Keynote speakers announced for the 2014 Symposium.

The Earth Day Symposium provides educational and networking opportunities for local government officials, community leaders, and professionals from diverse backgrounds in the planning and environmental fields. This year’s Symposium, “Regional Sustainability: Vision and Reality”, will be held April 1-2 at the Powder Valley Nature Center.
Read more about it and register online today!

John Hoal

Morning Keynote, Co-presenter, April 1

John Hoal, Ph.D., RA (SA), AICP, CNU_A, NCI, IAP2, is the founding principal of H3 Studio Inc., a planning, design and research firm based in St. Louis, Missouri with additional offices in Johannesburg, South Africa.  He practices and teaches architecture, sustainable urban design and community-based planning in the United States, Asia and Southern Africa, and lectures nationally and internationally on the design and development of sustainable livable cities. Hoal began his professional career in South Africa where he worked both in the private and public sector on major large-scale urban design projects as well as residential, institutional, environmental and recreational projects. In 1990 he co-founded the City of St. Louis’ first Urban Design Department and between 1993 and 2000 was the Director of Urban Design for the City of St. Louis.

In addition, Hoal is the Chair of the Masters of Urban Design Program and an Associate Professor of Architecture and Urban Design at the Graduate School of Architecture and Urban Design at Washington University in St. Louis. He also holds faculty fellowships at the Institute for Public Health for his research and advocacy of walkable urbanism and healthy + active living and the Center for the Study of Ethics & Human Values for his advocacy in social and environmental justice. He participates in the Richard A. Gephardt Institute for Public Service and the Sustainable Urbanism Research and Design Center at Washington University.

Derek Hoeferlin

Morning Keynote, Co-presenter, April 1

Derek Hoeferlin is a registered architect and assistant professor of architecture at the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis. His teaching, research and professional work has been awarded, presented and published internationally. Derek directs “Deltas + Watersheds (D+W),” conducting collaborative research on global comparative deltas and watersheds—primarily focused on the Mekong, Mississippi and the Rhine—to inform adaptive design strategies. In 2013, Derek co-organized with John Hoal of Washington University and Dale Morris of the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Washington D.C. “MISI-ZIIBI: Living with the Great Rivers, Climate Adaptation Strategies in the Midwest River Basins,” a multi-disciplinary scenario-based design workshop at Washington University that included experts from The Netherlands’ “Room for the River” program.

Currently Derek and John Hoal are leading a multi-disciplinary team as finalists in the “Changing Course” competition for Louisiana delta coastal restoration strategies. Derek co-leads “Gutter to Gulf,” advocating for integrated water management strategies for New Orleans. Hoeferlin worked with Waggonner & Ball as key designer for “Dutch Dialogues,” the “Urban Water Plan for New Orleans” and the HUD-sponsored “Rebuild by Design” competition for post-Sandy resiliency planning along the eastern seaboard. With H3 Studio, Inc., he helped lead the “Unified New Orleans Plan,” the only formally adopted post-Katrina recovery plan. From 1997-2003, he worked full-time for Waggonner & Ball, where he was lead designer on multiple AIA-award winning projects. Derek tied for first place in the “Rising Tides” international competition and was named a finalist in the “Build a Better Burb” competition. He holds master of architecture degrees from Tulane and Yale.

Jeffrey R. Keaton

Morning Keynote, April 1

Jeffrey R. Keaton, ENV SP, F.ASCE, F.GSA, has degrees in Geological Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering, and Geology. He has been employed by consulting firms for over 40 years and has been a Principal in AMEC’s Los Angeles office since 2001. He holds the Envision™ Sustainability Credential and is licensed as a professional engineer and a professional geologist in several states. Jeff is a member of the ASCE Committee on Sustainability and chair of its Strategic Communications Subcommittee. He is chair of the Geo-Institute’s Committee on Sustainability in Geotechnical Engineering, and past chair of the Geo-Institute’s Technical Coordination Council. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET.

Jacqueline Patterson

Morning Keynote, April 2

Jacqueline Patterson is the Director of the NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Program. Since 2007 Patterson has served as coordinator & co-founder of Women of Color United. Jacqui Patterson has worked as a researcher, program manager, coordinator, advocate and activist working on women’s rights, violence against women, HIV&AIDS, racial justice, economic justice, and environmental and climate justice. Patterson served as a Senior Women’s Rights Policy Analyst for ActionAid where she integrated a women’s rights lens for the issues of food rights, macroeconomics, and climate change as well as the intersection of violence against women and HIV&AIDS.  Previously, she served as Assistant Vice-President of HIV/AIDS Programs for IMA World Health providing management and technical assistance to medical facilities and programs in 23 countries in Africa and the Caribbean. Patterson served as the Outreach Project Associate for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and Research Coordinator for Johns Hopkins University. She was also a U.S. Peace Corps Jamaica volunteer.

Patterson holds a master’s degree in social work from the University of Maryland and a master’s degree in public health from Johns Hopkins University. She currently serves on the Gender Justice Working Group of the US Social Forum, the Advisory Committee for The Grandmothers’ Project, the Steering Committee of Interfaith Moral Action on Climate Change, as well as on the Board of Directors for the Institute of the Black World and US Climate Action Network.

Cole Roberts

Lunch Plenary, April 1 

Cole Roberts, Associate Principal, leads the energy and resource sustainability business in Arup’s San Francisco office. Roberts specializes in design and consultation in the new and existing built environment. His contributions stem from a background of engineering and business experience that ranges from climate responsive engineering and sustainability consulting to community energy systems, climate positive buildings, and financial analysis. Roberts has led dozens of new and retrofit projects to successful third party certification, including numerous internationally award winning platinum and NZE achievements. Additionally, his team has returned to many of these buildings to gauge how they are performing in operation; knowledge that Arup uses to push better design and operational practice.

Specializing in sustainable design, assessment, and consultation, Cole brings a technically versed and financially pragmatic understanding of project sustainability to the table. As a contributor to a broad range of projects within the built environment, Cole contributes from a background of experience ranging from climate responsive building engineering and LEED™ consulting to master planning, carbon assessment, sustainable development guidelines, and stakeholder inclusion.