Event Information

Brooks Rainey Pearson is North Carolina Legislative Counsel at the Southern Environmental Law Center. She advocates for a wide range of environmental issues in Raleigh – both at the North Carolina General Assembly and at executive agencies, boards, and commissions. She is a former chair of the Energy, Environment, and Natural Resources Section of the North Carolina Bar Association. Brooks received an undergraduate degree, a Juris Doctorate, and a Master’s degree in City and Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She lives in Durham with her partner and their two children. 

Dale Morris is Senior Advisor to the Mayor and Chief Resilience Officer for the City of Charleston, SC.  Morris’ primary role is the integration of comprehensive water management, planning and adaptation processes into City policy, land-use, decision-making and water projects and the addition of broader resilience approaches to City operations.

Morris previously served as Director of Strategic Partnerships at the Water Institute of the Gulf, an applied, technical research not-for-profit based in Louisiana with projects across the south-eastern US.  In this role, he directed the Water Institute’s outreach to and engagement with key communities, municipalities, states, and organizations outside of Louisiana and guided the Institute’s Living with Water and resilience strategy work in post-Harvey Houston, the Dutch Dialogues and related work in Charleston, SC, coastal master plan work in Virginia and other research, project proposal and grant efforts.

From 1994-2018, Morris served as Senior Economist at the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Washington, DC, and, beginning in 2005, Director of the Dutch Government’s water management and adaptation work across the US.  He engaged and collaborated with federal, state and local governments and stakeholders, universities, planners, non-profits and researchers in Louisiana, Texas, Florida, Virginia, New York, Massachusetts and California on flood risk assessment, mitigation and communications, integrated water management for storm surge, tidal, stormwater and groundwater flooding and smart urban and land-use planning.  Morris provided analysis on international trade, and US budget, tax, appropriations, fiscal policy, productivity, energy policy and other macro-economic issues, mirroring work he performing while serving as Legislative Director to two Members of Congress from 1989-1994.  Morris served as Congressional Liaison for the Embassy from 1994 – 2000. Morris’ career began with a six-year stint with the U.S. Air Force.  

Morris is co-founder of the Dutch Dialogues, which initially focused upon urban water management challenges and opportunities in postKatrina New Orleans. Dutch Dialogues have been organized elsewhere in the U.S., leading to far-reaching planning, policy, and regulatory improvements in flood-prone and flood-recovering communities in Louisiana, Virginia and Charleston, SC.  Dutch Dialogues served as springboards for successful National Disaster Resilience Competition awards post Super-storm Sandy. 

Administrator for EPA’s Southeast Region (Region 4). In this role Daniel is leading EPA efforts to protect public health and the environment for the region spanning Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

Daniel has dedicated his career to creating economic opportunities for marginalized communities throughout the South, specifically in building more resilient communities with equitable economic opportunity, greater access to education and a healthy environment for all, not just for a select few.

Daniel has spent over a decade advising policymakers at the state capitol and advocating on behalf of Georgia ratepayers and small businesses in energy-related matters before Georgia’s Public Service Commission. He has served as chairman of the Georgia Chapter of the Sierra Club and board member to the ACLU.

During the Obama Administration, Daniel worked closely within EPA Region 4 on issues including water infrastructure, clean air, and land/emergency management policies that impacted the southeast. He leaned heavily on his civil rights background to amplify the Region’s Environmental Justice (EJ) Policy and convened stakeholders with federal agencies to address a multitude of community concerns strategically and comprehensively.

His work in addressing groundwater contamination at nuclear plants and its impact on public health and safety has given him the opportunity to testify numerous times before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; and his commitment to working throughout the Southeastern United States to push for legislation that addresses toxic ash left behind from burning coal has given him the opportunity to play a key role in the transitioning from coal to clean energy in the United States.

He is the son of immigrants from Barbados and is an alumnus of Clark Atlanta University. Daniel and his wife Jeanelle are the proud parents of four children, and the family resides in Forsyth County, Georgia.

Hannah is an Associate Attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center, a nonprofit environmental legal advocacy organization rooted in the South. As a member of SELC’s water and coastal teams, Hannah litigates cases under the National Environmental Policy Act, the Clean Water Act, and other laws, with a focus on industrial toxins and coastal matters. She received both her undergraduate and law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Hannah currently lives in Chapel Hill with her husband and dog.

Mr. James Choate currently serves as the Deputy District Counsel for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Charleston District.  In that capacity, he routinely advises the Charleston District's Regulatory Division on the District's administration and enforcement of Section 404 of Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 in the state of South Carolina, as well as the District's compliance with a host of other environmental laws, including the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the National Historic Preservation Act.  Mr. Choate is a member of the Florida Bar, and he holds a J.D. from Stetson University College of Law and a LL.M. in Environmental & Land Use Law from the University of Florida Levin College of Law.     

Jean Zhuang is a staff attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center, a nonprofit environmental legal advocacy organization rooted in the South. She litigates cases related to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and other industrial toxins throughout the region. Before joining the Southern Environmental Law Center, Jean was a legal fellow at Sierra Club’s Washington D.C. office. She graduated from Yale University and received her JD from the University of Virginia. She is based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Outside of work, Jean enjoys painting, hiking, and spending time with her Catahoula Hog Dog, Ramen.

Jeaneanne Gettle is the Director of the Water Division in the United States Environmental Protection Agency's, Region 4 office located in Atlanta, Georgia. Ms. Gettle has a Bachelor of Science in Geological Engineering from Missouri University of Science and Technology (formerly the University of Missouri at Rolla) and a Juris Doctor from Georgia State University. She has 36 years of experience at EPA working in variety of programs both in the Region and Headquarters. She previously served as the Director of the Science and Ecosystem Support Division in Region 4 and has worked on issues related to clean air, toxics, RCRA, superfund and pesticides as well as on a number of workgroups and committees which address both national and regional policy, programmatic and rule implementation issues. Jeaneanne is a member of the State Bar of Georgia. 

Jeff Tyburski joined Geosyntec’s Raleigh, North Carolina office in August of 2019 as a Principal Geologist. Jeff has over 34 years of experience in the environmental consulting field. Through his career he has worked on a variety of public and private section projects. He specializes in developing technically defensible and cost effective solutions for environmental assessments to identify and evaluate releases of subsurface contamination and the risk they present to human health and the environment. He is well versed in developing corrective action strategies to manage the risks associated with subsurface contamination including the development and implementation of various groundwater, soil, surface water, sediment and vapor intrusion mitigation engineering controls. His primary area of expertise is supporting the redevelopment of urban infill Brownfields sites. Through his experience, he has the ability to work with property owners, their site design and construction team, legal counsel, investment partners and regulatory agencies to develop and integrated approach to manage environmental risk through site acquisition, redevelopment design, and construction and facility management phases of a project. He has actively been involved with regulatory stakeholder groups and initiative for the development of new regulations and guidance’s which has allowed him to develop strong working relationships with various regulatory agencies. Jeff graduated from the university of Rochester with a Bachelors degree in Geology in 1987. With his wife Roz, they own and operate Carolina Morning Stables in Silk Hope NC. In his spare time, Jeff enjoys taking rides with his Quarter horse Mack, bike riding, and spending time with his six children.

Jill Andrews is Chief of Coastal Management for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources' Coastal Resources Division. Mrs. Andrews first joined the Department in 2001 starting as a Coastal Resource Specialist, then manager of the Coastal and Ocean Management Program. As Chief, Mrs. Andrews oversees Georgia's Coastal Management Program which is part of a national state-federal partnership to proactively address unique challenges of the coastal zone. Since 1998, Georgia's Program promulgates coastal management laws and policies; provides technical assistance to coastal communities; funds research and local projects; collaborates with federal, state and local agencies to co-manage resources; manages public and private activities affecting coastal marshlands, beaches and tidal waters; and regulates the commercial and recreational harvest of oysters and clams to ensure safe product for consumers.

Mrs. Andrews has over 20 years of experience collaborating with public, government, academic and private partners to facilitate the understanding of local climate change vulnerabilities and to implement forward-thinking resilience and adaptation strategies, resource conservation and restoration.  She is the Governor's appointee to the Coastal States Organization which serves the interests of coastal states and territories in Washington, D.C., and is a member of numerous regional (multi-state) working groups to innovate coastal management strategies and address emerging issues. Mrs. Andrews has helped organize and present at several law seminars throughout the Southeast that focused on shoreline, marsh and beach management and climate adaptation policies.

Jill received her B.S. in Biology from the University of Buffalo and a M.A. in Marine Affairs and Policy from the University of Miami, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. Before coming to Georgia, Mrs. Andrews worked for coastal management organizations in Washington D.C. and Florida. 
 

Kim Nimmer is the Emerging Compounds Coordinator with the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, Division of Water Resources.  In this role, Kim provides division-wide coordination for emerging compounds activities, communicating with programs and staff who are engaged in sampling and analysis, data management, permitting, and related activities.  Kim previously served in other positions for the NC DWR including the Interbasin Transfer (IBT) Program Coordinator and grant administrator for the U.S. EPA 319(h) grant, which funded projects and positions to protect and restore waters impaired by nonpoint source pollution.  Kim has worked in private consulting, the nonprofit sector, and Wisconsin state government as a hydrogeologist and environmental scientist, working on stream restoration projects, site assessments for Superfund and Brownfields sites, and the development of state technical standards for soil and water conservation practices.  Kim holds an M.S. in Water Resources Management from the University of Wisconsin at Madison and a B.S. in Geology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  

Leif Palmer is the Regional Counsel for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 4 located in Atlanta, Georgia. The Office of Regional Counsel (ORC) is comprised of seven branches and approximately 70 lawyers and a dozen FOIA and support staff. ORC provides legal advice to the 900-plus Region 4 managers, staff and senior leaders. Substantive legal areas include: civil and criminal enforcement under all federal environmental laws under EPA purview; legal counseling for a host of issues includes the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Administrative Procedure Act.; Superfund and Federal facilities; representing the Agency in defensive litigation in citizen suits, tort claims and takings; and operating the Region 4 FOIA Office. 

Leif has 29 years of experience at EPA Region 4 and has held management positions in ORC’s Superfund and General & Criminal Law Offices. Prior to becoming a manager, Leif served as a Senior Attorney for General Law matters for 10 years where he handled contracts, grants, defensive litigation and other matters, including serving as the lead attorney for Region 4’s response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.  Before he was a Senior Attorney, Leif worked in the Air, Pesticides, Toxics and General Law Office where his duties were split between regulatory enforcement and general law. Leif is a member of the Oregon and Georgia bar associations and received his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Oregon.

 Mr. Johnson is a Principal with Geosyntec Consultants with over 25 years of experience in the environmental field. He has conducted and managed numerous Phase I and Phase II site assessments at industrial, manufacturing, and commercial facilities throughout the United States, and internationally in Canada, Latin America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.  He has conducted site investigations and remediation at sites to address petroleum products, chlorinated solvents, metals, and emerging contaminants impacting soil, sediment, and groundwater.  He assists commercial and legal clients in evaluating potential future environmental remediation requirements and costs associated with industrial facilities as part of due diligence and related transaction support, as well as for insurance clients in evaluation of cost recovery claims.  Mr. Johnson has developed numerous remedial investigation work plans and reports, baseline human health risk assessments, feasibility reports, and remedial action closure reports under a variety of state-lead enforcement programs including underground storage tank and voluntary cleanup programs.  Mr. Johnson holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Earth and Planetary Sciences from the Johns Hopkins University, and a Master of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Mary Katherine Stukes practices environmental law at Moore & Van Allen in Charlotte, where she is head of the firm's Environmental practice. She advises clients on environmental issues involved in all types of business transactions, as well as regulatory compliance issues and environmental litigation.  She holds an undergraduate degree from Duke University and a law degree from the University of North Carolina School of Law.