Brownfields 2022 is introducing  Brownfields University as our new pre-conference training program. It will provide a curriculum of core brownfield concepts and practices to prepare attendees for the full educational program content.

Brownfields University provides valuable hands-on learning and engagement for emerging brownfield practitioners and seasoned professionals alike.  Attendees will be better prepared to select educational sessions to attend, and better prepared to engage presenters and exhibitors with freshly informed understanding of subjects covered throughout the conference.

CURRICULUM

8:30am – 11:00am, Tuesday, August 16, Room 208 A/B

Consider this your Brownfields 2022 Basecamp! This course introduces the multiple dimensions of brownfield revitalization, including a hands-on activity where participants will work in small groups to develop a brownfield plan for ‘their community.’  Experienced brownfield professionals from U.S. EPA Regional Offices and EPA’s Technical Assistance to Brownfields (TAB) Communities program will walk participants through brownfields basics, show you how to gear up for brownfields successes in your community (including funding opportunities in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law), and provide recommendations on which sessions to attend at Brownfields 2022 based on where you are in the redevelopment process.  This course also provides ample opportunities for networking, peer-to-peer learning, and resource exchange. Join us and jumpstart your 2022 Brownfields Conference experience!

Speakers:

  • Jean Hamerman, Executive Director, Center for Creative Land Recycling
  • Maggie Belanger, TAB Services Coordinator, Kansas State University
  • Sean Vroom, Director, New Jersey Institute of Technology
  • Noemi Emeric-Ford, Brownfields Project Manager, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (Region 9)
  • Schenine Mitchell, Regional Brownfields Coordinator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (Region 2)

8:30am – 2:15pm, Tuesday, August 16, Room 301 C/D

Enter the world of high stakes brownfield redevelopment through a collaborative and interactive workshop. This workshop places participants in the role of the community/owner of a complex, contaminated property working through the process of creating value and positioning the property for redevelopment. Participants will evaluate the property, develop a viable reuse plan, consider public funding sources and attract a developer. Working in teams, participants will identify needs and objectives for the property, conduct a reuse assessment, develop a reuse implementation strategy, and compete with other teams for a developer! Multiple developers will attend this workshop to help as each team creates their brownfields repositioning strategy. Participants will learn and apply land revitalization, real estate development principles to real-world brownfield redevelopment situations using EPA’s new guide, “Creating a Brownfields Investment Package.” Additionally, the workshop will provide insights into a proven land revitalization framework, understanding the different key players, and critical decision-making steps that determine the outcomes of redevelopment. See inside the process of how deals are made!

Speakers:

  • Michael Taylor, President, Vita Nuova LLC
  • Elaine Richardson, Vice President, Vita Nuova LLC
  • Nicole Henderson, Vice President, Community Development, Vita Nuova LLC
  • Jim Rocco, Risk Manager, Vita Nuova LLC
  • Ashley Geyer, Project Manager, Vita Nuova LLC

8:30am – 2:15pm, Tuesday, August 16, Room 209 A/B

Successfully leveraging federal, state, and philanthropic funds to achieve sustainable community revitalization and brownfields redevelopment requires planning ahead, stakeholder coordination, and advocacy. This preconference workshop session will explain how EPA brownfield grantees and municipal leaders can use the “Resource Roadmapping” approach to align priority funding needs with the best available funding sources. Sustainable Strategies DC’s (S2) funding experts will be joined by a municipal manager who has deployed the Resource Roadmap approach to leverage millions of dollars into brownfields redevelopment, in a session that will engage attendees to learn how to develop a matrix of optimal funding opportunities listing grant ranges, matching requirements, contacts, deadlines, and preliminary steps.

Speakers:

  • Matt Ward, CEO, Sustainable Strategies DC
  • Ashley Badesch, Principal, Sustainable Strategies DC
  • Debra Figueroa, City Manager, City of Glenwood Springs, CO

8:30am – 11:00am, Tuesday, August 16, Room 204

Mini-Master Class on Brownfield Redevelopment

Led by Todd S. Davis, Esq., who literally “wrote the book” for the American Bar Association (“ABA”) on brownfield redevelopment, and patterned on a “fast-paced” and award-winning ABA program, this hand-picked team of leading national experts will teach you to think like a brownfield redeveloper, and avoid the federal and state legal landmines associated with the redevelopment process. Topics will include a basic overview of applicable federal and state environmental laws, quickly quantifying environmental costs and constraints, fundamental environmental insurance strategies and how to position and evaluate your project for success from the perspective of top lawyers, environmental consultants and brownfield redevelopers. Strap-in and learn how the “best of the best” analyze and redevelop even the toughest brownfield transactions.

Speakers:

  • Todd Davis, Esq. Hemisphere Brownfield Group LLC, Cleveland, OH
  • Meaghan A. Colligan, Esq. Holland & Knight LLP, Washington, DC
  • Jose Almazar, Esq. Seyfarth Shaw LLP, New York, NY
  • Craig A. Kasper, P.E. Verdantas, Dublin, OH
  • Grant E. Nichols, Esq. CAC Specialty, Miami, FL

12:00pm – 2:15pm, Tuesday, August 16, Room 208 A/B

Site Planning & Design – Join us at the Brownfields Studio! During this interactive workshop, you will learn how smart planning and creative design will help your community revitalize brownfield sites in ways that align with the local goals and vision, while also being environmentally protective and economically beneficially. You will work with other participants to develop two conceptual reuse scenarios – one for a brownfield in an urban area, and the other for a brownfield on tribal land. Along the way, you will learn how to best prepare these sites for reuse through various planning, community engagement and site design activities!

Moderator:

  • Aimee Storm, EPA’s Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization

Instructors:

  • Emily Blanton, Urban Planner, ICF International
  • Sean Garrigan, Landscape Architect, Stromberg Garrigan and Associates
  • Nicole Henderson, Vice President, Vita Nuova
  • Theodore Jojola, Indigenous Design and Planning Institute, University of New Mexico

12:00pm – 2:15pm, Tuesday, August 16, Room 204

This course covers the Who, What, Why, and When of community engagement for public agencies, development interests, and anyone involved in brownfields. Concepts will be illustrated by real world examples, and offer perspectives from impacted community members, organizations, public agencies, developers, community-based organizations. It looks beyond the standard approaches and considers social distancing, tactical urbanism, and other emerging ways to engage people.

Speakers:

  • Carrie Staton, Director, Brownfields Assistance Center at West Virginia University
  • Maggie Belanger, TAB Services Coordinator, Kansas State University