Wednesday, August 23
Opening Plenary Session
Mark Williams, Executive Director
Jekyll Island State Park Authority
Mark Williams currently serves as the Executive Director of the Jekyll Island Authority (JIA). The JIA employs more than 300 team members under an operating budget of more than $40 million annually. The Authority is responsible for the stewardship of Jekyll Island, a Georgia barrier island and self-sustaining state park. The JIA is also responsible for providing services, programs, and amenities that maximize benefits to island visitors and residents.
Prior to joining the Jekyll Island Authority in July of 2023, Williams held the role of Commissioner for the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) since 2010, overseeing the agency and its approximately 2,500 employees. Williams’ statewide responsibilities as Commissioner included the management and conservation of Georgia’s natural, historic, and cultural resources, including fish and wildlife, land conservation, coastal resources, historic preservation, and sustainability initiatives for more than 1 million acres of Georgia’s state parks and public natural areas.
As DNR Commissioner, Williams also held an ex-officio position on the Jekyll Island Authority Board and previously served in Board appointments for the Department of Community Affairs, the Coastal Marshlands and Shore Protection Committees, the Georgia Natural Resources Foundation, the Land Conservation Council, the Sapelo Island Heritage Authority, the Stone Mountain Memorial Association, the Governor’s Water Supply Program Task Force, and the Georgia Aviation Authority.
Mr. Williams represented the 178th district in the State House of Representatives for two terms from 2006-2010.
He has also served as past president of the Wayne County Chamber of Commerce and recipient of its 2011 Distinguished Service Award, past president of the Wayne County Rotary Club, and served as chairman of the Wayne County Hospital Authority for four years.
He currently serves on the Board of Prime South Bank, is a member of Ducks Unlimited, the National Wild Turkey Federation, Safari Club International, the Satilla Riverkeepers, the Flint Riverkeepers, and the Georgia Wildlife Federation.
Born in Valdosta, Williams received a bachelor’s degree in biology from Georgia College and State University and is a former high school teacher and football coach. He is also a veteran of the Army National Guard.
Williams and his wife Pam have two daughters, Mary Katelyn and Miranda. He is a proud grandparent to Mary Katelyn and her husband Troy’s two sets of twins.
LTC Alex “Duff” Duffy
Deputy Commander, Savannah District
Lieutenant Colonel Alex “Duff” Duffy assumed the duty as Deputy Commander of the Savannah District in March 2022. As Deputy Commander, Duffy assists with overseeing the Savannah District’s military and civil works programs valued at approximately $1 billion. The construction mission alone involves an extensive program at 11 Army and Air Force installations throughout Georgia and North Carolina. The civil works mission consists of wetland protection oversight for all of Georgia and management of three hydro-electric dams and reservoirs that provide more than half of the peaking hydropower supply in the Southeast region. He assists with the water resource mission for the entire Savannah River Basin, which is a freshwater resource for eastern Georgia and western South Carolina down to the Savannah Harbor. As Deputy Commander, Duffy also shares responsibility for the district’s work in military design and master planning. He helps oversee the district’s mission for hazardous, toxic, and radioactive waste clean- up at formerly used defense sites and helps manage real estate activities for the Department of Defense.
Duffy commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers from the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York in 2006 with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering. He also earned a Master of Science in Civil Engineering-Construction focus from the Georgia Institute of Technology and is a licensed Professional Engineer. His military education includes the Engineer Officer Basic Course, Fort Leonard Wood Missouri, the Maneuver Captain’s Career Course Fort Benning, Georgia., and the Command & General Officers’ Staff Course, Fort Leavenworth Kansas.
Duffy’s previous assignments include Platoon Leader and Executive Officer in the 92nd Engineer Battalion, Fort Stewart Georgia; Company Commander in the 94th Engineer Battalion, Fort Leonard Wood Missouri; Assistant Professor Military Science, Fort Valley State University, Fort Valley, Georgia; Battalion Operations Officer and Executive Officer in the 317th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 3rd Brigade 10th Mountain Division, Fort Polk Louisiana; and Director of DPW for Area Support Group Kuwait, Camp Arifjan. His operational deployments include duty in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, and the United States South-west border.
Duffy’s awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, and the Army Commendation Medal, among others. He also earned the Ranger Tab, Basic Parachutist Badge, and the Bronze Order of the de Fleury Medal. He is a registered Professional Engineer for the State of Missouri.
Leif Palmer, Regional Counsel
Environmental Protection Agency
Leif Palmer is the Regional Counsel for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 4 located in Atlanta, Georgia. The Office of Regional Counsel (ORC) is comprised of seven branches and approximately 70 lawyers and a dozen FOIA and support staff. ORC provides legal advice to the 900-plus Region 4 managers, staff and senior leaders. Substantive legal areas include: civil and criminal enforcement under all federal environmental laws under EPA purview; legal counseling for a host of issues includes the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Administrative Procedure Act.; Superfund and Federal facilities; representing the Agency in defensive litigation in citizen suits, tort claims and takings; and operating the Region 4 FOIA Office.
Leif has 30 years of experience at EPA Region 4 and has held management positions in ORC’s Superfund and General & Criminal Law Offices. Prior to becoming a manager, Leif served as a Senior Attorney for General Law matters where he handled contracts, grants, defensive litigation and other matters, including serving as the lead attorney for Region 4’s response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Before he was a Senior Attorney, Leif worked in the Air, Pesticides, Toxics and General Law Office where his duties were split between regulatory enforcement and general law. Leif is a member of the Oregon and Georgia bar associations and received his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Oregon.
Thursday, August 24
Morning Plenary Session: Data Quality and Scientific Integrity – Sponsored by Ecobot
John Blevins, Director, Laboratory Services and Applied Science Division
EPA Region 4
John Blevins leads the EPA Region 4 Laboratory Services and Applied Science (LSASD) Division as its Director. During John’s service as the LSASD Director, John served as Acting EPA Region 4 Administrator for the Southeast for 1 year and led Region 4 through a smooth transition from the Trump Administration to the current one. John has served in other Senior Leadership capacities in EPA Regions 6 (South Central) and 9 (Southwest) as well as being Senior Advisor for Environmental Management at U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Reservation in Oak Ridge, Tennessee for two years. John has State experience in addition to his Federal experience. In Delaware, John served three years as Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control Air and Waste Management Division. In the State of Oregon John served as Eastern Region Cleanup Manager for two years. Those who work with John characterize him as a strong leader, a listener, and very dedicated to both the EPA mission and those who work there.
Dr. Mark Risse, P.E., Director, Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant, Professor
The University of Georgia
Dr. Mark Risse, P.E. is the Director of Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant and Georgia Power Professor of Water Policy at the University of Georgia. His expertise is in non-point source pollution management, water resources and storm water management, and Extension/outreach to diverse audiences. Dr. Risse received his B.S. and MS degrees at University of Georgia in Agricultural Engineering and his Ph.D. in Biological and Agricultural Engineering at Purdue University. At the University of Georgia, Mark has received recognition as a Fellow in the International Soil and Water Conservation Society and is a Walter Bernard Hill Fellow, the University’s highest honor for public service and outreach.
Katherine Moore, President
Georgia Conservancy
Katherine is the President of Georgia Conservancy. She has served in the community development and environmental fields for over 20 years. Her professional experience includes 12 years in the private sector as a consultant and the past 10+ years with a statewide nonprofit. Prior to serving as President, she served as the Director of GC’s statewide Sustainable Growth program, during which she provided training, technical expertise and community engagement services on the topics of community resilience and planning. This program has worked with over 40 communities across Georgia, as well as nationally, and is putting new emphasis on the opportunities within housing choice, small town stabilization, and redevelopment to increase community resilience. She is a graduate of the Institute for Georgia Environmental Leadership (IGEL), serves on the Boards of Directors of the Douglas C. Allen Institute for the Study of Cities and the Architecture and Design Center, and presents and speaks regularly on community development topics.
Plenary Description
What is Scientific Integrity?
There are many aspects to Environmental Data Quality and Scientific Integrity, and most environmental professionals consider environmental data quality most important. However, building systems, labs and organizations which need scientific data require more than a building and a process to evaluate environmental samples. EPA and other natural resource, government and academic research organizations manage both data and the people that collect, store and use environmental data. These organizations are also involved in critical environmental operations and decisions, with missions such as EPA’s Mission of “Protecting Public Health and the Environment.” This discussion focuses on creating systems that ensure the highest data integrity and how these organization collaborate and communicate across varying organizational lines – environmental, resource management, research, public health, and others.
John Blevins of EPA Region 4 Southeast and other Natural Resource and Academic Research leaders will share their Scientific Integrity Perspectives in structure, mechanics, and operational aspects of creating and implementing Scientific Integrity for making best possible decisions.
Follow on Breakout Session 4.8 – Round Table Discussion where Thursday morning Plenary Speakers with other industry experts will further discuss EPA Scientific Integrity Policy in greater detail following the Thursday Morning Plenary Session.
Thursday, August 24
Lunch Plenary Session: Resource Conservation and Stewardship: Private Lands, Public Funds
Over 90% of Georgia’s landscape is privately owned. Clearly, then, private landowners are fundamental to achieving and sustaining environmental quality goals for habitat, water, and people, especially as Georgia has seen over 2.5M acres of land developed since the mid 70s. This plenary includes leadership who facilitate various public programs targeting land conservation and land management which result in benefits beyond retaining community character. Strategic utilization of public programs are assisting private landowners in protecting agricultural and forestlands, wetlands, and coastal habitat that benefit Georgia’s most iconic landscapes and critical economic engines. The discussion will provide an overview of the current challenges to certain natural resources in Georgia while identifying programs available for private landowners, the successes of these programs, and the challenges and opportunities of the future.
Katherine Moore, President
Georgia Conservancy
Katherine is the President of Georgia Conservancy. She has served in the community development and environmental fields for over 20 years. Her professional experience includes 12 years in the private sector as a consultant and the past 10+ years with a statewide nonprofit. Prior to serving as President, she served as the Director of GC’s statewide Sustainable Growth program, during which she provided training, technical expertise and community engagement services on the topics of community resilience and planning. This program has worked with over 40 communities across Georgia, as well as nationally, and is putting new emphasis on the opportunities within housing choice, small town stabilization, and redevelopment to increase community resilience. She is a graduate of the Institute for Georgia Environmental Leadership (IGEL), serves on the Boards of Directors of the Douglas C. Allen Institute for the Study of Cities and the Architecture and Design Center, and presents and speaks regularly on community development topics.
Sharon Swagger, State Easement Specialist
USDA
Sharon Swagger is the State Easement Specialist with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), where she has been the lead program manager for conservation easement programs in the state of Georgia since 2010. Sharon’s area of expertise is conservation easement policy, acquisition, partnership development, and restoration implementation. Prior to that, Sharon was a Private Lands Biologist with the GA Department of Natural Resources (2007-2010.) Sharon graduated from the UGA Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources in 2004 with a Bachelor of Science in Forest Resources and 2007 with a Master of Science in Forest Resources, both with an emphasis in wildlife habitat management. Sharon is a past recipient of the UGA 40-Under-40 award, the UGA Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources Distinguished Young Alumni, and a 2015 graduate of the Institute for Georgia Environmental Leadership (IGEL) program. Sharon’s passion lies in protecting and stewardship land and working with landowners and partners to achieve natural resource goals to protect those valuable resources for future generations.
Tim Lowrimore, Director/State Forester
Georgia Forestry Commission
Tim Lowrimore was appointed as Director/State Forester of the Georgia Forestry Commission in December 2020. Lowrimore is a registered forester with the Georgia Board of Foresters who has more than 20 years of forestry and professional experience. Prior to his appointment at GFC, he served as public affairs manager for Interfor, one of the largest lumber producers in the world. There, he worked with all levels of government regulatory agencies and community and economic development officials to promote and protect operations and sustainability initiatives. He is a Society of American Foresters Fellow, Georgia Forestry Association member, and was Chairman of the Georgia Forestry Foundation in 2016. Lowrimore is a University of Georgia Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources graduate, a UGA Warnell Jay Hole Society member, and a member of UGA’s AGHON. Lowrimore and his wife, Wendi, have two daughters. The family lives in Macon.
Ken Bradley, Jr., PE, LTC, USA (ret.), Landscape Director
Georgia Sentinel
Ken Bradley currently serves as the Georgia Sentinel Landscape Coordinator. The Georgia Sentinel Landscape is home to several of the nation’s most important military installations and ranges, including Fort Moore, Fort Stewart, Hunter Army Airfield, Townsend Bombing Range, Fort Gordon, Robins Air Force Base, Marine Corps Logistics Base-Albany, Moody Air Force Base and Naval Submarine Base (NSB) Kings Bay. The Georgia Sentinel Landscape also encompasses a high concentration of prime timber land and large swaths of longleaf pine forests. Georgia Sentinel Landscape partners are committed to strengthening military readiness by supporting agricultural communities, sustaining working forests, promoting coastal resiliency, and improving water quality. Ken retired as an Army Lieutenant Colonel with 20 years of service in 2018. He served in the 1st Cavalry Division and 3rd Infantry Division being stationed at Fort Stewart and Fort Benning over his career. He also served in the Mississippi Army National Guard in various positions to include the Environmental Program Manager where he managed Camp Shelby’s Army Compatible Use Buffer. Ken has deployed multiple times to forward areas in Iraq, Kuwait and Bosnia. Ken is a 1998 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and earned a Master’s in Civil Engineering from Missouri University of Science and Technology.