2017 Earth Day Water Symposium Presenters

Nicholas Mallos, Keynote Speaker

Nicholas Mallos, Keynote Speaker

KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Nicholas Mallos, Director, Trash Free Seas® Program at Ocean Conservancy

Nick oversees Ocean Conservancy’s work on marine debris, including its global initiative on ocean plastics, annual International Coastal Cleanup, and the Trash Free Seas Alliance®, a co-operative group of businesses, leading environmental organizations and scientists focused on reducing plastic inputs into the ocean by 50% by 2025.

Nick has extensive field experience researching ocean plastics – his debris-related assignments have taken him from the North Pacific Gyre to the remote coastlines of Alaska and the Philippines and the tsunami-stricken shores of Japan. He has testified before the U.S. Senate on the sources and impacts of plastic debris in the ocean, and routinely participates in international policy discussions at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, United Nations Environment Programme, and other global fora. Nick received his master’s degree from the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University, and a B.S. inbiology and marine science from Dickinson College. Nick serves as a subject matter expert for CNN, and is based at Ocean Conservancy’s office in Portland, OR.

Ocean Conservancy is a national member of EarthShare. Their corporate partners include Bank of America, Coca-Cola and Cox Enterprises, brands that are interested in protecting the ocean for all life that depends on it for their survival, humans included.


Juliet Cohen

Juliet Cohen

PANELIST
Juliet Cohen
, Executive Director, Chattahoochee Riverkeeper

Juliet was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Juliet earned a Bachelor of Environmental Science and Political Science from the University of Miami, Florida, in 1995. She graduated in 2004 from American University’s Washington College of Law with honors Magna Cum Laude and a member of Order of the Coif. From 2005 to 2007, Juliet worked as a Staff Attorney for the Eleventh Circuit United States Court of Appeals. Juliet joined Chattahoochee Riverkeeper as General Counsel in 2008, and in 2015 transitioned to the role of Executive Director. Juliet and her husband, Jeffrey, reside in Brookhaven along with their three children.


Na’Taki Osborne Jelks, Ph.D., MPH

Na’Taki Osborne Jelks, Ph.D., MPH

PANELIST
Na’Taki Osborne Jelks, Ph.D., MPH, Co-Founder, West Atlanta Watershed Alliance (WAWA)

WAWA is an urban, community-based organization of Proctor, Utoy, and Sandy Creek Watershed residents in Northwest and Southwest Atlanta who are overburdened with environmental stressors and pollution, but often underrepresented at environmental decision-making tables.

Under Dr. Jelks’ leadership, WAWA has worked with West Atlanta residents to lead community efforts for more than a decade to clean up, protect, and restore Proctor Creek, one of Metro Atlanta’s most impaired waterways. WAWA also established, in collaboration with two other community organizations, the Proctor Creek Stewardship Council, a grassroots organization that engages Proctor Creek residents in community-driven, collaborative problem solving processes, along with government, academia, and other stakeholders, to implement innovative approaches for restoration of the watershed and its residents.

In addition to her community leadership and activism, Dr. Jelks is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Environmental Health at Agnes Scott College in Decatur.


Nathaniel Q. Smith, Partnership for Southern Equity's Founder and Chief Equity Officer (CEqO)

Nathaniel Q. Smith, Partnership for Southern Equity’s Founder and Chief Equity Officer (CEqO)

PANELIST
Nathaniel Q. Smith, Founder and Chief Equity Officer (CEqO), Partnership for Southern Equity

Nathaniel serves as Director of Partnerships for Equitable Development at Emory University’s Center for Community Partnerships (CFCP). In this capacity Nathaniel facilitates engaged scholarship opportunities with external and community organizations to achieve balanced, sustainable and inclusive development throughout the metropolitan Atlanta region.

A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Nathaniel began his career in Community Economic Development as a child of civil rights movement activists. Through years of exposure to social justice advocates, he became involved as a youth volunteer with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and later served as a National Youth Spokesperson for the organization.

Prior to joining Emory Nathaniel served as Public Policy Manager at the Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership (ANDP). His advocacy, research and coalition building activities supported the creation of many innovative policies that encourage the equitable distribution of mixed income communities throughout the metropolitan Atlanta Region. Among them were Georgia’s first anti-predatory lending (DeKalb County), inclusionary zoning (Fulton County) and local housing trust fund (City of Atlanta) ordinances. Nathaniel’s research and advocacy activities were also instrumental in the ratification of a 15% set aside of Atlanta Beltline Tax Allocation District (TAD) dollars for the development and maintenance of affordable workforce housing within the Atlanta BeltLine Planning Area. Because of this policy $250 million dollars will be allocated to this effort over the 25 year lifespan of the Atlanta BeltLine TAD.


Michael Halicki, Executive Director, Park Pride

Michael Halicki, Executive Director, Park Pride

MODERATOR
Michael Halicki
,
Executive Director, Park Pride

Michael Halicki serves as the executive director for Park Pride, the Atlanta-based nonprofit that engages communities to activate the power of parks. Working with over 100 Friends of the Park groups, Park Pride provides leadership and services to help communities advocate on behalf of and realize their dreams for neighborhood parks that support healthy people, strong neighborhoods, vibrant business districts, a robust economy and a healthy environment. Under his leadership, Park Pride received 4-star designation in 2016 by Charity Navigator for exceeding industry standards. Michael joined Park Pride from Southface Energy Institute, where he served as the organization’s first Chief Operating Officer, and he has held senior leadership roles with the Clean Air Campaign and the Georgia Conservancy. Michael earned his graduate degree in nonprofit management from Georgia State’s Andrew Young School of Policy Studies and is a graduate of the Regional Leadership Institute and the Institute for Georgia Environmental Leadership. He also serves on the board of EarthShare of Georgia. In 2016, Michael was named as one of “50 Influential Nonprofit Leaders” by the Atlanta Business Chronicle.


Sally Bethea

Sally Bethea

WATER TALKS Presenter
Sally Bethea, retired founding director, Chattahoochee Riverkeeper

She has an undergraduate degree from UNC-Chapel Hill, a master’s degree in environmental planning from Georgia Tech and an honorary doctorate from LaGrange College – as well as more than 35 years of experience in environmental issues and nonprofit management.

Sally is currently a lecturer at Georgia Tech where she teaches a water resources planning class. She is also the board president of Chattahoochee Parks Conservancy and a board trustee of LaGrange College. Sally has served on the national boards of Waterkeeper Alliance and River Network, the Georgia Board of Natural Resources and EarthShare of Georgia. In 2015, Sally received a Lifetime Achievement Award from GreenLaw. In 2012, she received the Compton River Achievement Award from River Network for leading, educating and advocating for clean water in the Chattahoochee River Basin and throughout the country.


Aaron Brown, Engineering Manager at Cox Enterprises, Inc.

Aaron Brown, Engineering Manager at Cox Enterprises, Inc.

WATER TALKS Presenter
Aaron Brown
, Engineering Manager at Cox Enterprises, Inc.

Aaron develops and manages teams and projects for the Cox Conserves program across properties within the Cox Enterprises portfolio related to mechanical engineering projects (typically HVAC-related), energy-efficiency projects (savings energy through a variety of methods), and alternate-energy projects (creating green energy through solar PV, solar thermal, wind, fuel cell, biomass technologies).

Cox Conserves is Cox Enterprises’ national sustainability program. Cox Conserves focuses on reducing waste and energy consumption, as well as conserving water. The program engages each of the company’s major subsidiaries (Cox Communications, Cox Automotive and Cox Media Group) and encourages Cox Enterprises’ 50,000 employees and their families to engage in eco-friendly practices.


John A. Lanier, Executive Director, Ray C. Anderson Foundation

John A. Lanier, Executive Director, Ray C. Anderson Foundation

WATER TALKS Presenter
John A. Lanier
, Executive Director, Ray C. Anderson Foundation

The Ray C. Anderson Foundation is a private family foundation carrying forward the legacy of its namesake by supporting environmental sustainability initiatives. In 1973, Ray founded Interface, which became the world’s largest carpet tile manufacturer. From 1994 until his passing in 2011, Ray worked tirelessly to advance sustainability at his company and in the business sector generally. John, one of Ray’s five grandchildren, shares his late grandfather’s passion for the Earth and its natural systems. John lives in Atlanta with his wife and young son and is an attorney by training.


Jonathan S. Radtke, Water Sustainability Program Director, Coca-Cola North America

WATER TALKS Presenter
Jonathan S. Radtke, Water Sustainability Program Director, Coca-Cola North America

Jon Radtke is the Water Sustainability Program Director for Coca-Cola North America based in Atlanta, GA. In this role, he manages the company’s water stewardship program, which assesses and mitigates water risks facing Coca-Cola operations. Primary areas of focus include water efficiency initiatives, source water protection strategies, community water partnerships and sustainable agriculture initiatives within the supply chain. One goal of the Company is to return to nature and communities an amount of water equivalent to the water used in Coca-Cola’s beverages and their production by 2020. Mr. Radtke’s leadership has helped the Company to reach this goal five years early and to position The Coca-Cola Company as an industry leader in water stewardship.

Jon has a Bachelor degree in Geology and a Masters in Hydrogeology with over 25 years of professional experience managing a wide range of water supply and environmental projects.


Will Kurz, Manager, Customer Experience, LEED Green Associate, Interface

Will Kurz, Manager, Customer Experience, LEED Green Associate, Interface

WATER TALKS Presenter
Will Kurz, Manager, Customer Experience, LEED Green Associate, Interface

Will has been with Interface for just over a year as a member of the Customer Experience Team. He works closely with the Director of Customer Experience to develop, create and implement unique and memorable customer visits and events through the promotion of Interface’s design, sustainability practices, manufacturing capabilities, and culture.

Will’s true passion lies in the field of sustainability. He actively applies his knowledge of Interface’s environmentally friendly business practices to serve as a liason between the company and various external sustainability groups and customers.

Prior to working at Interface, Will obtained an M.A. in Global Sustainability with a concentration in Entrepreneurship from the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida. He also holds a B.A. in Political Science from Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina.

Will currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia and is an avid golfer, state park explorer, and a die hard fan of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers football team.


Jane N. Mahan, Director, Customer Experience, Interface

Jane N. Mahan, Director, Customer Experience, Interface

WATER TALKS Presenter
Jane N. Mahan, Director, Customer Experience, Interface

Jane Mahan is responsible for developing and cultivating customer relationships through engaging and educational customer experiences. In support of the overall sales strategy, Jane directs the Customer Experience team delivering unique experiences for over 1300 customers each year. Jane manages the Interface guest house Catawba and the customer center The Awarehouse to provide memorable experiences for every customer to truly know Interface – the people, products, and passion.

Having over 23 years of experience with Interface, Jane Mahan has held numerous sales and marketing positions responsible for driving business with both the U.S. and international sales teams. For over 10 years, Jane was an Account Executive solely responsible for initiating and developing the sales efforts in the Caribbean and South America. This role involved the introduction of product into these markets, developing both a customer base and a distribution network to establish Interface as the industry leader in these countries. Jane transitioned into the position of Multinational Sales Manager responsible for initiating and coordinating the multinational sales strategy of the U.S. and Canadian sales force working with over 120 account executives and five worldwide manufacturing locations. Prior to her current role of directing the Customer Experience team, Jane was Interface’s Market Research Manager responsible for customer interviews, sales feedback, and analysis of market data for the development of sales direction for specific market segments. In service with her customer relationship skills, Jane has been a company liaison for many affiliated industry groups (AIA, IIDA, IFMA…) and is a LEED AP.

Having 3 sons, Jane enjoys watching and playing a variety of sports – including tennis, basketball, football and ping pong which she occasionally wins. In addition to traveling, jane loves cooking and is especially addicted to fresh produce.


Gordon Rogers

Gordon Rogers, Executive Director, Flint Riverkeeper

WATER TALKS Presenter
Gordon Rogers
, Executive Director, Flint Riverkeeper

Gordon was raised in South Georgia. He graduated high school from Glynn Academy in Brunswick and attended college at Oxford College of Emory University (Oxford), the University of Georgia (Athens), and Skidaway Institute of Oceanography (Savannah).

Following formal schooling, Gordon was employed by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources at their Coastal Resources Division office in Brunswick initially as a fisheries statistician and later as a marine biologist and policy analyst. After 10 years at GADNR, he worked in the waste and recycling industry for 9 years, based in Brunswick. He has also fished and taught about fishing, professionally. He served as the Executive Director and Riverkeeper® at Satilla Riverkeeper® for five years, and was appointed ED and Riverkeeper® for the Flint in 2009.


Amelia Shenstone, Campaigns Director, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy

Amelia Shenstone, Campaigns Director, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy

WATER TALKS Presenter
Amelia Shenstone
, Campaigns Director, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy

Amelia directs the coal program at the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (“SACE”), a regional non-profit that promotes responsible energy choices to help address global climate change and protect safe, healthy communities in the southeastern US. SACE encourages utilities to invest in energy efficiency and clean energy, and to phase out the oldest, dirtiest coal plants, and maintains the interactive www.SoutheastCoalAsh.org mapping website. Amelia guides SACE’s campaigns with an eye toward including the full diversity of southeastern communities and represents SACE in the Georgia Water Coalition. Amelia is a graduate of Green Corps, the field school for environmental organizing.