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Technical Sessions - October 2019

MORNING SESSION @ 11:00 AM

Topic: “Climate Change and the Civil Engineering Profession: Emerging Challenges, Opportunities & Practices”

Speakers: Daniel Kreeger

Daniel Kreeger is co-founder and executive director of the Association of Climate Change Officers (ACCO) and has a unique familiarity of climate change and sustainability initiatives being undertaken across the public and private sectors.  Dan has led ACCO’s programming efforts since 2008, as well as the establishment of its certification and training programs.  In 2017, Dan co-founded the nation's first state-run climate change institution, the Maryland Climate Leadership Academy.  Dan is a recognized expert on institutionalizing climate change into decision-making in the public and private sectors.

Over the years, Dan led ACCO's partnership with the White House Council on Environmental Quality to twice produce their flagship conference on sustainability in Federal agency operations, the GreenGov Symposium, and also served as a co-founding steering committee member for the consortium that jointly administered EPA's Climate Leadership Awards from 2012-2015.  He has also served as a reviewer for the IPCC 5th Assessment in 2014 and numerous Federal agency grant committees.  An accomplished business executive with more than 20 years of cross-functional experience in change management and enterprise business strategies across sectors, Dan focuses upon the human capital, economic and operational implications of environmental and public health issues. Dan serves on the Dean's Council of Advisors at the FIU College of Architecture and the Arts and frequently lectures at graduate and executive education programs nationwide.

AFTERNOON SESSION @ 1:00 PM

Topic: USACE 404 Permitting

Speakers: Michael Votaw

Michael Votaw is a Certified Wildlife Biologist and Professional Wetlands Scientist that has been with Freese and Nichols for the past 13 years.  Prior to that, he worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-Fort Worth District for four years as an Environmental Resources Specialist.  Since joining Freese and Nichols, Michael has become one of FNI’s lead environmental scientists working on watershed-scale Section 404 permitting projects, including the recently permitted Bois d’Arc Lake project.  His experience also includes conducting wetland delineations, wildlife habitat evaluations, and developing mitigation plans.