Mayor Cooper Appoints 48 Members To Sustainability Advisory Committee

From the City of Nashville:

2/28/2020

Mayor John Cooper announced the names of 48 members of the Nashville community who will serve on the Sustainability Advisory Committee. The mayor announced the establishment of the Sustainability Advisory Committee during his announcement of multiple initiatives to combat climate change and promote sustainability in Dec. 2019.

The committee will provide advice on a range of sustainability issues and review active proposals as they are being advanced and implemented by the mayor and Metro Council through legislation, executive orders, policy changes and practices. The committee will start by advising and supporting the city’s commitment pursuant to the Global Covenant of Mayors to develop a Climate Action Plan for the city of Nashville.

“The Sustainability Advisory Committee will have an active role in addressing climate change and alternative energy challenges in Metro Government,” said Mayor Cooper. “I’m tremendously grateful to all members of the Committee – dedicated Nashvillians with diverse skill sets and a combined wealth of real-world experience who will help address the multiplying threats to our environment and shore up protections for our limited natural resources.”

Vanderbilt University Vice Chancellor for Administration Eric Kopstain and Vanderbilt Law School lecturer Linda Breggin, a senior attorney with the Environmental Law Institute in Washington, D.C., and project director for the Nashville Food Waste Initiative, have been named co-chairs of the Committee.

“It is an honor and a pleasure to serve in this capacity and to work with a talented and passionate group of community leaders on this committee,” said Kopstain. “I know a lot of work has already been done in our city surrounding sustainability-related issues, and I look forward to continuing the momentum surrounding this critically important topic.”

“The Mayor’s recent initiatives on sustainability are critical to ensuring that the City continues to prosper and are consistent with the efforts of other cities in our state—and around the world—that are positioning their communities to thrive in the face of climate change,” added Breggin.

Six subcommittees will review and augment, as appropriate, the work that already has been done to develop and implement sustainability plans and recommendations for the city—including the work of Livable Nashville, NashvilleNext, the Green Ribbon Committee and Plan to Play.

Subcommittees will address the components of the climate action plan—mobility, energy, waste reduction, green buildings, natural resources and climate adaptation and resilience.

The complete list of the Sustainability Advisory Committee members follows:

Linda Breggin
Environmental Law Institute and NRDC’s Nashville Food Waste Initiative
Co-chair

Eric Kopstain
Vanderbilt University
Co-chair

David Bailey
Hastings Architecture
Green Buildings

Holly Baird
MilePost Consulting
Green Buildings

Sue Ballard de Ruiz
Tennessee State University
Mobility

Darek Bell
Bell Construction
Green Buildings

Jason Carney
Tennessee Solar Energy
Energy

Michael Connolly
CSX
Mobility

Terry Cook
The Nature Conservancy
Natural Resources

Anne Davis
Attorney
Energy

Mark Deutschmann
Village Real Estate Services, Core Development Services; ULI
Mobility

Paul Farley
Waste Management
Waste Reduction

Bob Freeman
State representative; Freeman Applegate Partners
Green Buildings

Dodd Galbreath
Lipscomb University
Natural Resources

Brian Gant
SCS Engineers; Chamber of Commerce representative
Mobility

Amanda Garcia
Southern Environmental Law Center
Green Buildings

Gary Gaston
Nashville Civic Design Center
Mobility

Beth Prichard Geer
Office of Al Gore/The Carthage Group
Natural Resources

Andrea George
Vanderbilt University, Sustainability and Environmental Management
Waste Reduction

Erin Hafkenschiel
Vanderbilt University, Mobility
Mobility

Brad Hall
Office of Al Gore/The Carthage Group
Energy

Sizwe Herring
EarthMatters Tennessee
Waste Reduction

Rob Horton
Trap Garden
Natural Resources

Mekayle Houghton
Cumberland River Compact
Natural Resources

Daniel Joranko
Vanderbilt University, Divinity School
Energy

Nora Kern
Walk Bike Nashville
Mobility

Steve Law
Tennessee Parks and Greenways Foundation
Natural Resources

David Lawrence
Hines
Natural Resources

Todd Lawrence
Urban Green Lab
Waste Reduction

Geoff MacDonald
Vanderbilt University, Athletics
Energy

Liz Edsall McLaurin
Land Trust for Tennessee
Resilience/Adaptation

Jaclyn Mothupi
Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation
Resilience/Adaptation

Jenny Park
The Trust for Public Land
Natural Resources

Katie Poss
Turner Construction Company
Waste Reduction

David Proffitt
Metro Nashville Public Schools
Energy

Ian Prunty
Building Robotics Inc.
Green Buildings

John Sherman
Solid Waste Board
Waste Reduction

Kim Shinn
TLC Engineering Solutions
Green Buildings

Ryan Stanton
Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation
Energy

Grace Stranch
Sierra Club, Middle Tennessee
Waste Reduction

David ter Kuile
Vanderbilt University, Business Services
Waste Reduction

Mary Vavra
Transit Now Nashville
Mobility

Robert Waits
Hodgson Douglas
Natural Resources

Ed Wansing
The Compost Company
Waste Reduction

Erica Weeks
Hastings Architecture
Green Buildings

Tiffany Wilmot
Wilmot Inc.
Energy

Robert Wingfield
Fisk University
Energy

Manuel Zeitlin
Manuel Zeitlin Architects
Green Buildings

This press release was produced by the City of Nashville. The views expressed here are the author’s own.