our symposium Speakers
Persons are listed alphabetically by last name.
RANDALL S. ABATE, J.D., Assistant Dean for Environmental Law Studies, The George Washington University Law School
Randall S. Abate, J.D., is the Assistant Dean for Environmental Law Studies at The George Washington University Law School. As Assistant Dean, he brings three decades of experience teaching, writing, managing programs, and mentoring students on domestic and international law issues at six U.S. law schools and one university. From 2018-2022, he served as the inaugural Rechnitz Family and Urban Coast Institute Endowed Chair in Marine and Environmental Law and Policy and a Professor in the Department of Political Science and Sociology at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, New Jersey, as well as the Director of the Institute for Global Understanding at Monmouth from 2020-2022. Dean Abate has published six books and about forty law journal articles and book chapters on environmental and animal law topics, with a recent emphasis on climate change law and justice. He received his B.A. from the University of Rochester and his M.S.L. and J.D. from Vermont Law School.
JOHANNA ADASHEK, J.D., Visiting Associate Professor and Environmental Law Fellow, The George Washington University Law School
Johanna (Jo) Adashek is a Visiting Associate Professor and Fellow for the Environmental and Energy Law Programs at The George Washington University Law School. Professor Adashek worked as an Honors Law Clerk for the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance in the Air Enforcement Division. She also served as a Senior Editor for the Maryland Journal of International Law, where Professor Adashek published an article in 2021 recommending amending Nationally Determined Contributions in accordance with the Paris Agreement to include short-term goals and long-term carbon neutral goals, modeled after the Montreal Protocol. She published her second article in the Public Land & Resources Law Review (PLRLR) in 2022. Professor Adashek is a member of the Maryland Bar. She holds a JD from the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law with a certificate in Environmental Law and graduated magna cum laude from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a BA in Environmental Studies and a BA in Geography.
KEGAN A. BROWN, J.D., Partner, Latham & Watkins LLP
Kegan A. Brown, J.D., is a partner at Latham & Watkins LLP in the Litigation & Trial Department, based in New York. He represents clients in complex environmental regulatory and litigation matters, particularly involving contaminated sediment sites, natural resource damages, toxic torts, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Mr. Brown also advises buyers, sellers, lenders, and underwriters on a broad range of environmental issues in mergers, acquisitions, and financing transactions. He is recognized by several publications and directories as a leading environmental and toxic tort defense lawyer, including Chambers USA, The Legal 500 US, and Law360. He received his B.S. from the College of New Jersey and his J.D. from Rutgers University School of Law.
MONICA BROWNER, J.D., Associate, Downey Brand LLP
Monica Browner is an Associate with Downey Brand LLP. She guides private and public sector clients through the complex web of federal and state environmental laws and regulations. Ms. Browner litigates in both state and federal court and provides compliance advice involving several environmental statutes, including the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), and the state statutory counterparts. She routinely works with various state regulatory agencies, including the State Water Resources Control Board, California Air Resources Board, and the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), to ensure the best possible outcomes for her clients. Ms. Browner holds a B.S., magna cum laude, Santa Clara University and a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School .
GREG CHALLENGER, Principal Marine Scientist, Polaris Applied Sciences
Greg Challenger is Principal Marin Scientist and President of Polaris Applied Sciences. He is a marine ecologist with expertise in environmental resource management, coral reef damage assessment, oil and chemical spill assessment and habitat restoration. Mr. Challenger has been involved in assessing NEARLY 200 large oil spill, pipeline, railroad and ship grounding incidents in the past 30 years, working with government and industry to study impacts and find restoration-based solutions to environmental casualties. His career spans from post-graduate studies in the Prince William Sound in 1990 with the US National Marine Fisheries Service following the Exxon Valdez to being the lead investigator for the Shoreline Natural Resource Damage Assessment for BP during the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico from 2010-2015. Mr. Challenger helped form Polaris Applied Sciences in 1998. Prior to forming Polaris, Mr. Challenger taught marine resource management and coral reef ecology at the Center for Marine Resource Conservation in the Turks and Caicos, BWI, the Newfound Harbor Marine Institute in the Florida Keys, and aboard the SSV Westward in the Eastern Caribbean for the Semester at Sea program accredited by Boston University. He holds a B.S. in Marin Biology from Florida Atlantic University and a M.S. of Science Education/Marine Ecology from the Florida Institute of Technology.
JOHN CRUDEN, J.D., Principal, Beveridge & Diamond; Former Assistant Attorney General, Environment & Natural Resources Division, US Department of Justice
John Cruden is a Principal at Beveridge and Diamond and an adjunct professor at George Washington University. He is a past Senate-confirmed Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division, USDOJ, Past President of the American College of Environmental Lawyers, and Past President of the Environmental Law Institute.
JONATHAN DEASON, Ph.D., P.E., Executive Director, Environmental and Energy Management Institute, Lead Professor, Environmental and Energy Management graduate program, George Washington University
Jonathan Deason, Ph.D., P.E., is the Executive Director of the Environmental and Energy Management Institute and Lead Professor of the Environmental and Energy Management graduate program at George Washington University. Prior to joining GW, Dr. Deason was Vice President of Environmental Affairs at the American Road and Transportation Builders Association, a federation of 7,000 organizations engaged in transportation construction. Before that, he was Director, Office of Environmental Policy and Compliance at the U.S. Department of the Interior, where he managed nine regional offices across the nation and seven staff divisions in Washington, D.C. He has served as a member of the national Boards of Directors of the American Water Resources Association and the Renewable Natural Resources Foundation, and as President of the National Capital Section, American Society of Civil Engineers. He received his B.S. in Engineering from the U.S. Military Academy, his M.B.A. from the School of Business Administration at the Golden Gate University, his M.S. in Environmental Engineering from The Johns Hopkins University, and his Ph.D. in Environmental Systems Engineering from the University of Virginia.
MICHAEL GERRARD, J.D., Andrew Sabin Professor of Professional Practice and Director, Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, Columbia Law School
Michael Gerrard is the founder and faculty director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law and one of the foremost environmental lawyers in the nation. He is an advocate, litigator, teacher, and scholar who has pioneered cutting-edge legal tools and strategies for addressing climate change. He writes and teaches courses on environmental law, climate change law, and energy regulation. He was the chair of the faculty of Columbia University’s renowned Earth Institute from 2015 to 2018. Before joining the Columbia Law School faculty in 2009, Gerrard practiced law in New York, most recently as the partner in charge of the New York office of Arnold & Porter, where he remains senior counsel. As an environmental lawyer, he tried numerous cases and argued many appeals in federal and state courts and administrative tribunals. He also handled the environmental aspects of diverse transactions and development projects and provided regulatory compliance advice to an array of clients in the private and public sectors. Several publications rated him the leading environmental lawyer in New York and one of the leaders in the world. Mr. Gerrard has written or edited 14 books, including Global Climate Change and U.S. Law, the first and leading work in its field (co-edited with Jody Freeman and Michael Burger), and Legal Pathways to Deep Decarbonization in the United States (co-edited with John Dernbach). His 12-volume Environmental Law Practice Guide and four-volume Brownfields Law and Practice each received the Association of American Publishers’ Best Law Book of the Year award. Mr. Gerrard holds a B.A. from Columbia University and received his J.D. from the New York University School of Law.
BARBARA J. GOLDSMITH, Executive Director, Ad-Hoc Industry Natural Resource Management Group; President, Barbara J. Goldsmith & Company LLC
Barbara J. Goldsmith is Executive Director of the Ad-Hoc Industry Natural Resource Management Group and facilitated its founding in 1988 with a group of major multinational corporations. She is also President of Barbara J. Goldsmith & Company LLC, which has provided consulting services to major companies, law firms and others for over 25 years on high-level national and international energy and environmental policy matters and corporate environmental management strategy. In 2005, Ms. Goldsmith was appointed by the Interior Secretary to serve on the Department’s Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration (NRDAR) Advisory Committee. The seminal book, The EU Environmental Liability Directive: A Commentary, of which she was co-editor and a co-author, was published by Oxford University Press. Ms. Goldsmith has had substantial experience with business and industry associations, major companies in all industrial sectors, the US Government, international agencies, EU Member States and other countries worldwide. She is a frequent speaker on environmental, energy, and natural resource topics and collaborates with a wide set of both public and private sector entities. Ms. Goldsmith was a Delegate to the United Nations Rio +20 Corporate Sustainability Forum and participated in the BASD Business Day Rio +20. She has worked for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris, France, and she is the author of numerous publications on environmental regulatory issues affecting industry. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from The George Washington University and a Master of City Planning in Environmental Analysis from Harvard University, a joint degree program between the Harvard Schools of Public Health and Design and she is also an alumna of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.
PETER HAGE, Senior Director, Corporate Relations, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
Peter Hage is Senior Director of Corporate Relations at the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Mr. Hage has a diverse work experience spanning several industries. Prior to joining the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Peter worked as Director of Strategic Partnerships for The Nature Conservancy, where he developed and managed relations with corporate partners such as Boeing, Microsoft and IBM. Earlier in his career, Peter held positions in technology, consulting, and finance. Mr. Hage has an MBA in Management from Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management and a bachelor’s degree in Finance from the University of Wisconsin School of Business.
STEVEN JONES, Ph.D., Senior Ecologist, GHD (Retired)
Steven Jones, Ph.D., is a population and community ecologist with over 30 years experience in the consulting industry. His areas of expertise are natural resource damage assessment; ecological risk assessment; habitat creation, enhancement, and restoration; qualitative and quantitative functional assessments of terrestrial and wetland habitats, and biostatistics. He has extensive experience in designing and implementing ecological studies for a diversity of ecosystems throughout North American. His project experience includes evaluation of impacts of remedial actions on ecological resources and incorporation of compensatory restoration into remedial designs. Prior entering the consulting industry, he was a Guyer Post‑Doctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Zoology at the University Wisconsin‑Madison. He is a member of the Ecological Society of America (ESA) and serves on the ESA Board of Professional Certification. With his retirement in May 2022, achieved the status of Senior Ecologist Emeritus. Dr. Jones received his B.S. in Biology from Tulane University, his M.S. in Environmental Sciences from Texas Christian University, and his Ph.D in Ecology from the University of Nebraska‑Lincoln.
EMILY JOSEPH, Director, Office of Restoration and Damage Assessment (ORDA), U.S. Department of Interior
Emily Joseph has been with the US Department of the Interior for the past 18 years and became Director of the Office of Restoration and Damage Assessment (ORDA) in April 2022. ORDA is responsible for overseeing the Department’s Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration (NRDAR) program. Before becoming Director, Ms. Joseph’s main responsibilities were supervising the annual allocation process for cases working on damage assessments, as well as managing the office’s Information Management System which houses information about all of the Department’s NRDAR cases. Prior to joining the office in 2014, Ms. Joseph was in the Office of Environmental Policy and Compliance working on environmental and disposal liability issues. Before joining the Department, She worked at the University of Miami in the area of special education, where she also completed a Master's Degree in Public Administration. Originally from the Washington, DC area, Ms. Joseph received her undergraduate degree from American University, majoring in psychology with a minor in sociology.
SALLY KNIFFEN, Environmental Specialist, Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe
Sally Kniffen is an Environmental Specialist with the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe (SCIT). She has worked for SCIT for 20+ years and currently helps oversee the EPA: General Assistance Program. Ms. Kniffen is also a trustee council representative for the Tribe on two Natural Resources Damage and Assessment case involving Dow Chemical Company contaminates in the Tittabawassee River and the General Motors contaminates in the Saginaw River and Bay. Sally has an interest in sustainable projects thus she has worked with students at SCTC + CMU and Andahwad facilities on food waste recovery projects. Sally is currently working with the Saginaw Chippewa Academy to incorporate these community values into practical solutions. She holds a B.S. in Earth Science and Biology from Central Michigan University.
PHILLIP LEVIN, Ph.D., Director, National Nature Assessment, US Global Change Research Program, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy; Professor of Practice, University of Washington
Dr. Phillip Levin is the Director of the National Nature Assessment. He is on loan to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy from the University of Washington where he is a Professor of Practice in the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs and the School of Environmental and Forest Sciences. Dr. Levin is a conservation scientist who is interested in bridging the gaps between theory and practice and between social and natural sciences. The main focus of his work is developing Interdisciplinary tools to inform conservation of marine, aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems and the communities that depend on them. Prior to joining the US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), Dr. Levin served as the Lead Scientist for the Nature Conservancy in Washington and was a Senior Scientist at NOAA Fisheries’ Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle, WA, USA. He served as the scientific lead of NOAA’s Integrated Ecosystem Assessment efforts in the California Current Large Marine Ecosystem and Puget Sound. In the course of this work, he led the development of new analytical tools for characterizing ecosystem health and forecasting the cumulative effects of coastal zone management and climate change on marine ecosystems. Dr. Levin received the Department of Commerce Silver Award and NOAA’s Bronze Medal for his work on marine ecosystems, and the Seattle Aquarium’s Conservation Research Award for his work in Puget Sound. He has published over 200 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals, book chapters and technical reports, and edited the recent book, “Conservation of the Anthropocene Ocean: interdisciplinary approaches for nature and people”. His work has been featured in such news outlets as NPR, PBS, The New York Times, the BBC, MSBNC, The Economist, among others. He served as President of the Western Society of Naturalists and served on numerous editorial boards and scientific advisory panels. He received his B.A. in Zoology from the University of Texas, his Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of New Hampshire in 1993 and was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of North Carolina.
ROGER MARTELLA, Group Vice President, Chief Sustainability Officer, GE and GE Vernova, Global Head of Engagement, Government Affairs, and Policy, GE Vernova
Roger Martella is GE's Chief Sustainability Officer and Head of Global Engagement, Government Affairs, and Policy for GE Vernova. In these dual roles, Roger engages the world’s top public and private sector leaders to align GE’s innovation to solve the planet’s most pressing challenges of climate change, access to sustainable, reliable, and affordable energy, and improving impacts to GE’s people, communities, and planet. In recent years, Mr. Martella has been at the leading edge in successfully partnering the power of the private sector with the pursuits of the public sector to solve tough problems together. He served as General Counsel of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, where he was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate, and the Principal Counsel for Complex Litigation for the Department of Justice’s Natural Resources Section. Prior to GE, Mr. Martella co-led Sidley Austin LLP's global environmental and climate change practices and was recognized among the top lawyers in the field globally. He teaches a first of its kind course on International Environmental Law and Justice at Howard University Law School and serves on the Advisory Board to Harvard University’s Environmental and Energy Law Program. In 2022, the Racial Justice Institute recognized Mr. Martella with a Racial Justice Champion Award. He is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations and serves on the board of the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES), the ClearPath Foundation, the Environmental Law Institute, and several environmental and energy NGOs. He has co-authored and edited four books on the intersection of ESG, climate change law, international environmental law, and human rights, including Corporate Social Responsibility—Sustainable Business: Environmental, Social and Governance Frameworks for the 21st Century (Wolters Kluwer 2020). Mr. Martella received his undergraduate degree from Cornell University and his J.D. from Vanderbilt Law School, where he was editor in chief of the Vanderbilt Law Review.
JEAN MARTIN, J.D., Senior Counsel, Litigation and Dispute Resolution, BP Legal Department
Jean Martin, J.D. is Senior Counsel, Litigation and Dispute Resolution with BP. Ms. Martin advises the company’s in-house remediation management team, collaborating with in-house specialists, external experts, and legal counsel to evaluate, litigate, and resolve environmental remediation and natural resource damage claims against bp and its subsidiaries. She has defended the company against some of the largest and most complex natural resource damage claims brought in the US, including claims arising from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. She also defends the company against remediation and restoration claims at complex mega-sites, including mining, smelting, refining and multi-party river contamination sites. Ms. Martin has negotiated several settlements that coordinated remedy and restoration, in circumstances where coordination provided a cost-effective solution to disputed claims that also enabled restoration to begin at an earlier date. Ms. Martin has been providing legal advice on remediation and natural resource damage issues to bp and its subsidiaries for over 20 years, working in their Los Angeles, Chicago, London and Houston offices. Before that, she was an associate attorney at Sidley Austin and at Pillsbury Madison & Sutro (now Pillsbury Winthrop). Ms. Martin received her undergraduate degree in history from Cornell University and her J.D. from Harvard Law School.
JAY PENDERGRASS, Senior Advisor and Former Vice President for Programs and Publications, Environmental Law Institute
John Pendergrass is a Senior Advisor and former Senior Vice President with the Environmental Institute (ELI). Prior to his role as Senior Vice President, Mr. Pendergrass served as ELI’s Vice President for Programs and Publications, where he lead the Institute's Educational Programs, numbering more than 100 each year, and the Institute's Publications Division, which produces the Environmental Law Reporter, the Environmental Forum, and books. Mr. Pendergrass has researched and written on a broad range of legal and policy issues focusing on what works in practice and how to improve the implementation of law. He was among the first to address improving legal and administrative mechanisms for protecting public health and the environment from the risks at contaminated sites where some hazardous substances are left in place. His research and writing on such institutional controls and long-term stewardship have led to changes in national policy and in the laws of many states. He has also written extensively about innovative state environmental and natural resource programs as well as federal preemption of state laws. Since 1997, Pendergrass has been a member of the accreditation council overseeing environmental and other management systems certification bodies in the United States. Mr. Pendergrass has been with ELI since 1988. He earned his B.S. in environmental science from Michigan State University and his J.D. from Case Western Reserve University.
TONY PENN, Chief, Assessment and Restoration Division, US Department of Commerce/National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Tony Penn is the Chief of NOAA’s Assessment and Restoration Division (ARD) and the co-lead of NOAA’s Damage Assessment, Remediation, and Restoration Program. As the Chief of ARD, Mr. Penn leads NOAA's nation-wide group of professionals, including scientists and economists, who are responsible for evaluating coastal habitats and resources injured by hazardous waste releases, oil spills, and vessel groundings. He has been with NOAA working on damage assessment issues since 1997. Until assuming the Chief role in December, 2015, Mr. Penn was the Deputy Division Chief of the Assessment and Restoration Division for the previous eight years. Formerly, Tony managed ARD's SE Region where he worked directly with scientists and economists to address coastal pollution and physical impacts from waste sites, oil spills, and vessel groundings. Previous to this position, Mr. Penn was a natural resource economist conducting damage assessment work primarily in the Gulf Coast and Caribbean regions with a focus on restoration scaling, including Habitat Equivalency Analysis, and recreational impact assessment. He received his B.S. in Economics from the University of Wisconsin and M.S. in Agricultural and Resource Economics from the University of Maryland.
JEFFREY ROSE, Vice President, Government Affairs and Public Policy, Battelle
Jeffrey Rose serves as the Vice President of Government Affairs and Public Policy for Battelle’s Applied Science and Technology Organization. Mr. Rose is responsible the development and execution of outreach, advocacy, and strategy before Congress, federal agencies, and elected officials. Jeff works closely with senior leaders within the business to develop and advance Battelle’s budget, policy and legislative priorities with an emphasis on environmental, energy, infrastructure, and health issues. Prior to joining Battelle in June of 2018, he served two terms running New Hampshire state agencies as a cabinet-level appointee. Mr. Rose’s agencies were responsible for the economic development, travel & tourism, parks & recreation, forestry & land management, and cultural resources within the Granite State. Mr. Rose earned a reputation for working effectively with both sides of the political aisle, having successfully served in both Republican and Democratic administrations. He spent nine years working for BAE Systems Electronic Solutions Sector based in Nashua, New Hampshire in a variety of government relations and public affairs roles. Mr. Rose began his career working for Members of Congress over eight years – working in both the House and Senate. Mr. Rose is a graduate from Marist College with degrees in Political Science and Communications.
JESSICA THURSTON, Vice President, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) and Sustainability, Paramount Global
Jessica Thurston is the Vice President of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) and Sustainability at Paramount Global. She is responsible for leading the development and execution of the global media company’s ESG priorities across its operations and brands, from MTV to CBS Sports, and from consumer products to real estate and facilities. Ms. Thurston’s background is in ESG and corporate sustainability strategy development and goal-setting, having consulted for major CPG, pharmaceutical, food service, and other companies. She began her career in sustainable procurement policy for the U.S. federal government, and completed her Masters of Science degree in Sustainability Management from Columbia University, where she is now an adjunct lecturer in ESG.
PATRICK VEASY, J.D., Counsel, Downey Brand LLP
Patrick Veasy is a Counsel with Downey Brand LLP. He has represented and assisted a variety of public and private sector clients in environmental compliance and enforcement matters before state agency hearing boards, as well as before state and federal courts. Mr. Veasy routinely works on water quality matters under the California Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act and federal Clean Water Act in relation to administrative and judicial enforcement matters, as well as petitions challenging final agency actions. His experience includes working on environmental review and permitting projects involving the California Environmental Quality Act, the National Environmental Policy Act and the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act or FAST-41. Mr. Veasy also has experience working on environmental compliance and enforcement matters under the Clean Air Act. Finally, he frequently assists clients on other matters involving environmental site remediation issues and toxic tort litigation, including under California’s Proposition 65. Mr. Veasy holds a B.A. from the University of Michigan and a J.D., cum laude from University of California College of the Law, San Francisco.
