Environmental Justice and Equity

Welcome and introductions

Great Lakes Updates

Tim Bruno, PA Department of Environmental Protection. Tim Bruno serves as the Chief of the Office of the Great Lakes at the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. In his role, he represents Pennsylvania to multiple interstate and international Great Lakes water quality and water use governmental entities, as well as forms partnerships and administers funding for the protection and restoration of Pennsylvania’s Great Lakes Basin.

Sara Stahlman, Extension Leader, PA Sea Grant – Sara Stahlman is the extension lead for Pennsylvania Sea Grant and vice chair of the Community Resilience Action Network of Erie (CRANE). She manages and coordinates statewide extension programs that protect coastal resources in focus areas such as climate change, water quality, and invasive species. She earned her bachelor’s in biology with a minor in psychology from Penn State Behrend, and her master’s degree in biology from Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania.

Environmental Justice and Equity; The Crossroads of Environmental Justice and Water Affordability: Understanding History’s Role in Water Affordability in the Detroit Region and Rising to Meet a Contemporary Challenge

Monica Lewis-Patrick, CEO, We the People of Detroit – Monica Lewis-Patrick is an educator, entrepreneur, and human rights activist/advocate. Along with the other four founders of We the People of Detroit (WPD), she, with the leadership of volunteers and community experts, placed herself and WPD at the forefront of the water justice struggle in Michigan, across the country and globally. Lewis-Patrick is known throughout the environmental justice community as The Water Warrior. She is actively engaged in the struggle for access to safe, affordable water for all under-resourced communities.

Emily Kutil, Assistant Professor, Lawrence Technical University – Emily Kutil is a designer, researcher, and Assistant Professor of Architecture at Lawrence Technical University. Emily is a member of We the People of Detroit Community Research Collective and coordinates Black Bottom Street View. Previously, Emily was the 2019-2020 Reyner Banham Fellow at the University at Buffalo. She holds a BS in Architecture from the University of Cincinnati and a Certificate in Museum Studies from the University of Michigan.

Environmental Justice and Equity; Assuring Environmental Justice, Equity, and, Inclusion in the Protection of Pennsylvania’s Environment

Allison Acevedo, Director, PA DEP Office of Environmental Justice – Allison Anderson Acevedo is Director of the Office of Environmental Justice at the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. Prior to joining DEP in 2018, Allison served in the policy, advocacy, and non-profit sectors, supporting and implementing systems change and resource collaboration. She operated a consultancy that provided nonprofit organizations guidance on program development, policy and strategic planning. She also served as Director of Education for United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey and as a staff advisor to two PA state legislators. In these positions, Allison learned and practiced participatory community engagement and planning. Before working in the non-profit and policy sectors, Allison worked as an attorney for several years with the U.S. Department of Labor and at a private firm. Allison is also a founding member of the Philadelphia Black Giving Circle, which advances building a culture of philanthropy in Philadelphia’s Black community.

Environmental Justice and Equity; One Block at a Time: Community-Driven Planning for Climate Resilience in Marginalized Communities in the Great Lakes

Madison Rodman Resilience Extension Educator, MN Sea Grant – Madison Rodman is a resilience extension educator with the University of Minnesota Sea Grant Program. Her work focuses on strengthening Minnesota’s coastal communities, economies, and their environments to better prepare for and respond to extreme weather events and changes in climate. In her free time she enjoys exploring the shore of Lake Superior with her overly energetic Australian Shepherd.