Harold Draper
A Certified Environmental Professional, Harold has 26 years of experience in environmental impact assessment, stream and wetlands permitting, and cultural resources. He is currently a Reservist in Environmental and Historic Preservation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, where he assists with environmental review of disaster recovery projects. Harold was previously with Burns & McDonnell Engineering Company, Inc., where he worked on NEPA reviews of aircraft manufacturing for military aircraft, transmission lines, power plants, highways, broadband internet, water supply, and sewer facilities. He specialized in programmatic approaches and cumulative effects analysis. Harold was also with the Tennessee Valley Authority, where he was a NEPA practitioner specializing in reservoir land planning and permitting in addition to utility projects. Prior to TVA, he was a biomass energy coordinator with the Mississippi Forestry Association and a renewable energy analyst with the Florida Governor’s Energy Office. He has a Doctor of Science and a MS degree in technology and human affairs from Washington University in St. Louis and BS degrees in botany and conservation from North Carolina State University in Raleigh. He grew up in Greensboro and Pleasant Garden, North Carolina. In the future, he hopes to visit as many national parks, national forests, and public lands as he can. Harold serves on the Certification Review Board of the Academy of Board Certified Environmental Professionals. He is a member of the Committee on Environmental Analysis (ADC10) of the Transportation Research Board and serves on the Linking Transportation and Environmental Planning Advisory Group of the Mid-America Regional Council. He is past president of the Tennessee Trails Association, the Technical Society of Knoxville, the Apalachee Chapter of the Florida Trails Association, and the East Tennessee Chapter of the Society of American Foresters. He was environmental coordination committee chair of the Southern Appalachian Man and the Biosphere Program from 1996 to 2007. In his spare time, Harold is an enthusiastic supporter of parks and public lands, and has participated in volunteer trail maintenance and public lands work days since 1984. He posts information about world ecoregions, science, and public lands at www.enviroramble.net. Harold began his NAEP membership in 1994 and was elected to the Board in 2007. Currently Vice President, he also served as Secretary of the Board of Directors from 2009-2011, Chair of the Transportation Working Group from 2005-2007, organized a conference session on programmatic reviews at San Antonio, has presented papers at NAEP conferences, and has written papers for the Environmental Practice journal. When Harold moved to Kansas City in 2007, he was instrumental in re-starting the Mid-America AEP and is the chapter’s representative to the NAEP Board. Harold believes in supporting the profession through service to its professional organization. “At every NAEP conference, I learn something new about NEPA that I can take back and use. There is always energy in the hallways, at conference events and at after-hours events which often leads to new ideas and solutions. By serving on the Board, I feel more confident about organizational and people management, which has transferred to my own project management. NAEP service has led to lifetime professional relationships and a broad perspective on common problems that allows me to feel comfortable working and traveling just about anywhere.” |
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