RISC Cluster Members + Project Team

Director of Sustainability
City of South Bend,
South Bend, IN

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Sustainability Program Manager
Cook County Department of Environment & Sustainability,
Illinois

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Chief Resilience Officer
City of Flint, Mayor’s Office,
Flint, MI

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Cluster Members

Dean Alonistiotis

Chief of Staff to Commissioner Kim Du Buclet, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, Chicago, IL

Dean helped lead efforts on launching the City of Chicago’s first impact investment fund, integrating socially responsible investment strategies to their investment portfolio as well as supporting small businesses to create impactful economic development opportunities across Chicago’s diverse neighborhoods. He works for MWRD, a water/wastewater utility serving over ten million residents in the Greater Chicago area. More Info

Evie Bauman

Director of Sustainability, City of South Bend, IL

Evie Bauman leads the Office of Sustainability for the City of South Bend. She and her team are focused on mobilizing the South Bend community to address the climate crisis. Currently, they are spearheading the implementation of the city’s Climate Action Plan, South Bend Carbon Neutral 2050, and designing initiatives to reduce emissions from the energy and transportation sectors. More Info

Sonia Brubaker

Chief Resilience Officer, City of Miami, FL

Sonia is a newly appointed CRO for the City of Miami. Previously, as the Director for USEPA’s Water Infrastructure and Resiliency Finance Center, she worked across the nation to help local leaders make informed drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure decisions by providing expertise and oversee research on topics such as financial planning, affordability of water services, financing partnerships, and other innovative financing approaches.

Lottie Ferguson

Chief Resilience Officer, City of Flint, MI

Lottie Ferguson’s experience in the nonprofit sector, early childhood and after-school programs, small business support, information technology and public health initiatives converged in this position, designed to help Flint recover from economic and environmental crises and to create a more resilient community. In partnership with the University of Michigan-Flint, Lottie is leading efforts to create the city’s first sustainability plan, that will prioritize resident input. More Info

Mike Foley

Director - Department of Sustainability, Cuyahoga County, OH

Since 2015, as the first Director of the Department of Sustainability for Cuyahoga County, Mike has led the development of the County’s first Climate Change Action Plan, an award winning 4 MW landfill solar project, and a new County public utility focusing on microgrid districts. Mike is a former member of the Ohio House of Representatives, representing the 14th District from 2006 to 2014.

Ken Hall, PEM

Hazard Mitigation Coordinator, City of Lansing, MI

As Hazard Mitigation Coordinator, Ken’s main duty is to mitigate or eliminate hazards that threaten the City of Lansing. Ken has since restarted the Dam Removal Exploratory Workgroup (DREW), floodplain property acquisition program, and much more.

Ron Harris

Chief Resilience Officer, City of Minneapolis, MN

Ron Harris leads citywide resilience-building efforts in the city of Minneapolis. In partnership with the city’s enterprise and community partners, and business leaders, Ron’s work focuses on “shocks and stresses” including topics such as the impacts of racial inequity, climate adaptation needs, and the impact of economic inequality within community.

Valerie Katz

Deputy Director of Sustainability, Cuyahoga County, OH

Valerie serves at the Deputy Director of Sustainability for Cuyahoga County. In this role, she helps to administer renewable energy, alternative transportation, and tree planting projects throughout the region. Valerie is also an educator and has over ten years of experience teaching high school biology and environmental science.

Marcella Bondie Keenan, AICP, LEED AP

Sustainability Coordinator, Village of Oak Park, IL

A proud recipient of the 2020 Chicago United for Equity (CUE) fellowship, Marcella’s work focuses on helping communities mitigate and adapt to climate change hazards, and realize the benefits of green building practices. Key projects include Climate Ready Oak Park, an equity-centered community initiative to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

Rebecca Kiernan

Principal Resilience Planner, City of Pittsburgh, PA

Rebecca focuses on building social, ecological, economic, and physical resilience to city-wide shocks and stresses. She develops and executes relevant analyses, plans and implementation projects for the City of Pittsburgh, serves on the City’s Shade Tree Commission and the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority Municipal Oversight Committee, and helped develop the Pittsburgh Watershed Resilience Accelerator Program.

Tim Kingsland

Storm Water District/MS4 Coordinator, Hobart Sanitary/Storm Water District, IN

Tim Kingsland leads the development and use of innovative green infrastructure practices for the management of storm water and environment sustainability. Previously, he led engineering design and construction management as a consultant, and the administration of sanitary and storm water utilities, regulatory compliance, and municipal management as a public sector leader.

Deb Kutska

Sustainability Program Manager, Cook County Department of Environment & Sustainability, IL

Deb Kutska manages a variety of programs that support Cook County residents and municipalities, connecting them to opportunities that improve resident health, reduce environmental impact, bolster resiliency of communities, and mitigate negative effects from a changing climate. She and her fellow team members work to center equity, environmental justice, and community engagement in program design. More Info

Matthew Lake

Executive Director, Merrillville Stormwater Utility, IN

A certified MS4 specialist and certified watershed management professional with over 20 years of experience, Matt has implemented an innovative award winning municipal stormwater program that includes low impact development requirements. Previously, Matt was the Statewide Programs Coordinator well as the Statewide Urban Forester for Indiana Department of Natural Resources, and also led successful initiatives that oversee design and installation of soil & water conservation practices on urban and agricultural lands throughout the State of Indiana. More Info

Jamie McCarthy

Sustainable Development Coordinator, City of Kalamazoo, MI

Jamie leads city of Kalamazoo’s redevelopment and sustainability efforts through her role within Community Planning & Economic Development and as liaison to the city’s Brownfield Redevelopment Authority. She is passionate about pragmatic solutions that leverage investments to create an urban environment that is more resilient, efficient, and equitable.

Kevin Meindl

Planning Commissioner & Transportation Council MPO Director, Chemung County, NY

Kevin has a background in sustainable land management and planning. He has two master’s degrees in landscape architecture and regional planning from Cornell University and previously led the green infrastructure program, Rain Check, for the City of Buffalo and Buffalo Sewer Authority. In his current role, he directs the strategy and development of multi-sector resilience initiatives and programs that leverage transportation investments with land use and economic development policies.

Kyla Predergast

Senior Environmental Planner, Department of City Planning, City of Pittsburgh, PA

Kyla facilitates stormwater management planning efforts city-wide through partnerships with residents, engineers, designers, community organizations, city departments, and water utilities. In 2022, she implemented a major update to the City’s stormwater management ordinance that prioritizes green infrastructure and acknowledges the increased rainfall expected due to climate change.

Carrie Rivette

Wastewater/Stormwater Maintenance Superintendent, City of Grand Rapids, MI

Carrie was instrumental in creating the first Stormwater Asset Management Plan for the City of Grand Rapids, and has also worked to make Vital Streets (Complete Streets plus Green Infrastructure) a reality. Her current challenge is working to ensure equitable, community driven stormwater solutions.

Brandy Siedlaczek

Storm Water Manager, City of Southfield, MI

Brandy’s focus for the City encompasses capital planning and resource management for storm water conveyance with the ultimate goal of protecting water resources in the community through regulatory compliance, innovative design and public engagement. She is responsible for numerous large scale capital improvement projects focusing on green infrastructure and sustainability, and is well recognized for her efforts across the Metro Detroit region.

Joanne So Young Dill

Chief of Strategy and External Affairs for Commissioner Marcelino Garcia at the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, Chicago, IL

Joanne directs policy research, facilitates public-private partnerships, and throughout her career has focused on designing innovative environmental projects. A native of the Beantown, previously, she was Director of Strategic Initiatives at Friends of the Chicago River and currently serves on the Board of the Great Lakes Protection Fund. More Info

Olivia Sparrow

Manager – Stormwater Programs, City of Brampton, ON, Canada

A Water Resources Engineer specializing in stormwater management and green infrastructure, Olivia’s role includes administration of the City’s stormwater charge. She also coordinates engineering programs to manage the City’s stormwater assets, including over 180 stormwater ponds, and outreach programs to engage private property owners in improving stormwater management.

Melissa (Missy) Stults, Ph.D.

Sustainability and Innovations Manager, City of Ann Arbor, MI

Dr. Missy Stults leads City of Ann Arbor’s efforts to become one of the most sustainable and equitable cities in America; an initiative that includes implementation of A2ZERO, a plan to achieve a just transition to community-wide carbon neutrality by 2030. Prior to joining the City, Missy worked with cities and tribal communities around the nation to advance their climate and sustainability goals, including during her time as the Climate Director at ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability and as a consultant to philanthropic organizations.

Ellen Tarquinio

Program Leader, Environmental Finance Advisory Board, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C.

Ellen is an experienced Financial Policy Advisor with a demonstrated history of working in government administration and infrastructure. Within the federal government, Ellen ideas and advice to EPA’s Administrator and program offices on ways to lower the costs of and increase investments in environmental and public health protection.

Nadia Vogt

Resiliency Officer, Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, WI

Nadia Vogt is a Senior Project Manager with the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District. Nadia works across municipal, private and public sectors to effectively engage stakeholders in decision making around regional resilience. Nadia specializes in project development that leverages investments in
water resources to bring about additional triple bottom line benefits for communities with a focus on climate change and environmental justice populations. More Info

Lisa Wallick, P.E.

Manager, Permitting & Stormwater Management Group (PSMG) Manager, Detroit Water & Sewerage Department (DWSD), Detroit, MI

Lisa is responsible for launching Detroit’s first stormwater ordinance, the drainage green credit program, and installation of DWSD’s green infrastructure capital improvement projects. Having spent a majority of her career as a professional consultant specializing in municipal wastewater treatment facilities with emphasis on planning and managing wet weather flow capacities, she brings extensive knowledge of the region’s combined sewer overflow system and treatment facilities, as well as the Environment Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) and National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting requirements.

Aaron Ward, P. Eng.

Project Leader – Infrastructure & Operations Department, Thunder Bay, ON, Canada

Aaron is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the City of Thunder Bay’s 2016 City-wide Stormwater Management Plan, which includes the proposed construction of over 550 new storwmater management and green infrastructure storwmater facilities. Aaron also oversees all new development in the City to ensure conformance with the City’s Engineering Standards and stormwater management requirements.

Lori Welch

Sustainability Coordinator, City of Lansing, MI

Lori Welch was selected to serve as the City of Lansing’s first Sustainability Manager in the Spring of 2020. She is responsible for Lansing’s climate action and sustainability plans for government operations, as well as the Lansing community.

Project Team

Sanjiv Sinha, Ph.D., P.E.

RISC Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Corvias Infrastructure Solutions, LLC (CIS), Ann Arbor, MI

Sanjiv developed this project, put the team together, and now coordinates it. A frequent presenter on topics related to economic instruments in the water infrastructure market, Sanjiv is credited with two of the Great Lakes’ largest green stormwater infrastructure related transactions and aspires to make these ideas mainstream.

Sri Vedachalam, Ph.D.

Director - Equity & Climate Resilience, CIS, Washington, D.C

Sri is a water policy specialist, bringing experience from his years in government, non-profit and consulting. He has advised large foundation, non-profits, and government agencies on a wide range of issues including affordability, financing, public trust, and equity. He currently serves on the boards of Alliance for the Great Lakes and the communications nonprofit Water Hub.

William (Bill) Schleizer

CEO, The Delta Institute, Chicago, IL

Bill drives strategy behind Delta’s collaboration with more than 200 communities throughout the Midwest to solve environmental challenges and spur economic development. He has over 18 years of experience in systems analysis, environmental science, and consulting. He is a 2019 Notable LGBTQ Executive for Crains-Chicago Business, and enjoys experimenting with vintage cookbook recipes.

Paul Herman

CEO, Human Impact + Profit Investor, LLC, San Francisco, CA

Paul serves as an expert in impact investing, resilience investing, and opportunity zone investing. He brings refreshingly unique experience having worked previously on evaluating investments for Boards of Directors while at McKinsey and Company, designing and implementing investment strategy at Omidyar Network, and rating 125,000 investments for positive impact for people, planet, and trust.

Anna Wolf

Project Manager, Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT), Chicago, IL

Anna assists with the community engagement aspects of RISC, and brings a wealth of related experience having interviewed 12 communities about their water infrastructure issues, and secured partnerships with and executed in-depth engagements in four cities: Gary (IN), Dearborn (MI), Flint (MI), and Buffalo (NY). In each city, she assisted municipal staff in investigating and implementing innovative practices on topics including water affordability, GSI, and lead service line replacement.

Beth Gibbons

Executive Director, American Society of Adaptation Professionals (ASAP), Ypsilanti, MI

Beth is a senior advisor to RISC, and through her leadership of ASAP, a premier professional society for climate adaptation and resilience practitioners and researchers. She maintains an extensive and unique perspective on advancements and innovations across resilience and adaptation themes, both nationally and across the Great Lakes region. Previously, she was the Director of the University of Michigan Climate Center, and manager of NOAA’s Great Lakes Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments Center.

Richard Freund

Sustainable Infrastructure Manager, CDP North America, New York City, NY

Richard is a senior advisor to RISC and assists in leveraging CDP’s matchmaker’s program to help host meetings with financiers and municipalities as needed. In his current role at CDP, he oversees engagement with a range of global investors and other capital markets participants on sustainability and infrastructure projects submitted to CDP by local governments around the world.

Greg Cannito

Co-founder, Rainplan,and Executive Advisor, CIS, Washington, D.C

Greg is a national leader in the development of numerous Public Private Partnership models such as Community Based Partnerships (CBP3) and the Military Housing Privatization Initiative (MHPI), that leverage private and/or public funding to achieve long term performance base outcomes tied to government policy and regulatory objectives.

Malcolm Mossman

Specialist, The Delta Institute, Chicago, IL

Malcolm Mossman manages Delta’s Nature-Based Climate Solutions portfolio and provides on-the-ground community engagement, technical facilitation, project management, and planning for the organization’s municipal collaboration and green infrastructure implementation efforts. He has extensive experience managing environmental programs, implementing sustainable community development strategies, and building capacity with partners and stakeholders in the Great Lakes region and beyond.

Jenny Par

Programs Associate, The Delta Institute, Chicago, IL

Jenny B. Par serves as Associate, Programs, for Delta after working as a lead (Pb) risk assessor for the Milwaukee Health Department, conducting lead inspections and assessments to prevent childhood lead poisoning in the city. During her free time, Jenny enjoys hiking, camping, listening to podcasts, and collecting postcards and stickers from her travels.

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