Academy Newsletter
Summer 2022 (Issue No. 2)
This newsletter is by and for participants and alumni of the Maryland Climate Leadership Academy, the nation’s first state-sponsored institution providing continuing education and executive training programs specifically designed for state and local government officials, infrastructure executives and business leaders.
A Look at the Maryland Climate Leadership Academy 5 Years in …
This Fall, we will host a series of virtual town halls to explore where the Academy is and can go, and as we return to some semblance of normalcy, we are looking forward to Academy alumni informing that direction. Academy co-founder Daniel Kreeger (ACCO’s executive director) shares insights on the Academy’s launch and evolution in this 5-year update.
Q&A with DNR’s Gabe Cohee:
DNR Grants Gateway Open for Proposals
This summer, the state announced that Maryland’s Chesapeake and Coastal Grants Gateway (Grants Gateway) has re-opened to solicit proposals for state fiscal year 2024 projects that foster healthy ecosystems, communities, and economies that are resilient in the face of change (funding available July 1, 2023). Read this issue’s Q&A with Gabe Cohee, Director of the Maryland Chesapeake & Coastal Service’s Office of Restoration and Resilience.
Project Spotlight:
Climate Change Resource Guide
Earlier this summer, Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE), Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for Montgomery County, RMI, and Crosswalk Labs hosted a workshop in Wheaton, MD with regional stakeholders to get feedback on the beta version of a CO2 emissions data tool Crosswalk Labs is launching in fall 2022. The tool is designed to give municipal and state planners, as well as citizens and advocacy groups, easy access to high-quality and low-latency emissions data.
Maryland Climate News & Commentary
Senators see Inflation Reduction Act as inflection point for combating climate change in Md. | Maryland Matters
VAN HOLLEN, CARDIN, HOYER URGE NASA TO EXTEND UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, GODDARD RESEARCH MISSION ON CLIMATE CHANGE | Senator Chris Van Hollen
U.S. House members raise doubts about Manchin environmental permitting deal | Maryland Matters
Officials: Incentives in federal bill will jump-start home retrofits to address climate change | Maryland Matters
Links between climate change and health disparities explored at University of Maryland | State of Reform
Commentary: New ‘chief resilience officer’ will set Maryland climate strategy | The Baltimore Sun (Tim Purinton, Katie Fry Hester)
Board of Public Works approves funding for clean water public-private partnership and the Chesapeake Bay | Maryland.gov
Rising seas could destroy millions of U.S. acres in decades | UPI.com
Opinion: This federal bill is going to supercharge Maryland’s energy transition | Maryland Matters (Ivy Main, Jamie DeMarco)
Sanders blasts permitting reform as Democrats’ divide grows | E&E News
STATE FACT SHEETS: How the Inflation Reduction Act Lowers Energy Costs, Creates Jobs, and Tackles Climate Change Across America | The White House
MARYLAND DELEGATION ANNOUNCES NEARLY $42 MILLION FOR ECO-FRIENDLY UPGRADES TO REGIONAL BUS SYSTEMS IN PRINCE GEORGE’S, ANNE ARUNDEL, AND MONTGOMERY COUNTIES | Congressman Jamie Raskin
As seas rise, U.S. coastal landowners urged to let the water in | Thomson Reuters Foundation
Against federal guidance, states plan to expand highways | Grist
Activists accuse Md. Labor Dept. of slow-walking heat protection regulations for workers | WTOP
Residents and Environmentalists Say a Planned Warehouse District Outside Baltimore Threatens Wetlands and the Chesapeake Bay | Inside Climate News
[REPORT] Montgomery County High Road Economic Inclusion Framework for an Equitable Climate-Ready Economy | Montgomery County Maryland
Upcoming Academy Training Programs
CC-P Prep Program (Cohort XVIII)
Starts September 13, 2022
CC-P Prep Program (Cohort XIX)
Starts October 31, 2022
CC-P Prep Program (Cohort XX)
Starts November 8, 2022
Career Opportunities
Technical Advisor II, Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation | Catholic Relief Services | Full-time | Baltimore, MD
Environment/Climate Reporter | The Baltimore Banner | Full-time | Baltimore, MD
Project Coordinator, Maryland Agriculture Climate Vulnerability Assessment | University of Maryland | Full-time | College Park, MD
Risk Modeling Services - Climate Risk Senior Associate | PwC | Full-time | Baltimore, MD
Volunteer: Sustainable Climate Environment Advocate | Bowie MD Citizens' Climate Lobby | Part-time | Bowie, MD
Sr. Associate, Insights | Potential Energy Coalition | Full-time | Hagerstown, MD
Environmental Change and Sustainability, Department of Sciences | Adjunct Faculty | University of Maryland Global Campus | Full-time | Adelphi, MD
Communications Associate/Climate Change | Burness | Full-time | Bethesda, MD
Climate and Energy Analyst | Abt Associates | Full-time | Rockville, MD
Climate and Energy Program Administrator | Frederick County Government | Full-time | Frederick, MD
Announcing the Academy’s New ListServ:
Phase Two
The Maryland Climate Leadership Academy has unveiled a new ListServ to link Academy alumni and facilitate announcements, community dialogue and information sharing. The ListServ leverages Google Groups, an easy-to-use resource familiar to most alumni already used by the State of Maryland.
Alumni Spotlight:
Natali Fani-Gonzalez, CC-P
Air Quality Planner
Baltimore Metropolitan Council
Title: Candidate for Montgomery County Council District 6
Degree: BS in International Relations and Political Science, Goucher College
Year earned CC-P: 2022
Years involved in climate-related work:
7 years as former vice chair of the Montgomery County Planning Board, Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning CommissionPublished reports/articles: Investing in Safe Streets (Parks & Recreation Magazine)
Professional goal: “I am focused to earn my seat on the Montgomery County Council, MD this year so I can use my CC-P knowledge to pass laws that protect our environment and our community.”
Climate idol (for this month):
Miranda Wang, CEO and co-founder of a Silicon Valley–based startup, BioCellection, that transforms the most commonly used and unrecyclable plastics into new materials using pioneering chemical technology.