An Evening with MEPA Director Deerin Babb-Brott

EBC Connecticut Chapter ProgramExtreme Weather and Climate Change Program Updates:Resiliency, Adaptation, and Mitigation

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Eversource Energy, Berlin, Connecticut

AGENDA

8:00 a.m.Welcome: John Figurelli, Chair, ECB Connecticut ChapterTeam Leader, Weston & Sampson

Introduction: Samuel Bell, Program Chair and ModeratorSenior Hazard Mitigation Specialist, GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc.

8:15 a.m.Climate Adaptation Challenges: Whats a community to do? Bruce Hyde, AICP, Center for Land Use Education and ResearchUniversity of Connecticut

8:35 a.m.NERFC Operations and Examining Recent Rainfall Trends in New England and Impacts on Flood Frequency Edward J. Capone, Service Coordination HydrologistNOAAs Northeast River Forecast Center (NERFC)

8:55 a.m. Adding Value to Mitigation and Resiliency Projects through Stakeholder Involvement and Public Outreach Jamie Caplan, Principal, Jamie Caplan Consulting LLC

9:15 a.m.Initiatives at the CT Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection / Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (DESPP/DEHMS) Emily Pysh, CFM, State Hazard Mitigation Officer, CT DESPP/DEMHS

9:35 a.m.SAFR Connecticut Connections: Connecticuts Application for the National Disaster Resilience Competition James ODonnell, Executive Director, Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation (CIRCA) Rebecca French, Ph.D., Director of Community Engagement, CIRCA

9:55 a.m.Networking Break

10:20 a.m.Shore Up CT: Connecticuts Shoreline Resilience Fund Emmeline Harrigan, AICP, CFM, Shore Up CT Program ManagerHousing Development Fund, Inc.

10:40 a.m.BGreen 2020 and Resilient Bridgeport: Lessons for a Prosperous and Low-Carbon Future from Connecticuts Most Populous City David Kooris, AICP, Director, Office of Planning and Economic Development, City of Bridgeport, CT

11:00 a.m.Panel DiscussionModerator: Samuel Bell, GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc.Panel Members: Jamie Caplan, Jamie Caplan Consulting LLC James ODonnell, CIRCA Emmeline Harrigan, AICP, CFM, Housing Development Fund, Inc. Bruce Hyde, AICP, University of Connecticut David Kooris, AICP, City of Bridgeport, CT Emily Pysh, CFM, CT DESPP

12:00 p.m.Adjourn

PROGRAM CHAIR

Samuel Bell, Senior Hazard Mitigation SpecialistGZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc.249 Vanderbilt Avenue, Norwood, MA 02062(781) 278-3847 // samuel.bell@gza.com

Sam Bell is a Senior Hazard Mitigation Specialist and supports GZA's clients with natural hazard and environmental planning, adaptation and mitigation, and community education and outreach. Sam has extensive experience providing technical assistance to New England States and municipalities on mitigation and disaster resiliency projects designed to protect critical facilities, public and private infrastructure, and residences in coastal and riverine environments.

Prior to joining GZA, Sam worked for FEMA and was responsible for FEMA mitigation and disaster resiliency technical assistance to coastal communities throughout New England. Sam administered grants designed to protect critical facilities, public and private infrastructure, natural resources, and historic districts in coastal and riverine environments. In Connecticut Sam has worked with many communities and the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP) and the Department Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) to identify strategies and flood mitigation solutions to protect residences and critical facilities from incurring future damages from future flooding. Sam has a Bachelor Environmental Design in Planning from the University of Colorado-Boulder and a Master of Arts in Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning from Tufts University.

SPEAKERS AND PANEL MEMBERSJamie Caplan, PrincipalJamie Caplan Consulting LLC351 Pleasant Street, Suite B #208, Northampton, MA 01060(413) 586-0867 // jamie@jamiecaplan.com

Ms. Caplan formed Jamie Caplan Consulting LLC in 1997, a certified Woman-Owned Business Enterprise based in Northampton, Massachusetts that provides comprehensive emergency management services. Effective communication, specifically joining diverse stakeholder groups for effective project management is at the heart of her work.

Ms. Caplan has written multiple FEMA approved Hazard mitigation plans for local governments, universities, tribal governments and the Territory of American Samoa. Ms. Caplan was the Project Manager for the South Central Regional Council of Governments multi-jurisdiction hazard mitigation plan for ten municipalities in Connecticut. The project approach included a vast public outreach strategy. Ms. Caplan was the lead author for the Southern Brooklyn Peninsula Reconstruction Plan developed as part of New York States NY Rising Community Reconstruction Program. This project included multiple large public workshops and stakeholder meetings.

For fifteen years, Ms. Caplan formed and managed Hazus User Groups nationwide for FEMA. She created FEMA 404, How to Create A Hazus User Group, a guide for forming multi-hazard Hazus User Groups. Ms. Caplan supported the user community through outreach materials, social media, teleconferences and podcasts and in-person conferences. Ms. Caplan owns and operates usehazus.com, a website developed in response to the needs of the Hazus user community and in support of FEMAs Hazus Program.

Edward J. Capone, Service Coordination HydrologistNOAA-National Weather Service, Northeast River Forecast Center445 Myles Standish Boulevard, Taunton, MA 02780(508) 824-5116 x258 // edward.capone@noaa.gov

Mr. Capone has a background in Civil-Environmental Engineering and Meteorology. He spent over 20 years in the private sector with hydrologic/hydraulic designs. Major work was completed on both domestic and international dam designs. International work on dams included setting up hydrologic/meteorologic stations for modeling and design of Large Dams in Africa/Indonesia.

Mr. Capone has spent the past 20 years employed by NOAA's National Weather Service where he has worked as a Hydrometeorologist, Senior Hydrologist, and currently Service Coordination Hydrologist (SCH). As SCH he leads State, Federal, and private Partner activities and Decision Support Services as well as forecasting services at the Northeast River Forecast Center.

Rebecca A. French, Ph.D., Director of Community EngagementConnecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation (CIRCA)UConn Avery Point Campus 108, Shennecossett Road, Groton, CT 06340(860) 405-9228 // Rebecca.French@uconn.edu

Rebecca is the Director of Community Engagement for the Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation (CIRCA). In this role, Rebecca works with a team of outreach and extension professionals from across the University of Connecticut to develop relationships with community leaders in at risk communities, state policy makers and relevant state, local and regional organizations to solicit their input into the work of the Institute and to ensure the dissemination of information developed by the CIRCA faculty and staff.

Previously Rebecca was a AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the Office of Research and Development on the staff of the Chief Innovation Officer. She led initiatives on using innovative tools from crowdsourcing and citizen science to ideation to prizes to address the impacts of climate change and to improve air quality in communities. Rebecca also spent a year in Congress as a Congressional Science Fellow, sponsored by the American Geophysical Union, in the Office of US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT). Rebecca served as a policy advisor to the Senator in the areas of energy, environment, and agriculture. Rebecca holds a Ph.D. in geosciences from Virginia Tech and an M.S. in soil science from Cornell University. She received her B.A. from Oberlin College in chemistry and environmental studies.

Emmeline Harrigan, AICP, CFM, Shore Up CT Program ManagerHousing Development Fund, Inc.940 Broad Street, Bridgeport, CT 06604(203) 910-2446 // eharrigan@hdf-ct.org

Emmeline Harrigan is the Program Manager for the Shore Up CT program and works for the Housing Development Fund (HDF) a non-profit lender. HDF is the Fund Manager for this Department of Housing funded loan program which provides financing to elevate residential and commercial properties in flood hazard areas in CT coastal municipalities. She has a background in municipal and regional planning in Southern California and Connecticut. Formerly as Milford, CTs Assistant City Planner and Floodplain Manager, she played a prominent role in floodplain management, mitigation planning, and the development review and recovery efforts following Storms Irene and Sandy.

Emmeline received her Masters in Urban Planning degree from UCLA and her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Sociology from Whittier College. She is a certified planner (AICP) and a certified floodplain manager (CFM) and currently serves as the Vice-Chair on the Board of the CT Association of Flood Managers.

Bruce Hyde, AICP, Land Use Educator/Land Use Academy DirectorCenter for Land Use Education and Research, University of ConnecticutMiddlesex Cooperative Extension Center, 1066 Saybrook Rd. BOX 70, Haddam, CT 06438(860) 345-5229 // bruce.hyde@uconn.edu

Bruce Hyde is a Land Use Educator with the University of Connecticut. He is responsible for coordinating the Land Use Academy, which provides training for local land use commissioners. Through the Climate Adaptation Academy, in partnership with CT Sea Grant, he coordinates training, workshops and educational outreach to assist communities with the challenges of climate change adaptation. In addition, he provides technical assistance to communities in a variety of areas including affordable housing, tax increment financing and land use regulation review.

He received a BS in Economics from Lehigh University and a MS in Natural Resource Planning from the University of Vermont. Mr. Hyde is an AICP certified planner with over 30 years experience as a regional and municipal planner and community development director in Vermont and a municipal planning and development director, zoning enforcement officer and planning consultant in Connecticut. He served as Chairman of the South Hero, Vermont Planning Commission. Prior to his UConn appointment, Mr. Hyde worked for an international consulting firm based in New Haven.

David Kooris, AICP, Director, Office of Planning and Economic DevelopmentCity of Bridgeport, CTCity Hall Annex, 999 Broad Street, Bridgeport, CT 06604(203) 576-7221 // david.kooris@bridgeportct.gov

David Kooris is the Director of the Office of Planning and Economic Development for Bridgeport. He manages eight divisions including Planning, Economic Development, Housing and Community Development, Anti-Blight, Neighborhood Revitalization, Land Use and Construction Review, Buildings, and Zoning. This role enables him to chart a long-range strategy for the citys revitalization grounded in its diverse neighborhoods, spur economic development in its downtown and commercial centers, and reposition thousands of acres of brownfields for sustainable redevelopment. Previously, Mr. Kooris was Vice President at Regional Plan Association. He managed the organizations Connecticut and Hudson Valley programs. He has worked globally on high-speed rail-oriented development, sustainability planning, and urban revitalization projects. Mr. Kooris is a lecturer at Yale Universitys Graduate School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and an elected official representing Stamfords 6th District Downtown on that citys Board of Representatives.

James ODonnellExecutive Director, Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation (CIRCA)Professor of Marine Sciences, University of ConnecticutUConn Avery Point Campus 108, Shennecossett Road, Groton, CT 06340(860) 405-9171 // james.odonnell@uconn.edu

Jim ODonnell is the Executive Director of the Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation, a joint initiative of the CT DEEP and UConn. He is responsible for coordination and leadership of the Institute. Prof. ODonnell is an expert in coastal physical oceanography and mathematical modeling, and for the last decade his research group has operated an extensive network of instruments in Long Island Sound to monitor water quality, circulation and waves. He is a member of the Connecticut Academy of Sciences.

Prof. ODonnell holds a B.S. in Applied Physics from Strathclyde University, Glasgow, Scotland, and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Oceanography from the University of Delaware. Prior to his appointment at UConn he we was a Post-Doctoral Fellow in Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at Cambridge University, England, and an Associate Consultant at Aeronautical Research Associates of Princeton.

Emily Pysh, CFM, State Hazard Mitigation OfficerCT Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP)25 Sigourney Street, 6th Floor, Hartford, CT 06106(860) 770-5442 // Emily.Pysh@ct.gov

Emily Pysh is the Connecticut State Hazard Mitigation Officer and works for the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection / Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (DEMHS). Emily started working at DEMHS in 2012 and prior to that served as the State Hazard Mitigation Officer in Rhode Island.

She serves on the States long term community recovery committee and on the State Agencies Fostering Resilience (SAFR) working group. Emily has a Bachelor of Science degree from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy.Environmental Business Council of New England, Inc.375 Harvard Street, Suite 2 // Brookline, MA 02446(617) 505-1818 // ebc@ebcne.org // @ebcne // www.ebcne.org