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The 10th biennial Delaware Estuary Science & Environmental Summit will be held January 30-February 1, 2023, IN PERSON, at Harrah’s Resort in Atlantic City, NJ. This year’s theme will be Estuary on the Rise.
Quick Links:
Program
Venue Floor Plans
DRBC Climate Change Forum
Featured Speakers
Information for Presenters
Lodging
Registration
Sponsors
Past Summits
See the Current List of Posters Here.
Full Abstract Book Available Here, individual abstracts are linked in Sched.
A Digital copy of the program can be found here.
View the 2023 Delaware Estuary Science & Environmental Summit schedule & directory.
If you signed up for student judging please come to registration for a paper student judging packet and your judging assignments. New judges are always welcome!
Student scoring will all be done electronically, score your students here.
For Oral Presenters:
-You can submit your presentation ahead of time to the Google Drive found at this link.
-Please upload presentations with a file name that starts with the LAST NAME of the presenter. Bouboulis-ShellRecycling.pdf or MORGAN-Leah-PDESummit.pdf are both possible examples.
-You can also bring your presentation on a flash drive and submit to staff at the registration desk. We recommend you do both of these (Google Drive and Flash Drive), but you have options. Please DO NOT bring your flash drive directly to your presentation room.
-You have 15mins for your presentation (unless otherwise noted), you can use this for your presentation or questions. We recommend 12-mins for presentation and 3-mins for questions.
For Poster Presenters:
-Please see your assigned poster number listed on the poster list found here.
-You can also submit a digital copy of your poster (for our post summit proceedings) here.
-When you arrive, the poster boards will be labelled with the numbers and you can find your location. There will be staff to assist you.
-The poster boards are 4′ H X 8’W.
Dr. Raymond Najjar, The Pennsylvania State University
Raymond Najjar is a Professor of Oceanography in the Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science at The Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Najjar has conducted research on a variety of topics in oceanography, climate science, and hydrology, with current interests focused on how coastal waters are influenced by climate change and pollution. In addition to synthesizing research on the climate of the Delaware Estuary and Basin as part of periodic assessments led by the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, Dr. Najjar has studied long-term changes in the salinity, dissolved oxygen, and tides of the estuary.
Dr. Philippe Hensel, NOAA; Part of the DRBC Climate Change Forum
Philippe Hensel is the chief of the Project Analysis Branch within the Operations and Analysis Division at NOAA’s National Geodetic Survey (NGS). Philippe oversees activities related to maintaining the integrity of the nation’s database of survey control. Since 2019, he is also part of a multi-agency team investigating vertical land motion in the wider Chesapeake Bay region. Since coming to NGS in 2006, Philippe has worked to bring high precision surveying applications to coastal scientists and resource managers (advancing the “sea level rise sentinel site” concept). Prior to coming to NGS, Philippe was a post-doc wetland ecologist with the USGS, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. Philippe has also been an adjunct faculty at Johns Hopkins University, teaching a course in wetland ecology and management. Philippe holds a PhD in coastal ecology and a Master’s degree in applied statistics from Louisiana State University, and a master’s degree in marine, estuarine, and environmental sciences from the University of Maryland.
Catrin Einhorn, The New York Times
Catrin Einhorn is a journalist who covers biodiversity, climate and the environment for The New York Times. She was part of a team of reporters that received the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for exposing sexual harassment and misconduct in the American workplace.
Throughout her career, Ms. Einhorn has focused on narrative-driven work in print, film and audio. In July 2020, The Times and Netflix released “Father Soldier Son,” the Emmy-winning documentary she directed and produced with Leslye Davis.
Before coming to The Times, Ms. Einhorn was a public radio reporter and a Fulbright scholar in anthropology.
On Day Two of the Summit (Tuesday, January 31), the Delaware River Basin Commission’s Advisory Committee on Climate Change will host its Forum on Climate Change and the Delaware River Basin. The Forum will feature a conversation between government leaders to share climate planning and adaptation strategies throughout the Basin, and will highlight new science and opportunities for collaboration from various sectors.
Shawn M. Garvin joined Delaware Gov. John Carney’s cabinet in March 2017 as Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, leading the agency tasked with protecting and managing Delaware’s natural resources, protecting public health, providing outdoor recreational opportunities and educating Delawareans about the environment. Secretary Garvin’s career in intergovernmental affairs spans more than 25 years at the federal, state, and local levels. In November 2009, he was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve as Administrator of Region 3 for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), overseeing the agency’s work in the Mid-Atlantic, which includes Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia, as well as the District of Columbia. Before he was named regional administrator, Secretary Garvin served as the senior state and congressional liaison for EPA Region 3, providing counsel to agency leadership on complex public health and environmental matters. Prior to his service with the EPA, he served as an aide to then-U.S. Senator Joe Biden, and also was executive assistant to former New Castle County Executive Dennis Greenhouse. Secretary Garvin is a Delaware native and graduate of the University of Delaware.
Appointed by Governor Philip D. Murphy, Shawn M. LaTourette became New Jersey’s Commissioner of Environmental Protection on June 14, 2021. He had served as Acting Commissioner since January 16, 2021. Commissioner LaTourette is responsible for formulating statewide environmental policy while directing programs that protect public health and ensure the quality of New Jersey’s air, land, water, and natural and historic resources.
A lawyer and policymaker with more than 20 years of experience in environmental protection, Commissioner LaTourette began his career defending victims of toxic exposure, including organizing and advocating for the needs of vulnerable New Jersey communities whose drinking water was contaminated by petrochemicals. Throughout a career shaping environmental law and policy, he has served in executive roles and as a trusted adviser to governments, community and non-profit organizations, and leaders in industry and infrastructure, while also litigating high-stakes lawsuits involving environmental, energy and public health concerns.
Commissioner LaTourette first joined the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) as the chief legal and regulatory policy adviser to then-Commissioner Catherine R. McCabe in 2018. He was elevated to DEP Chief of Staff in 2019 and to Deputy Commissioner in 2020. Since 2019, he has been responsible for running DEP’s operations while formulating policy and regulatory reforms to advance Governor Murphy’s environmental, climate change and clean energy priorities. Commissioner LaTourette has developed and led initiatives that prioritize environmental justice while facilitating greenhouse gas emissions reductions, climate change resilience and adaptation, renewable energy deployment, water infrastructure enhancement, brownfields redevelopment, community renewal, and natural resource conservation and restoration.
Guided by a deep commitment to equity and a professional philosophy that uniting economic development and environmental improvement promotes the public good, Commissioner LaTourette has been regarded as a consensus builder adept at achieving balance among competing priorities. His diverse background — in protecting vulnerable communities, facilitating the development of infrastructure and public works, managing business risk, promoting conservationist policies and advocating for equity — has made him a leading force in policy, program and project development, especially those at the complex juncture of economic development, energy and environmental protection.
Born and raised in New Jersey, Commissioner LaTourette graduated magna cum laude from Rutgers University and earned his law degree summa cum laude from Rutgers Law School, where he was the class salutatorian and the recipient of multiple environmental and governance awards, and published scholarship on environmental law, natural resource damage and climate issues.
Rohit T. “Rit” Aggarwala is a widely recognized expert on urban sustainability, technology, and mobility. He led the creation of the Mayor’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability under Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, founded the environmental grantmaking program at Bloomberg Philanthropies, and served as president of the Board of Directors of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group. He was part of the founding team at Sidewalk Labs—Google’s urban technology startup—and more recently was a senior urban tech fellow at the Jacobs Cornell-Technion Institute. He has provided advice and assistance to a number of foundations and impact investment funds and chaired the Regional Plan Association’s Fourth Regional Plan for the New York region. Aggarwala holds a PhD, MBA, and BA from Columbia University and an MA from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.
Adam Ortiz serves as EPA’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator where he oversees federal environmental and public health protections in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, the District of Columbia, and seven federally recognized tribes. Working with state partners and local stakeholders, Adam is focused on infrastructure, enforcement, climate change, environmental justice, and restoring the Chesapeake Bay.
Before coming to EPA, Adam was the Director of the Montgomery County, Maryland Department of Environmental Protection, where he launched programs boosting recycling, curbside compost collection, building energy efficiency standards, and watershed restoration projects with a focus on equity.
Previously, Adam was the Director of the Department of Environment for Prince George’s County, Maryland, where he led the county to the highest recycling rate in the state and led a $100M public-private green infrastructure construction program focusing on small and minority business development. He also oversaw the construction and operation of the region’s largest organics composting facility. Before that he served in the Maryland Lt. Governor’s Office and at the state’s Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation.
As Mayor of the Town of Edmonston, Maryland for three terms, Adam ended years of chronic flooding through water infrastructure improvements, spearheaded the east coast’s first “Complete Green Street” that successfully captures and filters stormwater runoff, enables bike and pedestrian access, and has improved the quality of life of the town’s diverse residents. In his spare time he enjoys getting outside to paddle and hike throughout the mid-Atlantic region. He grew up in New York’s Hudson Valley and graduated from Goucher College in Maryland.
Since 2005, the goal of this biennial Summit has been to bring together scientists, managers, restoration practitioners, and educators from different sectors to share the latest scientific information, network, and make ecological linkages that promote a better understanding of the watershed as a whole. The central format is that of a conventional scientific meeting with abstracts, presentations and peer review Q&A. While the focus is on the watershed of the Delaware River and Bay, presentations are welcome from other areas if they help to inform our understanding of this system.
Potential presentation topics include:
Who should attend the summit?
Limited tickets will be available at the door at a higher rate.
If you have questions about your registration, please contact Haley Burns at hburns@delawareestuary.org
View proceedings from past summits below: