EBC Climate Change Program:
Adaptation – Planning for Resiliency
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.
Boston, Massachusetts
Agenda
8:00 a.m.
Welcome – Daniel K. Moon, President, EBC
Introduction and Overview
 Ralph A. Child, Program Chair and Moderator // Partner, Mintz Levin
8:15 a.m.
The Commonwealth’s Adaptation Planning Under the Global Warming Solutions Act
 Phil Griffiths, Undersecretary for Environment
Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
Co-Chair, GWSA Implementation Advisory Committee
8:45 a.m.
Role of Natural Systems in Climate Change Preparedness
 Stephen Long, Director of Government Relations, The Nature Conservancy
9:15 a.m.
Urban Planning for Climate Preparedness Around the World
 Eric K. Chu, Doctoral Candidate
Department of Urban Studies and Planning, MIT
9:45 a.m.
Networking Break
10:15 a.m.
Taking Climate Change into Account in Planning
Case Example – Dam Reconstruction Project
 Blake Martin, Senior Associate, Weston & Sampson
10:35 a.m.
MassDOT – Highway Division Climate Change Adaptation Strategies

Kevin M. Walsh, Director of Environmental Services, MassDOT – Highway Division
11:00 a.m.
Regional Scale Climate Adaptation
Infrastructure – Lessons Learned After Katrina
 Wendi Goldsmith, CEO, Bioengineering Group, Inc.
11:30 a.m.
Panel Discussion – Moderator: Ralph A. Child, Mintz Levin
Panel Members:
 Phil Griffiths, Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
 Stephen Long, The Nature Conservancy
 Eric K. Chu, MIT
 Blake Martin, Weston & Sampson
 Wendi Goldsmith, Bioengineering Group, Inc.
12:00 Noon
Adjourn
PROGRAM CHAIR
Ralph A. Child, Member
Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.
One Financial Center, Boston, MA 02110
(617) 348-3021 // rchild@mintz.com
Ralph’s practice involves regulatory strategy, advocacy, and litigation, with a strong focus on environmental
policy and enforcement. Major clients include energy project developers, manufacturers, real estate
developers, and public agencies, whom he advises on air, waste, contaminated site, and water pollution
issues.
In 2011 and 2012, the firm received the Acquisition International Legal Award for “US Environmental Law Firm
of the Year.” The awards celebrate excellence and reward firms, teams and individuals for their contribution to
client service, innovation and commitment to quality. From 1996 to 1999, Ralph served as general counsel to
the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, the principal environmental regulatory agency in
Massachusetts, with over 50 regulatory programs.
He held a University of Massachusetts legislative fellowship at the Massachusetts legislature (1976). While in
law school, he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review. He also was a Luce Scholar, providing counsel on
legal reform efforts in Indonesia.
SPEAKERS
JoAnn Carmin, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Environmental Policy and Planning
Department of Urban Studies and Planning
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
77 Massachusetts Avenue, 9-320, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307
(617) 452-2697 // jcarmin@mit.edu
JoAnn Carmin is Associate Professor in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning and Director of the
Program on Environmental Governance and Sustainability at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her
current research draws on in-depth case studies and surveys to examine urban climate adaptation planning
and governance in developed and developing countries. Professor Carmin has published extensively on
research she has conducted in the United States, Europe, Africa, and Asia and serves on multiple editorial
boards as well as on steering committees and advisory boards for a wide variety of international and
intergovernmental organizations. In addition, she is a Lead Author for the urban chapter of the US National
Climate Assessment and for the Working Group II contribution to the Fifth Assessment Report of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Eric K. Chu, Doctoral Candidate
Department of Urban Studies and Planning
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
77 Massachusetts Avenue, 9-320, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307
ekc@mit.edu
Eric K. Chu is a doctoral candidate in environmental policy and planning at Massachusetts Institute of
Technology’s (MIT) Department of Urban Studies and Planning and a visiting research scholar at The Energy
and Resources Institute (TERI) in New Delhi, India. Eric was recently awarded the David L. Boren Fellowship
by the United States Institute for International Education’s (IIE) National Security Education Program for his
research on the political economy of climate change adaptation and development planning in Indian cities. Eric
also serves as a chapter scientist in Working Group II of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s
Fifth Assessment Report (IPCC AR5) and as a contributing author to the United States National Climate
Assessment Urban Technical Report. Eric has worked on various climate change adaptation-related programs
at the World Resources Institute (WRI) in Washington, DC, the International Centre for Integrated Mountain
Development (ICIMOD) in Kathmandu, Nepal, and the urban section at the World Bank. Eric holds dual
master’s degrees in environmental policy and planning and urban and regional planning from the University of
Michigan at Ann Arbor and a bachelor’s degree in natural resources from Cornell University.
Wendi Goldsmith, CEO
Bioengineering Group, Inc.
18 Commercial Street, Salem, MA 01970
(978) 740-0096 // Cell: (617) 901-2306 // wgoldsmith@bioengineering.com
Wendi Goldsmith is founder and CEO of Bioengineering Group, a Salem, MA-based firm whose mission
statement is "Building Sustainable Communities on an Ecological Foundation." She has been a pioneer in the
field of ecological restoration and the application of sustainability principles to site planning, development, and
resource management. Wendi has led R&D programs for DOD developing methods for evaluating and
optimizing renewable energy and efficient and resilient infrastructure and building and site design. Her roles
span planning of large scale infrastructure projects, as well as multi-state watershed management and
restoration projects, and design of stabilization and ecological enhancement treatments for riparian sites
compromised by solid and hazardous waste. She played a lead role on the planning, design, and program
management of the $14 billion post-Katrina Hurricane Storm Damage Risk Reduction System, the first
regional-scale climate adapted infrastructure system in the US. She facilitates interdisciplinary collaborative
design teams in adopting effective climate change adaptation strategies, serving as co-convener of a June
2012 NATO Advanced Research conference on the topic, hosted in Iceland. Recognized with many awards for
business success, for promoting STEM to girls and women, for sustainable design, and for environmental
engineering, the firm is recognized for 20 years of leadership in sustainable design. A hallmark of its projects
is stewardship and creative use of onsite resources, delivering triple bottom line value.
Wendi is a graduate of Yale University, where she earned degrees in Geology & Geophysics and
Environmental Studies. She later went on to pursue a Master’s Degree in ecological landscape design at the
Conway School and a second Master’s in Plant and Soil Science at the University of Massachusetts.
Stephen Long, Director of Government Relations
The Nature Conservancy in Massachusetts
99 Bedford St., 5th Floor, Boston, MA 02111
(617) 532-8367 // Cell: (617) 312-5932 // slong@TNC.ORG
Steve Long works closely with federal and state elected officials, governmental agencies and conservation and
business partners on conservation public policy and funding. Steve led the legislative advocacy efforts to
require the Commonwealth to prepare a Climate Change Adaptation Report and has participated in its
development and implementation. Steve also teaches at Suffolk University’s Masters in Public Administration
program. Before joining The Nature Conservancy six years ago, Steve worked for the Massachusetts
Department of Environmental Protection and a Massachusetts state senator. Education: B.A. Political Science,
Ithaca College, M.A. Political Science/Public Policy, Rutgers University.
Philip Griffiths, Undersecretary for Environment
Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
100 Cambridge Street, Boston, MA 02114
(617) 626-1126 // Cell: (617) 774-7700 // philip.griffiths@state.ma.us
Philip Griffiths currently serves as the Undersecretary for Environment in the Executive Office of Energy and
Environmental Affairs (EOEEA) for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. As Undersecretary, he ensures that
the policies and strategic priorities of the Governor and the Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs are
implemented through the operations of the Department of Environmental Protection, Department of
Conservation and Recreation, Department of Fish and Game, and the Department of Agricultural Resources.
As Undersecretary he also oversees EOEEA’s operating programs including the Office of Coastal Zone
Management, the Division of Conservation Services and the Office of Technical Assistance.
Prior to his appointment as the Undersecretary, Phil held various senior management positions during a tenyear career at the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, served as a consultant project
manager for a variety of dot.com clients and as Special Assistant to the Secretary for Resources for the State
of California.
Blake Martin, Senior Associate
Weston & Sampson
Five Centennial Drive, Peabody, MA 01960-7985
(978) 532-1900 // martinb@wseinc.com
Kevin M. Walsh, Director of Environmental Services
MassDOT - Highway Division
10 Park Plaza, Room 4260, Boston, MA 02116
(857) 368-8830 // Kevin.M.Walsh@state.ma.us
As Director of Environmental, Mr. Walsh is responsible for developing MassDOT policies to streamline project
delivery and ensure environmental compliance for all programs and projects. In response to the 2008,
Massachusetts Global Warming Solutions Act, Mr. Walsh helped draft MassDOT Highway Division’s Climate
Change Adaptation Plan. The plan outlines the Highway Division’s short-term and long-term strategies to adapt
its roadway network and infrastructure to climate change.
As a member of the Steering Committee for the American Association of State Highway Transportation
Officials (AASHTO) Standing Committee On the Environment (SCOE), and Chair of the Environmental
Process Subcommittee, he has worked extensively on climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies.
Mr. Walsh has served as the Director of Environmental Services since 2007 and has more than 20 years of
experience in environmental compliance for MassDOT. Mr. Walsh is a graduate of the University of
Massachusetts and holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Design.
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Upcoming EBC Programs
April 12: RI Chapter Breakfast Program, Update from Environmental Leadership
April 16: NH Chapter Water Program, Stormwater Management for MS4s
April 19: EBC 9th Annual Environmental, Energy and Engineering Career Fair
April 24: Renewable Energy Program, Update on Offshore Wind
April 26: The “State of Social”: Social Media & Marketing in the Environmental Sector
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