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NAEP Webinar: Staying Connected During Crisis: Public, Employees, and Customers
Thursday, May 07, 2020, 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM PDT
Category: Webinars

Staying Connected During Crisis: Public, Employees, and Customers

Presented by Theresa McClure Laura Thorne

May 7, 2020 | 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM PT

Registration for this event is closed.

About

Law, regulation, and agency guidance on environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) require public participation, as do many related environmental regulations. We also accept public engagement in general as a matter of good governance so as to include our citizenry in decisions affecting their lives and communities. At its core, public engagement in environmental reviews rests on some of our country’s most deeply held values of free speech and liberty. 

Today environmental professionals find themselves grappling with how to comply with the conflict between requirements for public meetings and health-related orders barring assembly. Arrangements for community gatherings made only a few months ago have been postponed or canceled. Planning for future outreach is uncertain. Further, while there has been a huge shift to online meetings, a continuing “digital divide” leaves many people unable to join electronic forums. 

While staying engaged with the public is important during this time, agencies and companies must also make an equal effort to stay connected with their customers and employees. Social media aside, how do you not only shift the delivery of services where needed but also ensure that the efforts are meaningful and meet the changing needs of the customer?

Questions addressed during the webinar:
  1. How are agencies adapting to current restrictions on public interactions and what can we do to keep current and pending projects on track?
  2. What can or should we do to provide meaningful and productive public engagement with future environmental reviews?
  3. What are companies/agencies doing to change the way they connect with employees and customers?
  4. How to leverage unique opportunities in such a challenging time to go above and beyond for your customers?

Please join us for this unique and informative offering.


Speakers

Theresa McClure

As the Eastern Region Manager for Strategic Communications at HDR, Theresa assists and leads the development and implementation of project-specific public involvement plans for major infrastructure projects. She brings a decade of experience in NEPA public involvement, strategic communications, and public relations. She excels in finding clear ways to educate the public on complex issues that have the potential to change the way they live.

Her passion is in storytelling and her goal, always, is to deliver the right message to the right audience at the right time. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Geography and Sociology from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and a Masters in Strategic Public Relations from the George Washington University in Washington, DC.

Laura Thorne

Laura is a performance improvement consultant with over 20 years of experience in achieving excellence across several industries and positions. She has developed programs for global companies, written award-winning business quality applications, administered millions of dollars in grant funds, increased membership as president of an environmental nonprofit, and continues to provide stellar results for her clients. She is a firm believer that there are not enough individuals or businesses stepping up to be role models for the up and coming generations. She developed The Role Model Way™, an organizational learning and leadership development platform, to solve that problem. 

Laura is a current NAEP Board member and holds a BS in Biology from the University of South Florida, is a certified Project Manager, and certified Lean Six Sigma Green Belt.


Pricing

NAEP Member: $10
Chapter Members: $30
Non-member: $50

Registration for this event is closed.

Moderator

David Mattern

David has over 35 years of experience and is a senior manager of NEPA EIS and similar projects. His responsibilities include managing environmental impact statement preparation, conducting siting studies, and policy evaluations for public programs and facilities. He is knowledgeable in regulatory procedures and guidance for environmental studies and documentation, including processes for integrating NEPA, ESA, Section 106, Clean Water Act, Environmental Justice, and others. David managed the Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Project EIS, Washington State’s first reader-friendly EIS, using innovative graphic design and clear writing to produce an easy-to-understand and engaging document. The document has won four awards for its pioneering approach. His project experience includes siting studies and environmental documentation for highways, airports, landfills, and resource management plans.

David taught the Duke University Environmental Leadership Program course on preparing and documenting environmental impact analyses. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Environmental Professionals.