Association of Environmental Professionals | San Diego Chapter
winter 2019
by erin phillips, aecom The San Diego Chapter held elections for all one-year board positions during our online election campaign November 14 through 21. It is with pleasure that I introduce your 2019 SDAEP Board Members: Corinne Lytle Bonine, Chapter Director Katie Laybourn, Chapter President Thomas Strand, Vice President of Membership Lisa Maier, Vice President of Programs Janelle Firoozi, Vice President of Programs Kelsey Hawkins, Student Outreach Director Emily Pacholski, Treasurer Matt Stewart, Secretary Erin Phillips, Newsletter Editor Do you want to be more involved in Chapter events, but aren't ready for a Board position? No problem! We welcome you to take an active role with SDAEP! Whether it is a one-time commitment to a committee or a more permanent position, there many other ways you can actively participate outside of the Chapter Board: Present a luncheon topic Join the Awards Committee Volunteer at the Holiday Party Contribute an article to the newsletter
MESSAGE FROM THE BOARD election results, 2019 chapter board
ENVIRONMENTOR
THE
HAPPY HOUR/TRIVIA NIGHT THURSDAY, JANUARY 31ST FROM 5:30-8PM
ADVANCED CEQA WORKSHOP THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2018 FROM 8:30AM TO 5PM
@ Benchmark Brewing Company, 6190 Fairmount Avenue, Suite G, San Diego, CA 92120 Join SDAEP for happy hour with fantastic food and friendly faces. We will be mixing, mingling and trivia-ing it up at Benchmark Brewing Company. We will be playing a special edition of trivia! Click here for further event information and to register.
@ Marina Village Conference Center, Captain's Room 1936 Quivira Way, San Diego, CA 92109 This year's Advanced CEQA Workshop will include hot topics regarding case law from 2018, the CEQA Guidelines, standard of review, and joint CEQA/NEPA documents. Breakfast and lunch will be served. Workshops are approved for AICP and MCLE credits. Click here for further event information and to register.
THE ENVIRONMENTOR, WINTER 2019| {{page}}
UPCOMING EVENTS
And the winner is... AECOM! Congratulations to AECOM for bringing in the most items for the canned food drive, totaling 267 non-perishable food items. A total of 755 pounds was collected through all donations.
Thank you to all of our holiday sponsors for helping make the APA/AEP holiday party a success. We hope you had a blast!
HOLIDAY PARTY RECAP
THE ENVIRONMENTOR, WINTER 2019 | {{page}}
PHOTO BY TALAYA RACHELS, HELIX ENVIRONMENTAL
Thank you to Matt Klopfenstein who gave us a general overview of the 2018 Legislative Session, with a focus on environmental and CEQA related legislation.
PHOTO BY LARRY SWARD, HELIX ENVIRONMENTAL
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE RECAP
PHOTO BY ASHLEY TUGGLE, GREAT ECOLOGY
CEQA ESSENTIALS RECAP
CEQA ESSENTIALS RECAP by CHELSEA JOHNSON, AECOM The San Diego Chapter CEQA Essentials Workshop was held on November 15th at the Marina Village in Mission Bay. The panel of speakers consisted of Corinne Lytle Bonine, Senior Environmental Director at Chambers Group, Inga Lintvedt, Senior Deputy County Counsel for the County of San Diego Planning and Development Services Department, Jana Mickova Will, Counsel at Varco & Rosenbaum, Environmental Law LLP and, Heidi Vonblum, Environmental Policy and Resources Planning Program Manager at the City of San Diego Planning Department’s Environment & Mobility Division. Each speaker had over 15 years of experience in either environmental planning or environmental law. The workshop began at 9am with breakfast and lunch provided for all attendees. It covered topics such as beginning CEQA knowledge, writing effective project descriptions and initial studies, preparing Negative Declarations, and the most daunting, writing Environmental Impact Reports. The workshop panelists discussed real world examples of complex CEQA lawsuits and findings. Guidelines of CEQA were a key topic of the workshop from discussing strict legislation to guidelines left to the discretion of the practitioner. Case law was discussed such as Friends of Mammoth v. Mono County, a landmark CEQA case that established that CEQA would have a broad definition of the term project that applied to discretionary action instead of exclusively governmental action. The workshop touched briefly on NEPA and the similarities and differences between NEPA and CEQA. The individuals that attended ranged from current students, junior planners, and other industry professionals. As a junior environmental planner, the workshop was highly informative and gave me new insight on CEQA that I can directly apply to my position.
meet a board member: matt stewart, icf
Matt grew up in Sacramento and moved to San Diego to attend San Diego State University. As a student, Matt participated in campus clubs including the Enviro-Business Society and the student chapter of AEP. He also was a member of the rowing team for four years and served in leadership roles such as secretary, student representative, and travel officer while on the team. Matt began his career in the environmental field as a student worker for the County of San Diego Parks & Recreation Department, working alongside environmental planners in the Resource Management Division. Matt received a Bachelor of Sciences in Environmental Sciences and a minor in Geography in December 2016. After graduating, Matt began working for ICF where he continues to work to this day, focused on environmental planning. When not working Matt enjoys outdoor activities with friends and family including camping, hiking, and boating, road tripping (eventually making it to all 50 states), and following the Sacramento Kings. You’ve recently taken a new position on the board. What made you want to get more involved and take a leadership position with AEP? I have been an AEP member since 2015 and have attended several workshops, presentations, luncheons, and networking events. AEP really helped me get my foot in the door within the environmental field and it felt appropriate to give back to the organization any way I could. When I heard the Secretary position was opening up I knew it was my opportunity to get involved. I have so far enjoyed my brief time on the board and look forward to the upcoming year! What advice would you give a recent graduate or young professional in the environmental industry? Recent graduates and young professionals should take advantage of everything AEP has to offer. As a student or recent graduate, it can be overwhelming figuring out which path within the field you want to go. AEP is a tremendous resource to expand your knowledge about the environmental field, learn about career opportunities, and stay up to date with the latest environmental news. Additionally, it is the best way to network. You never know where a conversation with a professional will lead. In my case, it led to an internship and began the path to where I am today. Be sure to attend the next AEP networking event, it will pay off! What have you enjoyed most about working in the environmental field? The most valuable aspect of working in the environmental field is the exposure it has given me to a wide array of projects. I am more aware of what is going on throughout San Diego County and Southern California than I otherwise would be. Whether it is related to large scale development, habitat restoration, or anything in between, it is great learning about all of these types of projects happening and learning how the landscape around me is changing every day. Being in this field has made me feel more involved in my community than ever before. And I have met some great people along the way!
2019 AEP Conference Save the date for AEP 2019 Conference at the Monterey Plaza Hotel in Monterey, California, March 24th-27th, 2019 Early registration ends February 22nd. Click here for further event information and to register. online graduate program in cultural and heritage resource management at the university of maryland The program is designed for working CRM professionals to pursue graduate education while continuing their employment. The CHRM graduate program at UMD offers two degree options through an online distance learning platform: * Master of Professional Studies (36 credits), degree completion in 17 months * Graduate Certificate (18 credits), degree completion in 9 months For more information, visit the website here.
PHOTO BY BRITTANY BONASERA, HELIX ENVIRONMENTAL
Announcements
UC SAN DIEGO EXTENSION: Upcoming courses Air Quality Compliance - Online January 22 - March 22, 2019 Behavior Change Strategies for Sustainability - Online January 14 - March 15, 2019 Sustainable Business Practices Certificate: Introduction to Sustainability - Online January 14 - March 15, 2019 Strategic Planning and Innovation - Online January 22 - March 22, 2019 Measuring Sustainable Impact - Online January 22 - March 22, 2019 Resource Management - In-class January 7 - March 18, 2019 CEQA Practice Certificate: California Environmental Quality Act Online: February 4 - March 15, 2019 In-class: January 28 - March 11, 2019 Advanced CEQA - Online January 22 - March 22, 2019 Introduction to NEPA - Online January 22 - March 22, 2019 Writing Effective CEQA Documents - Online February 4 - March 15, 2019 CEQA in Practice - Online January 28 - March 8, 2019
Introductory Birding Course with Phil Pryde! Did you know that San Diego County has recorded more species of birds than any other county in the country? True! This February Phil Pryde will be teaching the Introductory Birding Course again. This course is designed for persons who have little or no experience in the field identification of California birds, and who would like to learn the fundamentals of this fascinating and possibly work-related component of our natural environment. The six-week course starts February 16, 2019, and includes two field trips. It is held at the Tecolote Nature Center, and is sponsored by the San Diego River Park Foundation. Full information about the course, and instructions for registering, can be found here.
SDAEPBoard@califaep.org President Katie Laybourn Harris & Associates katie.laybourn@weareharris.com Co-Vice Presidents of Programs Janelle Firoozi ESA jfiroozi@esassoc.com Lisa Maier ESA LMaier@esassoc.com Vice President of Membership Thomas Strand Chambers Group tstrand@chambersgroupinc.com Treasurer Emily Pacholski Kleinfelder epacholski@kleinfelder.com Secretary Matt Stewart ICF matt.stewart@icf.com Student Membership and Outreach Director Kelsey Hawkins Harris & Associates kelsey.hawkins@weareharris.com Chapter Director Corinne Lytle Bonine Chambers Group clytle-bonine@chambersgroupinc.com Newsletter Editor Erin Phillips AECOM erin.phillips@aecom.com
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Contact the Newsletter Editor at: sdaepnews@gmail.com
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