Event

Robert Varney

JPAC Chair

Considered one of the nation’s most experienced and respected environmental leaders, Robert Varney is a former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) New England Regional Administrator, who currently is President of Normandeau Associates, a science-based environmental firm with eighteen offices in 12 states. He was the longest-serving regional administrator and top environmental official in New England and is credited with instituting many innovative approaches and policy initiatives that have served as national models. Prior to EPA, Mr. Varney was one of the nation’s longest-serving state environmental commissioners, appointed by three Governors of both political parties.

Bob is nationally recognized for his efforts on global climate change; energy efficiency and renewables; homeland security and preparedness; clean air, clean water and safe drinking water; superfund and brownfields cleanup and redevelopment; environmental justice and healthy communities; restoration of rivers, lakes and coastal areas; strong and consistent enforcement and compliance assistance; strengthening partnerships; and improved agency management and performance.

Mr. Varney has chaired the Environmental Council of the States (ECOS), State/EPA Superfund Policy Forum, Federal Ozone Transport Commission (OTC), Governmental Advisory Committee to the US Representative to the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment, New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission and New England Governors Conference Environment Committee. He also was a member of EPA’s Environmental Justice Advisory Council and currently serves on the NH Board of Trustees for The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the CEC Joint Public Advisory Committee (US, Mexico, Canada). Bob is the recipient of numerous environmental awards such as the EPA Lifetime Achievement Award, NE Water Works Association’s John H. Chafee Award, Environmental Business Council of NE’s Paul Keough Award and the ECOS Founder’s Award.

Julian Portilla

Director, Masters Program in Mediation and Applied Conflict Studies, Woodbury Institute of Champlain College

Amparo Martínez Arroyo

Director General, Instituto Nacional de Ecología y Cambio Climático (INECC)

A biologist with bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the College of Science at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) and a doctorate in ecology (cum Laude) from the University of Barcelona in Spain, Amparo Martínez Arroyo is currently the general director of the National Institute of Ecology and Climate Change (Instituto Nacional de Ecología y Cambio Climático—INECC), a decentralized agency of Mexico’s Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales—Semarnat). Previously, she was director of the UNAM Atmospheric Science Center (2009–2013), where she launched the University Network of Atmospheric Observatories and where she continues as head researcher of the atmospheric aerosols study group.

Ms. Martínez Arroyo has been a pioneer in the study of atmosphere-biosphere interactions in aquatic ecosystems (continental, coastal and marine), specializing in processes including both photosynthesis (carbon dioxide capture and oxygen production) and the biogenic emission and capture of other climatically-active gases (dimethyl sulfide, methane). Her research work also addresses the effects of climate change on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, as well as their potential evolution scenarios in different climates and environmental conditions.

A specialist in the analysis of environmental problems, science-society relations and role of science in public policy, she has worked on the design and establishment of the National Clean Beaches Program, in addition to heading climate change issues on the Citizen Agenda for Science, Technology and Innovation, undertaken among several academic, scientific and legislative institutions throughout Mexico. She has also been involved in developing a scientific strategy to create networks of protected marine areas in North America in the context of climate change.
Amparo Martínez Arroyo has published numerous articles in international journals, media and technical reports, and has also coedited and coauthored several books.

David Angus

Moderator
JPAC member

Jorge Herrera

Centro de Investigacion y de Estudios Avanzados (Cinvestav), Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN) de México

Head researcher at the Center for Research and Advanced Studies at Instituto Politécnico Nacional (Cinvestav-IPN, Merida Unit), and a member of the National System of Researchers (Sistema Nacional de Investigadores—SNI), Jorge A. Herrera Silveira is a biology graduate of the Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara, with a master’s degree in marine biology from Cinvestav-IPN, Merida Unit, and a doctorate in biology from the University of Barcelona in Spain. He has also held research positions at the Coastal Ecology Institute at Louisiana State University, the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Zaragoza (IAMZ, part of the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies), the Department of Ecology at University of Barcelona, the OTS station in Costa Rica, Florida International University, and the University of Southwestern Louisiana (now University of Louisiana at Lafayette).

His key research topics have included the ecology of primary producers in coastal regions (phytoplankton, submerged aquatic vegetation and mangroves); biochemical cycles of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus in coastal aquatic ecosystems; coastal ecosystem health indicators (water quality, harmful algal blooms and eutrophication); ecological restoration of mangroves and submerged aquatic vegetation; climate change in coastal ecosystems (mangrove vulnerability to the increased mean sea level); carbon storage and flows in mangroves and marine grass (“blue carbon”); and the assessment of ecosystem services in coastal environments.

Having authored numerous articles published in peer-reviewed international scientific journals and in the media, Mr. Herrera Silveira is currently coordinator of the Yucatan Peninsula Coastal Ecosystems Group (Grupo Ecopey) of the Mexican Long-Term Ecological Studies Network (Red Mexicana de Estudios Ecológicos de Largo Plazo—Red Mex-LTER); co-lead of aquatic ecosystems for the Mexican Carbon Program (Programa Mexicano Carbono—PMC); member of Mexico’s National Wetlands Committee; and expert in mangrove restoration for the Ibero-American Ecological Restoration Network, and member of the US-Mexico binational group on carbon flows and storage.

Patrick Megonigal

Senior Scientist & Deputy Director
Smithsonian Environmental Research Center

With degrees from Old Dominion University and a PhD from Duke University, Pat Megonigal is a senior scientist and deputy director at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center with research interests in carbon and greenhouse gas cycling in wetlands and forests, particularly as they relate to global change. He has authored over 90 peer-reviewed publications. Dr. Megonigal is the curator of the traveling exhibit, Dig It! The Secrets of Soils, a Fellow of the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA), and a recipient of a SSSA Presidential Citation, the Smithsonian Institution Secretary’s Research Prize, the Renewable Natural Resources Foundation’s Outstanding Achievement Award, and the Soil and Water Conservation Society’s Merit Award.

Steve Emmett-Mattox

Senior Director of Strategic Planning and Programs
Restore America’s Estuaries

Steve Emmett-Mattox has more than twenty-five years of experience in environmental protection and conservation, including developing strategic initiatives for Restore America’s Estuaries for 14 years and leading the national blue carbon program since 2009. He also managed the technical team that wrote the Wetland Restoration and Conservation (WRC) requirements for the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), and co-authored the draft Tidal Wetland and Seagrass Restoration Methodology for greenhouse gas (GHG) offsets.

Tom Wirth

GHG Coordinator
AFOLU, US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)

Tom Wirth has worked for the US Environmental Protection Agency for 18 years. He currently oversees the development of the agriculture and forestry sections of the Inventory of US Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks, which is submitted annually to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). He focuses on domestic and international project-level greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation options from agriculture and has worked in numerous developing countries to assist them in compiling GHG emission inventories for the agriculture and forestry sectors as part of their commitment under the UNFCCC. He has also served as a lead author on several reports released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), including the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories and most recently as a coordinating lead author for the 2013 Supplement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National GHG Inventories: Wetlands. Mr. Wirth received a BS in natural resources planning from Humboldt State University.

Gail Chmura

Associate Professor, Centre for Climate and Global Change Research, McGill University

Gail Chmura is an associate professor in the Geography Department at McGill University in Montreal, past director of Quebec’s Global Environment and Climate Change Centre, and presently president of the Atlantic Canada Coastal and Estuarine Science Society. She began her coastal career working for the Rhode Island Coastal Zone Management Council. Since then she has conducted research on tidal wetlands along both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, and over a wide range of latitudes from Hudson Bay to the Gulf of Mexico. As a Fulbright Scholar she conducted research at the Netherlands Institute for Sea Research; through a US National Research Council fellowship, she conducted research at the US EPA National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Atlantic Ecology Division; and as a National Sea Grant Fellow, she served as a legislative aide to the US House of Representatives Subcommittee on Fisheries and Wildlife Conservation and the Environment.

Ms. Chmura was a lead author of the Coastal Wetlands chapter of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) publication, Guidelines on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories: Wetlands. She has published over 60 articles and book chapters covering such topics as tidal marsh response to sea level change, impacts of climate change and human perturbations on coastal ecosystems, and ecosystem services of natural and recovering salt marshes. Her present research is largely focused on blue carbon, with projects on assessment of soil carbon stocks and rates as well as greenhouse gas fluxes in salt marshes. She holds degrees from Louisiana State University (PhD in marine sciences), the University of Rhode Island (MS in plant and soil science) and the University of Massachusetts (BS in wildlife biology).

Israel Amezcua

Deputy Director of Climate Change
Pronatura Sur, A.C.

As the deputy director of the Climate Change Program at Pronatura Sur, A.C., Israel Amezcua has over 14 years of experience working collaboratively with government agencies, NGOs, and communities on resolving environmental problems through both voluntary measures and policy solutions in southern Mexico. He has presented on strategies to measure emission reductions, voluntary markets, and standards for mangroves and other forests in Mexico.

Since 2011, he has led the Mangrove Corridor and Climate Change Initiative in southern Mexico. Its objective is to restore a corridor of mangroves along the Pacific southern coast of Mexico to sequester carbon effectively and efficiently, while improving the lives and livelihoods of people subsisting on the resources and services provided by the mangrove ecosystem.

Christine Hodgson

Project Watershed and North Island College

Christine Hodgson is the lead scientist for the Blue Carbon project funded by the CEC’s North American Partnership for Environmental Community Action (NAPECA) and being conducted by Project Watershed, a local NGO dedicated to environmental protection and restoration of the Comox Valley watersheds and adjacent estuary. She is also an educator at North Island College, teaching first- and second-year biology courses and is current chair of the department of mathematics and science.

The Blue Carbon research project aims to quantify the amount of carbon stored in the sediments below eelgrass and salt marsh beds in the K’omoks Estuary. The ultimate goal is to develop a protocol suitable for other community groups to assess the amounts of stored carbon and rates of carbon sequestration in estuarine habitats.

Ms. Hodgson has worked as a researcher on scallop hatchery and cultivation techniques, provided assistance to prospective shellfish and marine plant farmers in the province of British Columbia, and designed research and assessment projects related to shellfish and marine plant abundance.

Keeley O’Connell

Senior Project Manager
EarthCorps

Keeley O’Connell is the senior project manager at EarthCorps. She develops and implements nearshore ecological restoration actions throughout Puget Sound. Since 2012, Ms O’Connell has been the project manager for the Snohomish estuary Coastal Blue Carbon study. Most recently, her role has focused on regional organization, fundraising, and communications to establish a Puget Sound Blue Carbon Working Group. Her expertise lies in project scoping, development, and management in partnership with nongovernmental organizations, governmental agencies, schools and universities, and tribal communities. Ms O’Connell is passionate about sharing the world of estuary conservation and restoration with the public, and has co-founded Friends of Edmonds Marsh in her hometown in Washington State. She is also a member of the Snohomish County Marine Resources Committee, an advisory committee to County Council on marine-related affairs. She is a member of the Society for Ecological Restoration, the Society of Wetland Scientists, and Restore America’s Estuaries.

Ms O’Connell received her BS in biology in 1999 from the University of Arkansas and her MS in marine and estuarine science in 2002 from Western Washington University.

Bárbara Hernández

Moderator
JPAC member

Bárbara Hernández Ramírez is a graduate in economics from Mexico’s Universidad Anáhuac with minors in political analysis and the history of Mexico.

In addition to her career as a businesswoman in the cosmetics industry and hotel and restaurant sector, Ms. Hernández Ramírez has engaged in significant work as an environmentalist, fostering environmental sustainability and financial approaches in the numerous projects and organizations she supports.

She is board chairperson of the Fundación Pedro y Elena Hernández, devoted to nature conservation and community development in different places in Mexico, especially in Valle de Bravo, northern Veracruz, and the Yucatán peninsula; Fondo para la Comunicación y la Educación Ambiental and Niños y Crías, which was able to restore the Caribbean pink flamingo to the point it could be removed from the endangered species list. She also chairs the Technical Committee of Protected Natural Areas and Yucatán Aquifer Fund; sits on the board of RARE Conservation, an international organization specializing in environmental education and conservation; is a board member of Unión de Empresarios para la Tecnología en la Educación; and is a member of the boards of directors of the Climate Institute in Washington, DC, and Fondo Pro Cuenca Valle de Bravo. She is also a member of the Veracruz Environmental Fund and the Gulf of Mexico Fund.

Amy Chester

Managing Director
Rebuild by Design

Amy Chester is the managing director for Rebuild by Design, a design initiative of the Hurricane Sandy Task Force and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that culminated in $930 million being awarded to six projects to address structural and social vulnerabilities uncovered by Superstorm Sandy. She is responsible for the day-to-day operations, management, fundraising, and strategy of Rebuild by Design. Ms Chester brings considerable experience in community engagement, policy, communications and real estate development to advocate for the urban environment. Previously, she worked for the administration of Mayor Michael Bloomberg (New York City) as Chief of Staff to the Deputy Mayor for Legislative Affairs and as a senior policy advisor, responsible for the engagement strategy and public vision of PlaNYC.

Porfirio Álvarez Torres

Lead Investigator
Instituto Politécnico Nacional

Porfirio Álvarez Torres’ research interests focus on fisheries science and marine policy.

Born in Mexico City, a hydrobiologist from the Metropolitan Autonomous University with a doctorate in fisheries science from the Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, Mr. Álvarez Torres has been a professor and researcher at various academic institutions, including the Autonomous Metropolitan University, the National Polytechnic Institute, and the National Autonomous University of Mexico. He has directed numerous projects within Mexico’s federal agencies dealing with marine resources, aquaculture, conservation of biodiversity, invasive species, coastal marine spatial planning, and oceans policies. He led the development of Mexico’s policies for oceans and coordinated the Mexico-US Gulf of Mexico Large Marine Ecosystem Project. Mr. Álvarez Torres was appointed as an advisor to Mexico’s permanent representation at the UN and has represented Mexico at several multilateral forums devoted to oceans. He received the SANKEI award in Japan (1989) and the EPA Gulf Guardian Award (2013) and is currently serving as advisor to the Secretary for Research and Postgraduate Studies at the National Polytechnic Institute and as executive secretary of the Consortium of Marine Research Institutions in the Gulf of Mexico (CiiMAR-GoM).

Jean-Pierre Savard

Oceanographer, Project Scientific Coordinator
Ouranos

Jean-Pierre Savard is an oceanographer. He completed a BSc in Geology at Université de Montréal in 1974 and an MSc in oceanography at McGill University in 1981. He has led and completed over 150 research projects as a private consultant and for various national and international consulting firms. In 2004, he joined Ouranos, a research consortium on climate change, where he is science coordinator for maritime and coastal research in Northern Québec and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. As such, he has coordinated a number of studies on vulnerabilities, impacts and adaptation to climate change in the maritime environment. Work by Ouranos and its research partners has helped to develop innovative, participatory methodologies in working with coastal communities of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and to improve knowledge about storms, surges, waves, ice, and other shoreline processes affected by climate change. Since 2009, he has taken part in and frequently coordinated studies in Nunavik in partnership with the Ministry of Transport of Québec in order to assess the vulnerability of Québec’s maritime infrastructure along the shores of Hudson Bay and Hudson Strait.

Paul Cough

Director, Oceans and Coastal Protection Division, Office of Wetlands
Oceans and Watersheds, USEPA

Paul Cough is the director of the Oceans and Coastal Protection Division of EPA. He manages EPA’s National Estuary Program and Ocean Dumping Program, as well as initiatives to prevent pollution from vessels, achieve trash-free waters, address coastal acidification, adapt to climate change, and protect coral reefs. He served on EPA’s emergency response teams for the Gulf Oil Spill and Hurricane Katrina, and led the development of an energy strategy for EPA’s Region 8 (Rocky Mountains and Plains). Mr. Cough previously directed EPA’s Office of International Environmental Policy, where he managed the agency’s work with OECD, the G8, CEC, UNEP, the World Bank, and NATO, and helped to develop international agreements on toxic pollutants, marine pollution, and free trade. Before joining EPA, he worked for 10 years on energy and/or forestry projects in Sudan, Kenya, Lesotho, Pakistan and Haiti. Mr. Cough has a BA in economics and an MS in urban & policy sciences, both from Stony Brook University (SUNY).

Tim Dillingham

Executive Director
American Littoral Society

Tim Dillingham is executive director of the American Littoral Society, a membership-based coastal conservation organization. His work there has led to expanded advocacy for restoration of coastal habitats and areas, new partnerships to promote community-based restoration projects, expansion of marine education programs in underserved communities, the launch of a “Spill Spotters” program to engage local communities in coastal stewardship and spill response, and renewed focus on the conservation and restoration of Jamaica Bay, New York city.

He serves as co-chair of the Advisory and Science and Technical Committees of the Barnegat Bay Partnership, and as past gubernatorial appointee to the Highlands Water Protection and Planning Council, the Blue Ribbon Panel on Offshore Wind Turbines, and on task forces studying the role of tidal wetlands in sequestering carbon. He was appointed to the Shorebird Advisory Committee of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, and was nominated as a member of the New Jersey Coastal and Ocean Protection Council.

Mr. Dillingham has a BS degree in biology, a graduate degree in marine affairs from the University of Rhode Island, and serves on the Boards of the Institute for Marine and Coastal Studies, Rutgers University, Restore America’s Estuaries (past Chair), the NJ Climate Change Adaptation Alliance, and the NJ League of Conservation Voters.

António M. Baptista

Director, Center for Coastal Margin Observation and Prediction
Oregon Health and Science University

António Baptista is a professor and the director of the Institute of Environmental Health at Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU). He is also the director of the National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center for Coastal Margin Observation and Prediction, a multi-institutional center led by OHSU with Oregon State University and the University of Washington as other major partners.

Mr. Baptista conducts interdisciplinary research on estuaries and coastal margins, using the Columbia River as a primary testbed to understand the role they play in local and global ecosystem services, ranging from filtering land inputs to the ocean to serving as nursery and migration habitats. He has been a pioneer in the application of high-resolution observational networks and multi-scale modeling to decision-making, management and operation of estuaries to characterize their current state and variability and anticipate future stresses from global climate change and changes in local economic development. He has been involved on several projects that applied science to real-world problems. In the Columbia River, he has worked with fisheries biologists responsible for the recovery of threatened and endangered salmon populations to predict or assess post-implementation the impacts of navigational improvements and hydropower operations. His collaborative research with government agencies in Oregon and Washington has also led to the publication of tsunami inundation maps that are used by coastal planners for hazard mitigation.

Robert Varney

JPAC Chair

Lindsay Brumwell

Moderator
JPAC member

Lindsay Brumwell works in the private sector in the area of organic and functional food industry. Previously, she was a Trade Specialist, Agri-Value, at Saskatchewan Trade & Export Partnership (STEP), which champions the Canadian province of Saskatchewan’s export industry and assists provincial businesses in realizing global marketing opportunities.Prior to joining STEP in July 2012, Ms. Brumwell spent five years working as the Trade Development Coordinator in the Business Development Unit at Port Metro Vancouver (PMV), which is the most diversified port in North America. It trades $172 billion in goods annually with more than 160 trading economies, generating across Canada an estimated 100,000 jobs, $6.1 billion in wages, and $9.7 billion in GDP.

Ms. Brumwell has worked in various roles and industries, including resource extraction and stakeholder engagement. She spent approximately two years working at the Organization of American States (OAS) in the Summits of the Americas Secretariat. Projects on which she worked included providing support to the multilateral negotiations processes and reporting structures in the lead-up to and during the Special Summit of the Americas in Monterrey, Mexico, in 2004.

Since August 2013, Ms. Brumwell has been the Canadian representative on the Joint Public Advisory Committee for the Canada-Chile Agreement on Environmental Cooperation. This agreement entered into force in 1997 at the same time as the Canada-Chile Free Trade Agreement.

Ms. Brumwell holds a bachelor of arts from the University of British Columbia (Latin American studies, minor in international relations), and a master’s diploma in international management (Latin America and Asia Pacific), from McRae Institute of International Management, Capilano University.

Christine Woodward

Samish Indian Nation

Christine Woodward is in her 13th year working with the Samish Indian Nation of Anacortes, Washington State, serving as Director of Natural Resources. The program addresses a wide range of tasks, including environmental assessments on tribal property; renewable energy and green development; water quality-monitoring programs; marine debris in the San Juan Islands; stream restoration, soft shore armoring and bank stabilization benefit the fish and shellfish resources; and educating the tribal council and the community to protect tribal natural resources. Her commitment is to integrate Samish cultural knowledge and collaborative conservation and restoration into tribal projects and decision making as the key to solving resource issues now and for the future.

Besides her position with the Samish Tribe, Ms. Woodward also sits on the governor’s Marine Resource Advisory Committee for Ocean Acidification, serves on the Clean Samish Initiative Executive team, chairs the Northwest Straits Commission, and is on the review board for the nonprofit Restore America’s Estuaries organization.

Duane Smith

ICC Canada President and ICC Vice-Chair
Inuit Circumpolar Council

Duane Smith was elected president of ICC Canada in June 2002, with which he has been involved since 1998. As president of ICC Canada, Mr. Smith also became vice-president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami.

Mr. Smith is a member and co-chair to the board of directors of ArcticNet. He was a member of the National Steering Committee for the Canadian International Polar Year (IPY) and co-led the IPY Circumpolar Flaw Lead System Study that coordinated and documented data on the Arctic through traditional knowledge and western science.
Born and raised in Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Mr. Smith has represented the Inuvialuit nationally and internationally for many years as a member and chair of the Inuvialuit Game Council on sustainable resource management and indigenous rights. He has also over 18 years’ experience with the region’s government in conservation and resource management.

Mr. Smith is a former co-chair of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) Arctic Sustainable Use and Livelihoods Specialist Group.

Mr. Smith continues his close attachment to the land and is a steadfast advocate for indigenous rights, their relationship to the environment, as well as for the traditional knowledge and insights indigenous people can provide.

In a 2013 ceremony, Mr. Smith received the Indspire Institute Award for his contributions in the realm of politics. He was also the recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.

Paolo Solano Tovar

Legal Officer

Robert Varney

JPAC Chair