8:30 am - Registration opens, coffee and light breakfast served 

 

9:00 – 9:05 am - Context Setting and Schedule for the Day – Dan Fiorino, Director Center for Environmental Policy, American University School of Public Affairs 

 

9:05 – 9:10 am  - Host Welcome – Stanley Abramson,  Counsel, ArentFox Schiff 

 

9:10 – 9:25 am - Keynote Address – Tonantzin Carmona, Senior Advisor for Policy and Implementation, US Department of Treasury  

 

9:25 – 10:00 am - Plenary Panel, Federal Agency Results and Roadmap 

Speakers: Ed Saltzberg, Security and Sustainability Forum (moderator)  

Dylan Reed, Senior Advisor for External Affairs, Grid Deployment Office, DOE 

Esther Sosa, Special Advisor for Policy, IRA Implementation, EPA 

   

10:00 – 11:00 am - Panel 1: Hard to Reach Communities  

Remote and rural local governments and communities have often faced capacity constraints when applying for and subsequently, managing large federal grants. New mandates and tools such as Justice 40, the EPA Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers (EPA EJ TCTAC) and others have been established to remedy these longstanding challenges. The diverse viewpoints represented on this interactive panel will highlight the leading practices that are helping remote, rural and tribal communities secure funding to ensure effective and sustainable investments in hopes of demystifying the funding process and calling out the lingering challenges that could be improved by outside intervention and support.  

Speakers:  

Raksha Vasudevan, Senior Program Manager, ICMA (moderator) 

Hope Cupit, Southeast Rural Community Assistance Project, Inc.  

Michelle Moore, Chief Executive Officer, Groundswell  

Chris Weaver, Vice President of Philanthropy, Grid Alternatives  

 

11:00 –  11:15 am  - Coffee Break 

 

11:15 am – 12:15 pm - Panel 2: Urban Adaptation  

Cities and suburban communities face daunting challenges such as coastal flooding, drought conditions, unreliable power grids and others. These issues pose significant risks to the livability and sustainability of cities, with vulnerable populations bearing the heaviest impacts. This interactive dialogue will feature speakers from a range of government and community organizations who are working in a variety of ways to help ensure that cities can adapt to the changes and challenges at hand, while also bolstering the resilience of those most at risk.  

Speakers: Lacey Shaver, Senior Manager of City Clean Energy, U.S. Energy Program, WRI 

Thomas Bartholomew, Associate Director, Policy and Compliance, District Department of Energy & Environment, Washington, DC 

John Morrill, Director, Office of Environmental and Energy Coordination, Fairfax County  

Ava Richardson, Director of Sustainability, City of Baltimore  

 

12:15 – 12:28 pm - Next steps, follow up actions – Danielle Miller Wagner, Program Director, Center for Environmental Policy, American University School of Public Affairs

 

 

12:28-12:30 pm - Thank yous to hosts, cosponsors, audience members 

 

12:30 pm - Adjourn