Ron Deverman

Ron is a Past President of the National Association of Environmental Professionals (NAEP).  He has also chaired NAEP’s national NEPA Symposium, NEPA Practice Working Group, Transportation Working Group (co-founder), and NAEP’s 2016 Annual Conference, among other positions of leadership.  Ron is a 30-year member of NAEP and currently the Chair of NAEP’s Leadership Development Initiative.  He is also a Past President of IAEP, the Illinois chapter of NAEP, founded in 1975 as one of the original three chapters of NAEP.  Ron is a Certified Environmental Professional by Eminence and a NAEP Fellow for his exemplary service and commitment to NAEP and the environmental professions.

Professional Experience/Education

Ron is Vice-President and National Environmental Planning Leader for STV, a national engineering, architecture, and planning firm, managing environmental impact assessment projects for transportation infrastructure improvements such as transit, passenger and freight rail, roadways, and bridges. Ron has 35-years-experience in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) with special expertise in community impact assessment, cumulative effects analysis, and other federal environmental regulations, such as the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, National Historic Preservation Act, and Threatened and Endangered Species Act.  Ron is the former Program Manager for IDOT’s Office of Intermodal Project Implementation for the CREATE Program, a nationally prominent program of 70 rail improvement projects in the Chicago region (see www.createprogram.org), and he now focuses on Quality Management/Technical Delivery for CREATE.  Ron was awarded the HNTB Fellow Award for his dedication to HNTB, his former employer, and his exemplary commitment and dedication to environmental planning professions.

Ron’s education includes a BS in civil/environmental engineering from the University of Illinois in Urbana, an MA in English (literature and creative writing) from the University of Illinois in Springfield, and post-graduate studies in NEPA and related environmental studies. 

Personal Experience/Environmental Dedication

Ron is a founding Board member of the International Professional Association for Transport and Health (IPATH).  Ron has authored many articles for Environmental Practice, published by Taylor & Francis Press, and Environmental Law Reporter, published by the Environmental Law Institute in Washington D.C.  Ron has conducted numerous training courses on NEPA, environmental compliance, project and interdisciplinary team management, and effective community engagement.  He has also been a key speaker for several national webinars for NAEP and American Public University.  Ron is an Adjunct Professor at Northwestern University teaching a Masters’ course in NEPA and Context Sensitive Solutions.  Ron is also a published poet and has spoken nationally and internationally on many subjects, including key competencies for environmental professionals, environmental stewardship, and public health impacts and benefits of our transportation choices.  Ron comes from generations of farmers in Illinois’ heartland and has farmed for a living.  In 2009, the U of I Alumni Association awarded Ron the John Knoepfle Creative Writing Award for Poetry, a particularly memorable award as John Knoepfle has been a life mentor to Ron since his days at the university. 

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