NJ DEP’S 2021 VIRTUAL HAB SUMMIT

NJ DEP’S 2021VIRTUAL HAB SUMMITSpeaker Bios and Additional InformationMarch 8, 2021

KATIANGARONEKERRY KIRKPFLUGHAssociate Commissioner,Science and PolicyNJDEPDirector,Local Government AssistanceNJDEPKati Angarone has worked at theNJDEP for more than 20 years andcurrently serves as the AssociateCommissioner for Science and Policy.This role works to develop a protectivepolicy of New Jersey’s environmentand public health and ensure policycohesion across the Departmentto furtherance the Department’spriorities (e.g., Climate, Water, andPublic Health). She oversees theDivision of Science & Research,which provides scientific supportto programs across the Departmentand other State agencies. In addition,her office includes the Offices ofEnvironmental Public Health & Safetyand the Office of Economic Analysis,which work closely with the NewJersey Department of Health onenvironmental public health issuesand supports economic analysesperformed during policydevelopment.Prior to assuming the AssociateCommissioner role, Kati spent manyyears assisting with developingNJDEP’s land-use policies, includingstormwater management, habitatprotection, flood hazard area controls,and the Highlands region’s protection.She also spent several years at theDepartment focused on drinking waterpolicy, including the adoption of newdrinking water standards, prevention,and management of harmful algalblooms and water supplyemergency response.Kerry Kirk Pflugh is the Director for LocalGovernment at the NJDEP. She is theDepartment’s liaison between NewJersey’s 565 Mayors, 21 counties,and the 75 programs in NJDEP. Sheis responsible for troubleshooting, helpingofficials navigate the agency, identifyingthe correct programs and people to resolveproblems, conducting research to answerquestions officials may have about permits,compliance with environmental regulations,and funding and financing opportunitiesto implement environmental projectsand initiatives. She is also responsible forfacilitating meetings between officials andagency personnel.Prior to becoming Director, Ms. Pflughwas the Constituent Services Manager,responsible for communication planning,consultation, and internal communicationscoordination. Previously, she was theManager for the Office of WatershedEducation, Estuaries, and Monitoring,coordinating all the watershed educationand communication programs for theDivision of Watershed Management anda Research Scientist in the Divisionof Science for 13 years.Ms. Pflugh’s area of expertise is strategiccommunication planning focusing on citizenparticipation in environmental managementdecision making. She is the recipientof numerous awards, including CabinetLiaison of the Year, New Jersey Conferenceof Mayors, April 2019; George HammellCook Distinguished Alumni Award forOutstanding Achievement in Professionaland Civic Endeavors, April 2017; andThe Elizabeth River/ Arthur Kill WatershedAssociation Appreciation Award, October2016. Her work in fish consumptionadvisories earned her an Urban HometownRiver Award from American Rivers foreducation. She also was the recipient of theFriends of the Hackensack River Award in2001. She received an Assembly Resolutionfrom the New Jersey General Assembly forher work on behalf of New Jersey citizens.Other honors include the Wave Award fromthe Association of Environmental Authoritiesin 1999 for the Harbor Watershed Education Urban Fishing program; the New JerseyState Customer Service Excellence Awardin 2001; the Clean Water Award for the NewJersey Watershed Ambassador Program, andthe USEPA Region 2 Environmental QualityAward for the Watershed Watch Network.

DR. JENNIFERGRAHAMVICTORPORETTIResearch Hydrologist,USGS New York Water Science CenterSection Chief,Bureau of Freshwater and Biological MonitoringNJDEPJennifer Graham currently serves asthe harmful algal bloom coordinator forthe USGS Water Mission Area. She alsorepresents the USGS on the InteragencyWorking Group on Harmful Algal Bloomsand Hypoxia. Jennifer began her careerwith the USGS in 1999 as a Volunteerfor Science working on harmful algalblooms at the Columbia EnvironmentalResearch Center. She worked there as avolunteer until 2005 when she becamea Hydrologist at the Kansas WaterScience Center. Jennifer joined theNew York Water Science Center in 2018.She is a nationally recognized expert incyanobacteria and associated toxins andtaste-and-odor compounds. For over twodecades, Jennifer has researched theenvironmental factors influencingcyanotoxins in the United States.She has conducted both regionaland single system studies at a varietyof spatiotemporal scales.Vic Poretti is the Section Chief forthe NJDEP Bureau of Freshwaterand Biological Monitoring, where heoversees the sampling and analysisof freshwater monitoring throughoutthe State. The Bureau provides dataand information to serve as a soundscientific foundation for water resourcemanagement and meet federal CleanWater Act requirements. The Bureaualso performs all aspects of NJ’sCyanobacterial Harmful Algal Blooms(HAB’s) freshwater response, includingstrategy development, sampling,and analysis, and communicatingdata and alerts to the public.

ALENABALDWIN-BROWNRACHELWHITECommunications Manager,Division of Water Monitoring and StandardsNJDEPEnvironmental Scientist,Division of Water Monitoring and StandardsNJDEPAlena Baldwin-Brown currentlyserves as the CommunicationsManager for the NJDEP Divisionof Water Monitoring and Standards.In this role, she oversees all communications activities for the division,including web design and maintenance, report and outreach materialsdevelopment/dissemination, andsocial media presence. This includesthe Department’s Harmful AlgalBloom website and related outreach/communications materials. Her mainarea of expertise is scientific communications, specifically taking results anddata and turning them into informationappropriate for various audiences. Shealso coordinates NJ. Water MonitoringCouncil.In her 34 years with NJDEP, Ms.Baldwin-Brown has held variouscommunications, policy advisor,and assistant-related positions in theDivision of Water Monitoring andStandards, Environmental Planningand Science, and the Division ofScience and Research. She alsoserved as a Legislative Analyst inthe NJDEP Office of Legislation.She holds a Bachelor of Sciencein Biology from Trenton State College(now The College of New Jersey) anda Master of Science in Managementfrom Thomas Edison State University.Rachel White is an EnvironmentalScientist in the NJDEP Division ofWater Monitoring and Standards,where she works on water qualitystandards and restoration projects.She is also involved with coastal watermonitoring through the CooperativeCoastal Monitoring Program and isinterested in microplastics and otheremerging contaminants. She servesas NJDEP’s liaison to the HAB andLakes Management Expert Team.

DR. BOBKORTMANNDR. JASONEARL ADOLFEcosystem Consulting ServiceProfessor of Marine Science,Monmouth UniversityDr. Kortmann is a native of NorthJersey with fond memories of visitingits many lakes, especially Indian Lakein Denville. He earned his BS inEnvironmental Science at Rutgers,then a Masters in Botany at UConn.He then earned his Ph.D. in AppliedLimnology and Ecosystem Ecologyin an interdisciplinary program in theBiological Sciences, Natural Resources,and Engineering Schools at theUniversity of Connecticut. He hasworked on lakes and water supplyreservoirs nationwide and as far awayas Sao Paulo, Brazil.Dr. Kortmann has published dozensof papers dealing with appliedlimnology and lake restoration.He invented several naturalistic lakerestoration technologies, was awardedfour US Patents, and was awarded theTechnology Innovator Award by EPARegion 1 for inventing Layer Aeration.He has sought the “Achilles Heel”of cyanobacteria over the past 45years, and he found a few.Jason Earl Adolf, EndowedAssociate Professor of MarineScience. BS, Roger Williams University;MS, University of Hawaii Manoa; Ph.D.,University of Maryland CollegePark. Dr. Adolf’s research interestsinclude phytoplankton ecology andphysiology, Harmful Algal Blooms(HAB’s), and real-time continuouswater quality monitoring. Dr. Adolf’sresearch uses combined field andlaboratory approaches to addressthe impacts of environmentalvariability, including climate change,on ecosystems. He currently teacheswithin the Monmouth University BSprogram in Marine and EnvironmentalBiology and Policy and highly valuesundergraduate students’ inclusionin his research.

DR. WENZHANGDR. FREDLUBNOWAssociate Professor,Department of Civil and EnvironmentalEngineering, NJITDirector,Aquatic ProgramsPrinceton HydroWen Zhang is currently an associateprofessor of NJIT’s Newark Collegeof Engineering in the Department ofCivil and Environmental Engineeringwith a secondary appointment inthe Department of Chemical andMaterial Engineering. Wen is alicensed Professional Engineer (P.E.)registered in the States of NewJersey and Delaware. He is anAmerican Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists (AAEES)Board Certified EnvironmentalEngineer (BCEE). Wen receivedhis B.S. from Tsinghua Universityin 2004, M.S. from Tongji Universityin 2007, and Ph.D. from GeorgiaInstitute of Technology in 2011.Dr. Zhang’s research integratesnanotechnology into environmentalengineering to develop innovativesolutions for environmentalsustainability. His Ph.D. workfocused on the environmentalfate and transport of engineerednanoparticles, biological interactions,as well as nanomaterial characterization at biointerfaces. After joining NJIT,Wen has been leading significantefforts in the visible-light-drivenphotocatalytic processes forharnessing solar energy, hydrogenevolution, and efficient degradationof emerging water contaminants.Dr. Fred S. Lubnow is the Director of theAquatic Programs at Princeton Hydro andthe Exton, Pennsylvania office manager.Dr. Lubnow received his Bachelors ofScience in Biology from SusquehannaUniversity (1988), his Master’s degree inEnvironmental Sciences (1992) from theUniversity of California Davis, and hisPh.D. in Limnology (1994) from theUniversity of California Davis. Dr. Lubnowhas been an environmental consultantfor over 26 years and has worked onvarious ecosystems throughout theMid-Atlantic States. His areas ofexpertise include identifying algaeand zooplankton, the managementof Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) and theirassociated cyanotoxins, the design andimplementation of in-lake managementstrategies, and the development ofwatershed-based management plansthat focus on non-point source pollution.Dr. Lubnow was the Region III Directorof the North American Lake ManagementSociety and the Pennsylvania LakeManagement Society’s Treasurer.Dr. Lubnow is also an adjunct professorat Delaware Valley University, Doylestown,PA, where he teaches a course andlaboratory on Watershed Management.In addition, Dr. Lubnow developeda professionally-credited course onthe Management and Monitoring ofHABs and Cyanotoxins in Raw WaterSupplies. This course has been taughtthroughout Pennsylvania in conjunctionwith the Pennsylvanian Department ofEnvironmental Protection and the PAAmerican Water Works Association.Finally, Dr. Lubnow is one of themembers of New Jersey’s HABExpert Team. They are conductingdata reviews and assessments onthe scientific literature on HABs todevelop strategies on how to addresssuch conditions in freshwater systemsin New Jersey holistically.