Water: A Precious Resource
If shapers of the built environment (e.g., policy makers, design professionals, engineers, builders, building owners) all viewed water as a precious resource, how would this change how we design buildings and sites? Our panelists will address this question and more from their diverse perspectives.
Program
- 5:00 pm: Reception with hosted bar and hors d’oeuvres
- 5:15 pm: Exterior tours (optional)
- 6:00 pm: Program begins
- 7:00 pm: Reception with hosted bar and hors d’oeuvres
- 7:10 pm: Interior tours (optional)
Fifteen minute optional tours of the CRWD building will be held before and after the main program. Join these tours to learn how the building showcases the best practices for managing, treating, and reusing stormwater. Tours before the main program will focus on the exterior of the building, while tours afterward will present the building’s interior.
Register here >
Panelists
Christine Baeumler, Artist and Professor of Art, University of Minnesota
As an artist and educator, Christine explores the potential of art as a catalyst to increase awareness about environmental issues and to facilitate stewardship. She is a professor in the Department of Art at the University of Minnesota in the area of Interdisciplinary Art and Social Practice. She has been the artist in residence for Capitol Region Watershed District since 2010. She is also a fellow of the University of Minnesota Institute on the Environment. Examples of her collaborative art and science projects include the “Bee Real Bee Everywhere” project and the “Reconstituting the Landscape: A Tamarack Rooftop Restoration” installation at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.
Jeffrey Barnhart, President, Prospect Park Properties
As president of Prospect Park Properties, Jeff oversees every part of the organization and is responsible for creating and implementing the company’s strategic vision. Very active in the community, he is a member of the Prospect Park Association Board of Directors and the Land Use Committee and the first president of the Towerside Business Alliance. Under his leadership, Prospect Park Properties is currently supervising construction of a new public park for the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board.
Mark Doneux, Administrator, Capitol Region Watershed District
Mark has over 34 years’ experience in the water resource field, 20 of those years with Capitol Region Watershed District (CRWD). He oversees all of CRWD’s operations and manages the organization’s annual budget and work plan. Mark is chair of the Central States Water Environment Association Minnesota Section Stormwater Committee. He is also a member of the Water Environment Federation’s Stormwater Committee and secretary of the Minnesota Association of Watershed Administrators.
Wes Saunders-Pearce, Water Resource Coordinator, City of Saint Paul
Wes provides leadership for the City of Saint Paul’s water resource initiatives, including green infrastructure and climate-change strategies, and has helped pioneer new frontiers in local stormwater management. He spearheads the city’s district-based approach to stormwater systems, which includes creative funding solutions. Wes also advances the city’s stormwater regulatory program by guiding floodplain development and protecting the city’s wetlands.
Moderator
Whitney Clark, Executive Director, Friends of the Mississippi River
For more than 30 years, Whitney has worked to improve Minnesota’s environment. During his 22-year tenure as executive director of the Friends of the Mississippi River, he has led the organization’s growth, from a start-up group with one full-time employee to one of Minnesota’s largest and most effective conservation organizations. Whitney has extensive experience in environmental policy, lobbying, advocacy and education campaigns, and partnership building around environmental and social justice issues. In 2017, Whitney received the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits Transformational Leader Award.
