Air Quality Bureau
New Mexico Climate Master™
Topics and Presenters for Albuquerque Program, Spring 2010
Topic: Climate Change Myths
Presenter: Eileen Everett
Eileen Everett is the Climate Change Educator for the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. In this position, she works with children, families, and adults on educating about our changing climate and actions we as individuals, communities, and societies can take in regards to our warming planet. Previously, Eileen was the Education Manager for Audubon New Mexico and the Randall Davey Audubon Center in Santa Fe and worked as a wildlife biologist in the Endangered Species program of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. She has a BA in Human Ecology from College of the Atlantic and an MS in Wildlife Science from New Mexico State University.
Topic: Climate Change Science
Presenter: Chris Duvall
Chris Duvall is an Assistant Professor of geography at the University of New Mexico. He has lived and researched in West Africa, South Asia, and the western U.S., where his research focuses on how human activities affect plant distributions. In teaching, he focuses on physical geography, which is crucial for understanding natural disasters — whether caused by brief events like landslides or long-term climate change.
Topic: Fostering Sustainable Behavior
Presenter: Carrie McChesney
Carrie McChesney owns Concept Green LLC, a company that helps organizations implement environmental sustainability programs, practices and policies designed to lower operating costs, improve profitability and reduce environmental impacts.
Carrie is the former Environmental Sustainability Coordinator for PNM Resources, where she developed and implemented green programs, sustainability reports, and environmental foot printing, benchmarking and score carding tools. Prior to her sustainability career, Carrie managed technical communications in the commercial software development industry. Carrie holds a self-designed B.A. from Western Illinois University, which focuses on environmental sustainability and climate change.
Carrie served on the City of Albuquerque's Climate Action Task Force and the State of New Mexico's Green Zia Task Force and is actively engaged in educating the public about home weatherization, energy efficiency, climate change, energy literacy, and renewable energy. Carrie volunteers for the U.S. Green Building Council's New Mexico Chapter and the New Mexico Solar Energy Association and frequently advocates for green jobs in New Mexico. In her free time, she reads up on information design and sustainability issues, plays percussion in a Javanese ensemble and spends time with her husband David and her cat Norman Bates.
Topic: Consumption & Waste
Presenter: Jill Holbert
Jill Holbert is the Deputy Director of the City of Albuquerque’s Solid Waste Management Department. She brings over 20 years of experience in integrated solid waste management; including waste reduction, recycling, composting and solid and household hazardous waste management. Prior to joining the Department, Ms. Holbert worked for the Solid Waste Bureau of the New Mexico Environment Department. She also served as the Solid Waste Management Division Director with the City of Santa Fe and manager of Santa Fe County’s solid waste and recycling program. She holds a Master of Science degree in Community Development from the University of California and a bachelor’s degree in Natural Resources from the University of Michigan.
Topic: Home Energy
Presenter: Susan Freed
Susan Freed has over 30 years of experience in the fields of architecture and planning and currently holds a license to practice architecture in New Mexico. She has been a LEED Accredited Professional since 2005. She earned a master degree in architecture from University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, NM and a Bachelor of Arts in Human Ecology from College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, ME.
She is currently employed at Architectural Research Consultants, Inc. (ARC) where she has worked as project manager on master planning, programming, and sustainability projects for a variety of public clients such as school districts, colleges, and local governments throughout New Mexico. Her environmental sustainability projects include sustainability planning, carbon assessments, climate action planning, and LEED benchmark specifications for new construction RFPs. In 2009 she taught Concepts of LEED Certification at the Santa Fe Community College.
Prior to employment at ARC, Susan provided full-time design services to the New Mexico MainStreet Program, a community development program based in the Economic Development Department of NM State government, which provides guidance and assistance to communities to generate economic vitality at the heart of the community utilizing historic assets in traditional commercial districts.
Susan has held positions with several architecture firms in New Mexico and also ran a consulting business, Land Marks Consulting, through which she provided architectural, planning, development, and sustainability services.
Topic: Local Food
Presenters: Ilana Blankman, Robin Seydel, Minor Morgan and Jennifer Prosser
Ilana Blankman has been working in food and agriculture-based community economic development for five years. She currently serves as Farm to Market Specialist for Farm to Table, a Santa Fe based non-profit organization that works statewide and throughout the Southwest to promote local agriculture and access to healthy food. In her role with Farm to Table, Ilana has helped to coordinate numerous trainings, conferences, and farm tours for producers who market locally. She has also worked one-on-one with producers to assess their business needs and connect them to the resources they need to improve the viability of their businesses. She has also assisted with the formation and organizational development of several producer groups. Ilana has provided training and written articles on the value chain methodology, and currently serves as value chain consultant to four different projects. Ms. Blankman served as a Research Assistant on A Value Chain Analysis of the Grass-fed Beef Industry in Northern New Mexico. Prior to working for Farm to Table, Ms. Blankman served as Community Outreach Coordinator for the South Valley Economic Development Center. She holds a Masters in Community and Regional Planning from the University of New Mexico. Ilana is an Albuquerque native and enjoys cooking, gardening and the circus arts.
Robin Seydel is a consumer, health, farming and environmental community organizer. For nearly 25 years she has worked on building the alternative economic system at La Montanita Coop as newspaper editor and membership, community outreach and education coordinator. Having served on numerous boards she has been on the Board of Directors of the national Organic Consumers Association since its inception, is on the Good Food Network, New Mexico Board and works on a variety of farming, environmental and justice issues. In 1993 in conjunction with Greenpeace, Women’s Environment and Development Organization and La Montanita Coop she organized the first national, public conference on endocrine disrupting chemicals, in 1995 was a delegate to the Beijing Women’s Conference and started Action for Women’s Health, an organization that facilitated the first grand rounds series of educational events for M.D.’s on endocrine disrupting chemicals. During the 1990’s she studied herbalism here and in Canada and taught at the Southwest College of Botanical Medicine.
In 2004 she organized the Common Ground Summit in conjunction with the Wild Farm Alliance and Watershed Media to bring farmers and environmentalists together on hot issues of water and land use and to educate the larger New Mexico community on the benefits of conservation based agriculture. Since 1999 she has been a registered organic grower of medicinal and culinary herbs, fruit and nuts and has a private, clinical herbal practice. Her writings have appeared in numerous magazines, periodicals, and newspapers as well as in the book “Redesigning Life” published by Zed Press.
Minor Morgan is the Executive Director of the Rio Grande Community Farm in Albuquerque’s North Valley. He is a Certified Organic grower and food processor with the New Mexico Organic Commodities Commission. Minor is a member of the New Mexico Beekeepers Association, the American Beekeeping Federation, and American Honey Producers Association. He is also a licensed Independent Social Worker.
Jennifer Prosser is a practicing herbalist, urban farmer and food activist. She owns Sunstone Herbs, an herbal product business and herb farm in the South Valley where she and her partner grow herbs, fruits and vegetables and keep goats, chickens and the occasional pig. Jen teaches and consults on herbs, sustainability, urban homesteading and permaculture, emphasizing the connections between health, food and medicine and their root in a healthy terrain. Before relocating from her farm in New York's Hudson Valley to New Mexico, Jen organized a successful annual festival that celebrated farmers, families and healthy food. The Family Farm Festival brought together purveyors of artisan cheeses, heirloom vegetables, grass-fed meats and heritage breed animals, offered workshops, music and a Celebrity Chef Competition. Since moving to New Mexico in 2007, Jen has served as secretary and treasurer of the Rio Grande Valley Farmers Guild and helped organize the Bernalillo County Open Space Backyard Farming Series at the Hubbell House. She is certified in Permaculture design, agroforestry and medical herbalism, but she considers her greatest teachers to be the plants and people in her community. Find out more at www.sunstoneherbs.com.
Topic: Renewable Energy
Presenters: Jeremy Lewis
Jeremy Lewis is a Clean Energy Specialist with the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resource Department’s Energy Conservation and Management Division. He manages public renewable energy and energy efficiency projects, facilitates the New Mexico Wind Energy Working Group, supports statewide and state fleet energy efficiency efforts in transportation and fuel usage and manages the Department Green Power Purchase program. Jeremy has been with EMNRD since 2007. He has a Masters in Community & Regional Planning from the University of New Mexico, and a BS in Natural Resource Studies from University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Topic: Transportation
Presenters: Frank Burcham
Frank Burcham is the State Coordinator and Executive Director, Land of Enchantment Clean Cities Coalition. He is a founding member of the Coalition as the Department of Energy’s 11th designated Clean City Community in 1994. Under the Coalition's re-designation efforts, he expanded it to include the entire state of New Mexico. Frank is also President and CEO, Burcham & Associates. In this role he has created the non-profit Alternative Fuels Vehicle Network (AFVN) to promote and expand the use of clean alternative transportation fuels in the state; helped the State of New Mexico develop an Alternative Fuels Utilization Plan for its fleet; and assisted in the placement of biofuel stations in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Nambe Pueblo and Truth or Consequences. Other professional activities have included City of Albuquerque’s Climate Action Task Force, 21st Century Transportation Task Force, Energy Council, and Alternative Fuels Committee.
Topic: Water
Presenter: Katherine Yuhas
Katherine Yuhas has served as the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Authority's Water Conservation Officer for the past eight years. Prior to that, Ms. Yuhas was the county hydrologist for Santa Fe County from 2000-2003. From 1995-2000 she worked in the Ground Water quality Bureau of the NM Environment Department. She has a B.A. in Geology and Environmental Science from the University of Pennsylvania.