Scheduled Speakers and Speaker Bios

Ms. Conrad resides in the State, Local and Tribal Group of the Deployment and Industry Partnerships Center at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory with 15 years of experience in analyzing policy and environmental impacts. She manages project teams in energy planning, policy, environmental impacts, agricultural applications, small island sustainability and rural development and has extensive experience in collaboration and promoting coherent, tangible clean energy programs within states and communities. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Land Use and Environmental Resources and her master's work is in Environmental Policy and Law. Previously, her work included such topics as the water/energy nexus, environmental remediation and water reclamation for the Colorado Department of Natural Resources.

James (Jim) William Beever III
Principal Planner for the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council (SWFRPC)

Mr. Beever's responsibilities include implementing the environmental planning review for the SWFRPC, including Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry, Lee, and Sarasota Counties. Current work includes the three coastal impacts studies entitled A Comprehensive Southwest Florida/Charlotte Harbor Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment; Development of Climate Change Adaptation Plan for the City of Punta Gorda; and A Watershed Analysis of Permitted Coastal Wetland Impacts and Mitigation Methods within the Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program Study Area, coordinating Regional Wildlife Habitat Planning, review of Developments of Regional Impact, Review and Planning of Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), Southwest Florida Feasibility Study (SWFFS), and other restoration projects, review of large and significant FDEP/SWFWMD and SFWMD/USACE permits, wildlife resource inventory, fish and wildlife technical assistance, 22 committees and partnerships ranging from the Estero Bay Agency on Bay Management to the Lower West Coastal Watersheds Subcommittee. He has been employed protecting the natural resources of southwest Florida for 25 years in DER, DNR, GFC, FWC and now the SWFRPC.

John W. (Jack) Merriam
Water Resources Manager

Mr. Merriam is a graduate of USF Tampa, having received his bachelor's and master's degrees from the college of Natural Sciences in the early 70s. Jack has worked for a wide variety of agencies including: St. Johns River Water Management District, the Florida Department of Environmental Regulation, Florida Department of Natural Resources, Florida House of Representatives, Hillsborough County Stormwater Section, and most recently with the Sarasota County Government. Jack's work interests have long involved watershed management, and creative ways to protect and restore water quality. While at Hillsborough County he became interested in Low Impact Development which is a method of developing which seeks to mimic the nature hydrologic cycle as much as possible. He was involved in a 1992-93 SWFWMD cooperative funding project that was called Hydria, which was a cistern which takes water from the roof of the Hillsborough County Courthouse and stores it in a 15,000 gallon artwork which looks like a Greek Ruins. He subsequently was involved in encouraging the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council to sponsor a Low Impact Development Conference in 2004. Now, four years later, he is finally finishing the first Low Impact Development Design manual for Sarasota County in partnership with the SWFWMD and the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program. Jack is also a member to the Technical Advisory Committee for the State-Wide Stormwater Rule, representing the Florida Local Environmental Resource Agencies (FLERA), which may utilize a number of LID techniques in treatment trains to accomplish desired pollutant reductions.

Ben Sasse
Senior Project Manager for Willis A. Smith Construction

Ben graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Environmental Design in 1998 and a Master of Science in Construction Management in 1999. Over the past decade, his work has focused primarily on the construction management of educational facilities, both for K-12 and higher education clients including the School Board of Sarasota County, Ringling College of Art and Design, Houston Independent School District, Fort Bend Independent School District, and Texas A&M University. Ben joined Willis A. Smith Construction in 2005 as a project manager. In 2006, he became the first employee in the company to earn his LEED Accredited Professional designation. He also serves as chair of the Communications Committee for the Myakka River Branch of the USGBC. Ben was involved in both the planning and design for Willis Smith's LEED Gold Certified headquarters building, as well as being responsible for spearheading the LEED documentation and submittal efforts.

Demetra J. McBride
Natural Resource Manager
B.A., International Relations, Florida International University
Diplome, Sorbonne Universite de Paris
J.D., New York Law School

Demetra J. McBride joined Sarasota County in 2005 to develop the government's Urban Forestry Master Plan and outreach program, launch canopy and research grant projects, and to map a benefits strategy for the County's Tree Canopy Surtax Program. Currently, Demetra is working with multiple County units to generate a comprehensive Green Infrastructure Master Plan that integrates the ecosystem services of trees, vegetation and bioswales with manmade technologies, such as cisterns, permeable pavements and tree vaults, to help manage water and air quality, promote public health and safety, reduce energy consumption, support biodiversity, and counteract urban heat islands. She also works with the County's Sustainability Office, designs and manages the County's Tree Canopy Surtax and State Highway Enhancement Grant Progams, and supports Capital Management Services' merger of green elements into infrastructure and capital projects. Demetra regularly speaks on green infrastructure, sustainability, urban forestry and urban heat islands before local, state and national audiences. Most recently, she spoke in Berkeley before the International Conference on Countermeasures on Urban Heat Islands, which also published her paper, "Ecomasterplanning for the Empire Metropolis and Urban Islands". Demetra studied in Miami and Paris before graduating with honors from New York Law School, and is admitted to practice in New York and Florida.