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Greater Baltimore Climate Summit

A summit to support the Greater Baltimore region’s continued green transformation

November 12th, 2024

The summit is an innovative gathering, inspired by forward-thinking programming of California’s Strategic Growth Council and designed to foster collaboration among agencies and organizations, build strong partnership capacity in the city and surrounding counties, and form strategic alliances dedicated to enhancing Baltimore's environmental infrastructure and programming capacity.

Join us for a day filled with an insightful panel discussions, breakout sessions, and networking opportunities focused on tackling climate change issues in Baltimore.

Speakers

Jennifer D. Aiosa

Chief of Staff, Maryland Energy Administration

Sacoby Wilson, PhD, MS

Director, Community Engagement, Environmental Justice, and Health;
Professor, Global, Environmental, and Occupational Health

Ava Richardson

Director, Office of Sustainability, City of Baltimore

Ruth Ann Norton

President and CEO
Green & Healthy Homes Initiative

Xavier Boatright

Deputy Legislative Director of Clean Energy and Electrification at the Sierra Club

Dr. Fernando Miralles-Wilhelm

President of University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES), University System of Maryland’s Vice Chancellor for Sustainability

Lauren Johnson, MPH

Climate Justice Manager at Environmental Defense Fund

Senator Benjamin T. Brooks, Sr.

Ben is a member of the of
the Maryland Senate, serving on the Education, Energy and the Environment standing
committee, and Energy sub-committee.

Cindy Osorto

Senior Policy Analyst at the Maryland Department of the Environment and Chair of the Just Transition Employment and Retraining Working Group of the Maryland Commission on Climate Change

Dr. Benjamin Zaitchik

Chair and Professor, Johns Hopkins Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences & Principal Investigator, the Baltimore Social-Environmental Collaborative (BSEC)

Lynn Heller

Founder and CEO of the Climate Access Fund and Board Chair of the Maryland League of Conservation Voters Conservation Voters

Marccus D. Hendricks, PhD, MPH

Associate Professor of Urban Studies and Planning and the Director of the Stormwater Infrastructure Resilience and Justice (SIRJ) Lab at the University of Maryland (UMD)

Shonali Palacios

Senior Community Outreach Associate at the Environmental Protection Network (EPN)

Sierra Taliaferro

Community Outreach Associate with the Environmental Protection Network's Pro Bono capacity-building
technical assistance program

Genna Reed Patton

Environmental Protection Specialist in the Office of Climate Adaptation and Sustainability, Office of Policy at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Stephanie Santell

Chair of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Resilient Infrastructure Subgroup on Climate in the Office of Policy

Dr. David A. Padgett

Baltimore Native, Tennessee State University Professor Geography and Co-founder of the HBCU Environmental Justice Technical Collaborative

Rachel Rosenberg Goldstein, PhD, MPH

Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland’s School
of Public Health in the Department of Global, Environmental, and Occupational Health

Eileen Singleton

Principal Transportation Engineer at the Baltimore Metropolitan Council

This summit will serve as a platform for investments, partnerships and dialogue.

Equitable and Sustainable Investments

Illuminating the vast landscape of climate action and pollution reduction funding opportunities.

Innovative and Synchronized Partnerships

Initiating the development of partnerships and a collective synchronized agenda to capitalize on funding opportunities available to the region.

Safe Space for Cross-sector Dialogue

Bringing awareness to the most pressing environmental issues in the region and creating a safe space for groups to discuss the challenges facing climate action strategies.

GBCS Partners

This event is supported by the University of Maryland's Center for Environmental Science, the UMCES Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology (IMET), and Johns Hopkins Urban Health Institute

The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science leads the way toward better management of Maryland’s natural resources and the protection and restoration of the Chesapeake Bay. From a network of laboratories located across the state, our scientists provide sound advice to help state and national leaders manage the environment and prepare future scientists to meet the global challenges of the 21st century.

The Johns Hopkins Urban Health Institute (UHI) works across the University to advance health and health equity in Baltimore via a wide range of programs, events, and educational and funding opportunities designed to facilitate collaborations, mobilize resources, and advance dialogue and community representation.

Meet the Host Committee

The Greater Baltimore Climate Summit is hosted by a committee of professionals at Morgan State University, Baltimore Green Space, the HBCU Environmental Justice Technical Collaborative and other local organizations. The host committee is deeply committed to advancing climate action, fostering regional climate planning, and promoting equitable and sustainable solutions, all with the shared goal of ensuring the success of this summit and driving impactful environmental change in the Baltimore region and beyond.

Host Committee Lead

Cari A. Harris, MS, PMP

Cari A. Harris is the founder of The CCT Foundation and The Butterfly Effect with a focus on economic development, stakeholder engagement, and project management. She is also co-founder of the HBCU Environmental Justice Technical Collaborative (HEJT Collaborative), a group of HBCU-affiliated technical experts invested in sustainability and environmental justice. Her commitment extends to operationalizing and evaluating DEI macroeconomic targets and metrics to increase equity.

Host Committee Member

Dr. Linda Loubert

Linda Loubert is a Political Economist at Morgan State University. Before taking a sabbatical at Johns Hopkins University in the Economics department, she served as the interim chair in the Economics Department at Morgan State University. Dr. Loubert, along with teaching economics, uses Geographical Information Systems (GIS) as a tool and generally applies it to spatial analysis surrounding economic and equity issues.

Host Committee Member

Eileen Singleton, P.E.

Eileen Singleton, Principal Transportation Engineer, joined the Baltimore Metropolitan Council in 1998. Her work supports the projects and committees of the Baltimore Metropolitan Planning Organization that enhance the safety, security, reliability, climate resilience, and efficiency of the region’s transportation network. Eileen has a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Cornell University and a Master of Science degree in civil engineering from the University of Maryland at College Park. Eileen is a registered Professional Engineer in Maryland.

Host Committee Member

Dr. David A. Padgett

David A. Padgett is the lead and co-founder of the HBCU Environmental Justice Technical Collaborative. Dr. Padgett is also an Associate Professor of Geography, and Director of the
Geographic Information Sciences (GISc) Laboratory at Tennessee State University
(TSU) in Nashville, Tennessee. For over 20 years, Padgett has provided technical assistance to environmental justice and community-based organization (CBO) stakeholders in support of a number community-based participatory research (CBPR) activities, including expert support on EJSCREEN, GIS and other mapping sessions.

Host Committee Member

Autrese Thornton, MA, BCC

Autrese is a lead and specialized technical assistance consultant with ENDYNA as a subcontractor to US EPA for the Community Change Grant program. Currently, Autrese Thornton is a PhD Candidate at Grand Canyon university studying Psychology with a concentration in Cognition and Instruction. She serves part-time as a Caseworker for children that are county residents. As a Caseworker, she works collaboratively with Social Workers to monitor visitations for children and parents. As a multifaceted woman, Autrese also studied at The Institute for Life Coach Training to become a Board Certified Coach.

Host Committee Member

Katherine Lautar

Katie is the Executive Director of Baltimore Green Space. She also co-chairs the Baltimore City Tree Ordinance Committee and is a member of the Forest in Cities Network; the Urban Waters Partnership, where she coordinates the Climate Committee; the Baltimore City Climate Action Plan Technical Advisory Committee; Forever Maryland; and the Baltimore City Forestry Board.

Host Committee Member

Megan Weil Latshaw, PhD

Megan is the Director of the Master’s Degree Programs in the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. She also serves as co-chair of University’s Sustainability Plan Steering Committee, and as core faculty for the Environmental Challenges Focus Area of the Bloomberg American Health Initiative. As faculty at Hopkins, her efforts focus on designing healthy communities, connecting environmental health research with the real world, and improving environmental health surveillance (all through a justice and equity lens).

Host Committee Member

Nicholas Birkhead

Nicholas is an Assistant Project Manager at Lorax. He joined the firm in 2024 and brings experience in real estate development, corporate sustainability reporting, and renewable energy. He’s passionate about creating a built environment that advances communities, circularity, and clean power.

Nicholas holds a B.A. in Business Administration from the Michael G. Foster School of Business at the University of Washington. He double majored in Finance and Operations & Supply Chain Management. He served as President of UW’s Net Impact chapter and founded the Climate Solutions Summit, a case competition that challenged student teams to creatively deploy clean energy technology.

Host Committee Member

Quinn Fowler, MPH, CHMM

Founder & Principal Consultant

The Eymit Group, Certified MWBE that collaborates with clients to create practical strategies committed to sustainable outcomes, solving problems, and inspiring change across public, private, and government sectors. After spending over a decade working in environmental consulting and managing environmental programs for both private and government entities, Quinn knows what drives environmental stewardship. She is committed to the well-being of people and environmental health, and her work in the community inspires her to protect people and provide communities with healthier environments.

Host Committee Member

Tari Martin

Tari Martin is the Director of National and Federal Programs at the National Alliance for Public Safety GIS (NAPSG) Foundation. She also co-chairs the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA) Climate and Community Resilience Committee. She has a B.S. in Environmental Science & Policy and is near completion of her M.S. in Emergency Management. She has a passion for leveraging geospatial data and tools to support data-informed and equitable investments in improving community resilience.