Karletta Chief,
Speaker

Karletta Chief is currently a Ph.D. student at the Department of Hydrology and Water Resources at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. She received a bachelors of science and masters of science in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California in 1998 and 2000. Her research interests lie primarily in subsurface hydrology, water quality, and contaminant transport. She has been involved in the research issues surrounding the effects of coal and uranium mining on tribal water resources, particularly the Navajo Nation. In addition, Chief has been very active in the American Indian Science and Engineering Society.

Abstract: "Native American Water Issues, Sovereignty, and Management in the Four Corners Region"

Chief will discuss her work on a Navajo uranium mine case study on the remobilization of uranyl complexes under acidic conditions and its effects on downstream users. The talk will discuss the role of land, air, and water to Native American culture, the impacts of uranium mining to the environment and people. She will also discuss the role and opportunities for Native Americans in environmental justice, land restoration, and natural resource management.

Crist Khachikian,
Symposium Chair

I am interested in the behavior of liquid and solid organic compounds in porous media. We study the effects of organic compounds on the physical properties of the porous media. The long-term goal is to understand how these properties effect contaminant transport. We are also interested in the bioavailability and sorption/desorption of organics in porous media.

Andrew Lipkis,
Speaker

Andy Lipkis began planting trees to rehabilitate smog and fire damaged areas when he was fifteen years old. He founded TreePeople in Los Angeles, California, and has served as its President since 1973. TreePeople has been a guiding light for the citizen forestry movement. Andy's creative programs include air-lifting bare-root fruit trees to Africa, inspiring the planting of one million trees in L.A. before the 1984 Summer Olympics, numerous disaster relief efforts during flood and fire, and many versions of training designed to increase citizen involvement in urban tree planting and care. He authored with his wife and partner Kate, The Simple Act of Planting a Tree: A Citizen Foresters' Guide to Healing Your Neighborhood, Your City and Your World. His latest program, T.R.E.E.S. - Trans-agency Resources for Environmental and Economic Sustainability, is a public/private partnership aimed at retrofitting the greater Los Angeles area to be managed as a sustainable urban ecosystem

Abstract: "Converting the Urban Drainage System Into a Healthy Urban Watershed: Using Our Best to Make it Better"

Applying the science, engineering and best practices of urban and community forestry holds the key to restoring health and sustainability to our cities. Through the major components of community forestry - training and supporting citizen-activists, community-based education of adults and youth, and research - the non-profit organization TreePeople has developed a model program called T.R.E.E.S. (Trans-agency Resources for Environmental and Economic Sustainability). The T.R.E.E.S. Project brings together multiple agencies, organizations and individuals to solve urban problems from an integrated, watershed-ecosystem management approach. After ten years of research, the concept is now being implemented in a very large-scale pilot to solve a persistent flooding problem in a traditionally under-served community. As a result, instead of a typical storm drain, the community will create a functioning forest watershed by removing pavement, planting trees, mulching, installing stormwater infiltrators and cisterns, and transforming harsh sites into beautiful, green public recreation areas.

Ali Modarres,
Speaker

My research and outreach projects focus on urban policy issues, including ethnic community development, immigration, and the spatial dynamics of population distribution. As an urban demographer and planner, I have provided outreach services to various Los Angeles communities that are currently a part of the designated Supplemental Empowerment Zones. My recent publications focus on the urban environment and its underlying social structure.

Title of Presentation, " Spatial Inequity and Historical Processes in Creating Toxic Neighborhoods in L.A."

Carlos Robles,
CEA-CREST Program Director, Symposium Co-Chair

Using controlled experiments in the rocky intertidal zone, my students and I test hypotheses about the forces shaping marine communities. Our most recent experiments demonstrate that variation in the recruitment of prey species influences the activities, and hence, the regulatory role of keystone predators. Future studies will consider the impact of global climatic change on the dynamics of marine communities.

Michael Tillman,
Speaker

Dr. Michael F. Tillman is a Senior Executive within NOAA Fisheries and directs the agency's Southwest Fisheries Science Center, with headquarters in La Jolla, California. He also serves in a Presidential appointment as the Deputy Commissioner to the International Whaling Commission. Tillman holds a doctorate from the University of Washington and is a research associate at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego. An Alaskan Native, he has worked for NOAA Fisheries since 1972 and been at the Southwest Fisheries Science Center since 1993, having previously served in Washington, DC as the agency's Chief Scientist and Deputy Director.

Abstract: " Native Hunting, Gifting, and Marine Mammal Policy: The Value of Government Service to Native Communities"

Based upon personal experiences, observations are offered on the value of government service to maintaining the cultures and traditional lifestyles of Native communities. With the growing diversity of American society, young scientists must consider how best to contribute to ensuring that the needs of their respective peoples are correctly interpreted.

Albert "Abby" Ybarra,
Panel Speaker

Albert "Abby" Ybarra is the Community Environmental Education Coordinator for the District of Columbia. In the past, he has served as the Director of Secondary Education for TreePeople and as an environmental education consultant. Abby has more than 20 years of experience developing conservation work projects for teens and young adults throughout California and the United States. He has worked with county and state governments as well as years of consulting work on private contracts. Abby has also been recognized for his work as a public information specialist, television reporter and producer; an Emmy nomination and numerous awards for his creative work on public service announcements and documentaries.