
FREE
for Members
The Spitzer Team Tackles New York's Environmental, Energy, and Climate Challenges
Monday, November 5, 2007
Presented By
Presented by the Environmental Sciences Section and Green Science and Environmental Policy Discussion Group
On November 5, 2007, 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
Keynote Speaker: Paul D. Tonko
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.
Marcia Bystryn, Executive Director
NY League of Conservation Voters
Marcia Bystryn joined the League as Executive Director in June, 1999. Prior to this, she served as the former Senior Business Manager for Economic Development and Senior Corporate Policy Manager for the Environment at The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, where she focused on the revitalization of the port and the many interwoven environmental issues.
She also served as the former Assistant Commissioner for Recycling at New York City's Department of Sanitation, where she integrated a comprehensive recycling program as part of the City's solid waste management policy, as well as the Former Deputy Director of the Twentieth Century Fund,