMD Governing Board from Aug. 1997 to Aug. 1998.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Nastri served on the site mitigation external advisory committee for Cal/EPA's Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), the zero-emission vehicle implementation advisory committee for the California Air Resources Board, and the site manager's advisory committee for the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA). He also served as the Legislative Director for the California Environmental Business Council.

In his earlier private sector experience, Mr. Nastri served as co-president of E4 Strategic Solutions, Inc., a consulting firm focused on negotiating mutually effective solutions for complex environmental & energy issues faced by regulatory authorities, elected officials, and executive management at local, state and federal levels. Earlier employments also include: Senior Vice President and Co-Chair of the Energy & Environment Practice of Capitol Management; Sr. Vice-President of Dutko Worldwide; President of Environmental Mediation, Inc.; and Vice President, Environmental Affairs of the Jefferson Group in Washington D.C.

Mr. Nastri holds a bachelor's degree in Biochemistry from the University of California, Irvine.

Margo Oge
Former Director, Office of Transportation and Air Quality, EPA

Margo OgeMargo Oge served the United States Environmental Protection Agency from 1980 to September 2012. She is widely recognized as having been a key architect of the EPA’s efforts to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. During her recent tenure as Director of the Office of Transportation and Air Quality, Margo led the EPA’s first ever national greenhouse gas emission standards for cars and heavy-duty trucks to double fuel efficiency by 2025, reduce GHG emissions by 50% and save consumer $1.7 trillion at the pump. In addition, she helped to establish the renewable fuels standard, which will significantly increase the volume of biofuels in our nation’s fuel supply. Margo earned her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, and a Master’s Degree in Engineering from the same university. In addition, she has attended George Washington University and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Vickie Patton General Counsel, Environmental Defense Fund

Vickie Patton headshotVickie Patton serves as Environmental Defense Fund's General Counsel and leads the organization’s U.S. Clean Air Program. For thirty years, she has worked with partners and allies to protect human health and the environment from air pollution. She has helped secure numerous key national and state protections addressing dangerous climate and air pollution, participated in a variety of cases enforcing and defending important air quality protections including successful cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and U.S. Courts of Appeals, testified before congressional and state legislative committees, and authored a variety of articles on air quality protection. Prior to joining Environmental Defense Fund, she served in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of General Counsel in Washington, D.C., where she worked on the historic 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments and received the Agency’s Gold Medal for Exceptional Service. Vickie has received a number of awards including the Air & Waste Management Association's Richard Beatty Mellon Environmental Stewardship Award, the Wirth Chair Award for Creative Collaborations in Sustainability, and the Healthy Community Award received from her local health department. Vickie serves on the Board of Directors of the Environmental Law Institute and was selected a Fellow of the American College of Environmental Lawyers.

Bill Reilly
Former Administrator, EPA

Bill Reilly was Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from 1989 to 1993, during which he led efforts to pass a new Clean Air Act and headed the U.S. delegation to the UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio in 1992. He has served four US Presidents: Presidents Nixon, George H.W. Bush, Clinton and Obama in various capacities. In addition to his service as EPA Administrator under President George H. W. Bush, from 1970-1972 he was a senior staff member at the White House Council on Environmental Quality, under President Nixon. President Clinton appointed Mr. Reilly as a founding Trustee of the Presidio Trust of San Francisco. President Obama appointed him co-chair of the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and the Future of Offshore Drilling, and in late 2012 to the President’s Global Development Council for which he headed the working group on climate smart food security. He served as president of World Wildlife Fund and later chairman of the board; president of The Conservation Foundation; and director of the Rockefeller Task Force on Land Use and Urban Growth. Mr. Reilly has chaired the Board of the Global Water Challenge and Climate Works Foundation. He serves on the Executive Committee of the U.S. Water Partnership and the board of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He holds a bachelor's degree from Yale University, a law degree from Harvard, and a master's degree in urban planning from Columbia University. Currently, Bill lives in San Francisco, California.

Dr. Mary Rice
Physician, Beth Israel Deconess Medical Center; Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Chair, Environmental Health Policy Committee, American Thoracic Society

Mary Rice headshotMary Rice, MD, MPH, is a pulmonary and critical care physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. As a physician, Dr. Rice cares for adults with respiratory diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive disease. She is the chair of the Environmental Health Policy Committee of the American Thoracic Society (ATS), through which she is involved in a number of initiatives to inform air quality standards at the national level. On behalf of the ATS, she has testified before Senate and House committees on the respiratory health effects of air pollution and climate change on multiple occasions. Her research focuses mainly on understanding the short- and long-term respiratory health effects of exposure to air pollution among children and adults. In 2016, Dr. Rice received the ATS David Bates award for her contributions to the field of environmental, occupational and population health. Dr. Rice serves as an editor of the section on environmental science and health of the Annals of the American Thoracic Society.

Peggy Shepard Co-Founder and Executive Director, WE ACT for Environmental Justice

Peggy Shephard headshotPeggy Shepard is the co-founder and executive director of WE ACT for Environmental Justice. Peggy has a long history of organizing and engaging Northern Manhattan residents in community-based planning and campaigns to address environmental protection and environmental health policy locally and nationally. With a combination of grassroots organizing, environmental advocacy, and environmental health community-based participatory research, Peggy has become a leader in advancing environmental policy and the perspective of environmental justice in urban communities to ensure a clean, healthy and sustainable environment for all. For her work, Peggy has received the Jane Jacobs Medal from the Rockefeller Foundation for Lifetime Achievement, the 10th Annual Heinz Award For the Environment, the Dean’s Distinguished Service Award from the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health, and Honorary Doctorates from Smith College and Lawrence University. Peggy received a B.A. in English from Howard University. She currently lives in New York City.

Sarah Vogel
Vice President, Health, EDF

Sarah Vogel headshotSarah is the Vice President for Health at the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). She joined EDF in 2012 and leads a team of scientists, attorneys and policy experts to protect health by reducing exposure to toxic chemicals and air pollution. Recent achievement of the program include: bipartisan passage of major reforms to the nation’s chemical safety law in 2016; and leadership commitments by Walmart to reduce its chemical footprint in 2013 and 2017.
 
The current portfolio of work that Sarah oversees includes: defend strong implementation of the Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act; working with leading companies to reduce the use of hazardous chemicals along the supply chain; reducing lead exposures from drinking water and food; and catalyzing the use of hyperlocal air pollution information to drive innovative policy solutions for clean air.
 
Sarah has written and spoken to diverse audiences and journalists about chemical policy and environmental health. She has authored numerous articles and the book Is It Safe: BPA and the Struggle to Define the Risks of Chemicals (University of California Press), which narrates episodes of political and scientific conflict over what makes a chemical safe.
 
She received a Ph.D. from Columbia University’s Center for the History and Ethics of Public Health and Medicine at the Mailman School of Public Health. She also holds a Master of Public Health and Master of Environmental Management from Yale University, and BA from the University of Virginia.

Tommy Wells
Director, Department of Energy & Environment, Distict of Columbia

Tommy Wells headshotTommy Wells is the Director of the District’s Department of Energy & Environment (DOEE). Appointed January 2015, he is chiefly responsible for protecting the environment and conserving the natural resources of the District of Columbia. Tommy’s team is comprised of approximately 300 environmental professionals collectively working to improve the quality of life for residents and the natural inhabitants of the Nation’s Capital.

Tommy previously served as a DC Councilmember, a position he held since 2006. During his time on Council, he garnered broad support for his efforts to make the District livable and walkable for all. In 2009, Tommy crafted The Anacostia River Clean Up and Protection Act of 2009, to implement $0.05 fee on disposable bags. This landmark legislation prompted thousands of District residents to curb use of plastic bags and instead opt for reusable, green alternatives. A passionate innovator and student of cutting edge solutions, Tommy earned his law degree from the Columbus School of Law at Catholic University in 1991 and a master’s degree in social work from the University of Minnesota in 1983.

Vicky M. Wilkins
Dean, School of Public Affairs, American University

Vicky Wilkins headshotVicky M. Wilkins is the Dean of the School of Public Affairs and Professor of Public Administration and Policy at American University. Her research interests include representative bureaucracy; bureaucratic discretion; gender and race issues; deservingness; political institutions and human resource management. Her research has appeared in the American Political Science Review, Public Administration Review, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Governance, Review of Public Personnel Administration, Administration & Society, Policy Studies Journal, and Legislative Studies Quarterly. Vicky earned her B.S. in Political Science and History from Northern Michigan University, her M.S. in Human Resource Management from Chapman University, and earned a PhD in Political Science from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Harold P. Wimmer
National President and CEO, American Lung Association

Harold Wimmer headshotHarold Wimmer has been working for American Lung Association since 1978, and he became National President and CEO in February 2013. Harold carries out the strategic framework and policies established by the national Volunteer Board of Directors and directs the executive operations of the Association to deliver high impact services and initiatives to improve the lung health of Americans and prevent lung disease. Prior to becoming the National President and CEO of the organization, Harold served in executive positions in the American Lung Association in Illinois and the American Lung Association of the Upper Midwest. Since earning a B.S. in Community Health and an M.S. in Health Administration & Policy from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, Harold has been an active member on the Applied Health Sciences Alumni Board. In 2008, Harold received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the university of Illinois, College of Applied Health Sciences. He currently lives in Chicago, IL.