Forum: The Spitzer Team Tackles New York’s Environmental, Energy and Climate Challenges

The New York Academy of Sciences Environmental Sciences Section and Green Science and Sustainability Program, the Sallan Foundation and the New York League of Conservation Voters Education Fund will host an address by a senior member of Governor Spitzer’s team about his strategic approach to the environmental, energy and climate challenges facing New York. The address will be a major opportunity for the public to learn about the Governor’s plans. As well, it will provide the chance to join the discussion about comprehensive workable solutions that will call for informed, in-depth information sharing among elected officials, policy planners, scientists and the public.

Agenda
6:00 pm – 7:00 pm – Keynote Speaker: Paul D. Tonko
7:00 pm – 7:30 pm – Respondants: Nancy Anderson and Marcia Bystryn

Speakers
Paul D. Tonko, President and CEO
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA)
Paul D. Tonko was appointed President and CEO of New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) on July 1, 2007 by the NYSERDA Board of Directors. Prior to his appointment, Mr. Tonko served in the New York State Assembly, representing the 105th Assembly District – including all of Montgomery and part of Schenectady County – from April 1983 to June 2007. At age 26, he was the youngest person in the history of Montgomery County to be elected to the county’s Board of Supervisors. He served as chairman of that body in 1981. Prior to his election to the Assembly in 1983, Mr. Tonko was an engineer in the New York State Department of Transportation and also served on the staff of the Department of Public Service.

Mr. Tonko has gained a national reputation as an expert on energy and utility issues. From 1992 to June 2007, Mr. Tonko served as chairman of the New York Assembly Standing Committee on Energy. In April 2007, Mr. Tonko was called upon by the Congress of the United States, to provide expert testimony before the Subcommittee on Domestic Policy, in relation to the Energy Policy Act of 2005. In 2007 he was awarded the Solar Leadership Award by the New York Solar Energy Industries Association.

Mr. Tonko graduated from Clarkson University with a degree in mechanical and industrial engineering. He is a lifelong resident of the city of Amsterdam, New York.

Nancy Anderson, Executive Director
Sallan Foundation
Nancy Anderson, Executive Director of the Sallan Foundation, is a life-long New Yorker. After obtaining both her B.A. and Ph.D. from New York University, she served as an environmental advisor in City government for two decades. During that time, she wrote the Community Right-to-Know law, co-authored the recycling law, and helped prevent the sale of the City’s water supply. Since opening the doors of the Sallan Foundation in 2005, she has worked to advance useful knowledge for greener cities. Making high performance building New York’s “new normal” and seeking sustainable solutions to our energy needs are among the Foundation’s key campaigns.

Marcia Bystryn, Executive Director
NY League of Conservation Voters