The Aviation Noise & Emissions Symposium has been around for over 3 decades now and would not be possible without the strong support of a great Program Planning Committee. This year we are working to expand our Program Planning Committee and Program Topics to be more geographically well-rounded. Please help me welcome our 2021 Committee!
Steve Alverson
Environmental Science Associates
Steve Alverson is a former Senior Vice President at Environmental Science Associates (ESA), a nationwide consulting practice specializing in airport noise and land use compatibility studies, airport/community roundtable facilitation, environmental documentation, air quality analyses, and aviation planning services. Throughout his 39-year career, Steve has helped airport operators and their communities manage complex and challenging aircraft noise issues at some of the busiest airports in the United States including Los Angeles International, San Francisco International, John F. Kennedy International, Hartsfield-Jackson International, Denver International, and Seattle-Tacoma International Airports. Steve served as the project director of the update to the Caltrans Airport Land Use Handbook. He regularly provides litigation support and expert testimony on matters related to aircraft noise. Steve also provides college-level lectures on aircraft noise and land use compatibility planning including Airport Land Use Compatibility Planning at the University of California at Davis and the University of California at Berkeley Institute for Transportation Studies.
Gabe Andino
Noise Abatement & Environmental Compliance, Teterboro Airports
Gabriel Andino is the Manager of Noise Abatement and Environmental Compliance for AvPORTS at Teterboro Airport. He currently leads the development and operations of this department, including monitoring airport user compliance with local noise policies and leading outreach efforts to local communities, elected officials and airport users. Gabriel is also the Airports chair of the National Business Aviation Association Access Committee, which focuses on maintaining and enhancing business aviation access to the National Airspace System.
He received a BS in Aviation Management from Southern Illinois University and an MBA the Keller Graduate School of Business.
Veronica Bradley
Director of Environmental Affairs, Airlines for America
Veronica Bradley is Director of Environmental Affairs at Airlines for America where she assists in environmental advocacy activities concerning noise, corporate sustainability disclosure, potable water, chemicals, climate, and recycling issues relating to aircraft and airline operations. Her advocacy efforts seek to minimize negative impacts and amplify benefits of proposed regulations, legislation, and voluntary programs at the international, federal, state, and local levels. Prior to A4A, Veronica worked at ICF where she supported the Climate Change and Stratospheric Ozone Protection Divisions at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. A Michigan native, Veronica received her Bachelor of Arts degree with distinction from the University of Michigan in 2007 and a Juris Doctor magna cum laude from American University Washington College of Law in 2015.
Rachel Burbidge
Senior Policy Officer, Environment and Climate Change, Eurocontrol
Rachel Burbidge joined EUROCONTROL in 2005. She has been leading EUROCONTROL’s work on climate change adaptation and resilience since 2009, authoring the organisation’s ground-breaking Challenges of Growth work on Climate Adaptation, and several peer-reviewed journal articles. She leads EUROCONTROL’s contribution to the ICAO CAEP Working Group on CORSIA, where she manages tasks on MRV, and is also a member of ICAO CAEP Working Groups on Impacts and Science and Airport and Operations, where she leads the work on climate adaptation. She has degrees in Environmental Studies and Sustainable Development.
Dave Carbone
Consultant, LGN Aviation Policy Group
Dave Carbone is semi-retired and currently provides consulting services for the LGN Aviation Policy Group in Washington DC. His public sector career of over 35 years focused on aircraft noise mitigation and airport/land use compatibility planning. Most of his work concentrated on the environs of San Francisco International Airport, which is located in San Mateo County. Some of his key activities included managing the San Mateo County aircraft noise insulation program and serving over 23 years as the manager of the San Mateo County Airport Land Use Commission and as the Coordinator/Program Manager for the San Francisco International Airport/Community Roundtable.
Dave earned a Bachelor of Science degree in City and Regional Planning at California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo and an Associate of Science degree in Pre-Architecture at Sierra Community College in Rocklin, California. He received additional training in airport environs planning and aircraft noise mitigation at the University of California (Berkeley and Davis) and the Georgia Institute of Technology. In 2017, he was a recipient of the Walt Gillfillan Award, a recognition of professional achievement, that is presented at the annual UC Davis Aviation Noise and Emissions Symposium.
Justin Cook
Director, Emerging Technologies and IT, HMMH
Justin has more than 20 years of experience in environmental engineering and consulting for aviation, rail, highway, construction/architecture, and federal projects throughout the United States. He possesses strong qualifications in environmental noise mitigation, vibration analysis, and air quality modeling and analysis, as well as measurements and report preparation that significantly contribute to HMMH’s growth and business development opportunities.
Justin holds a B.A. in Mathematics from the University of California, Irvine. He is Institute of Noise Control Engineering (INCE) certified and has a LEED Green Associate Certificate from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). He is located in our Anaheim, CA office.
Alex Gertsen,
Director, Airports & Ground Infrastructure, National Business Aviation Association
Alex Gertsen has served as the association’s director of airports and ground infrastructure since 2015. He comes to NBAA from the American Association of Airport Executives, and his love of aviation goes back to standing on the flight line with his grandfather, a U.S. Air Force veteran. A pilot himself, Gertsen works with the NBAA Access Committee to ensure access at airports across the country.
Robbie Gross
Environmental & Atmospheric Scientist, Crawford, Murphy & Tilly
Robbie provides airport clients with expertise and services related to air quality analyses, environmental management tool development, and funding sources for environmental impact mitigation. One assignment, in which he developed a computer-based decision-making tool, resulted in aid for users of the FAA’s Airport Air Quality Assessment Handbook, guidance material used by agencies, airports, and consultants throughout the country.
Robbie stays at the forefront of emerging technologies and is well-versed in the environmental benefits associated with electric passenger cars, buses, and airport ground support equipment, as well as alternative fuels including compressed natural gas, biodiesel, and propane vehicles. His research has contributed to advancements in mesoscale atmospheric modeling, meteorological modeling for air quality, and developing photochemical air quality modeling systems to evaluate regional emission reduction strategies. He has also been involved in developing and applying computer-based tools for estimating air emissions and greenhouse gases from aircraft, ground support equipment, motor vehicles, and construction equipment.
Anne Hollander, Montgomery County Quiet Skies
Anne Hollander is President of the Montgomery County Quiet Skies Coalition (MCQSC), a Maryland-based non-profit education and advocacy group formed in 2016 to find solutions to the noise, public health, and environmental hazards caused by NextGen technologies and flight procedures in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. MCQSC works with aviation-impacted residents, local and state elected officials, members of Congress, the FAA, and other community advocates both regionally and around the country.
In addition to her work as a community organizer, Anne has her own business as an executive function and organizational coach. In her early career she worked for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Conservation Foundation, and Resolve, an environmental policy mediation group. Anne holds an M.A. degree from the Stanford University Food Research Institute and a B.A. degree from Stanford University in International Public Policy.
Ian Jopson
Head of Environmental and Community Affairs, NATS
Ian has more than twenty years’ experience in the sphere of environmental aviation issues in Europe and beyond, working for the Civil Aviation Authority and an independent consultancy. He is currently Head of Environmental and Community Affairs at NATS, which provides air traffic services to 2.2 million flights a year and to the 15 biggest airports in the UK. Ian is part of the environmental research team in the Single European Sky ATM Research programme, SESAR. He is chair of the UK Sustainable Aviation coalition focused on cleaner quieter smarter flying and a member of the Royal Aeronautical Society's Greener by Design Steering Group. Ian advises the UK state member of ICAO's Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection and works with ICAO's Operations environmental working group.
Sjohnna Knack
Program Manager, Planning & Environmental Affairs, San Diego International Airport
Sjohnna Knack is the Program Manager with the Planning & Environmental Affairs Department at the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority. She oversees all aspects of aircraft noise related to the San Diego International Airport aircraft operations. Ms. Knack is responsible for oversight of one of the largest remaining residential sound attenuation programs, the Quieter Home and Quieter Non-Residential Programs. She provides technical support for the Airport Noise Advisory Committee and Curfew Violation Review Panel. She ensures adherence to many regulatory requirements including State of California Title 21 requirements. She manages a team of staff who conduct analysis with the Airport’s noise and operations monitoring system. Ms. Knack works closely with industry stakeholders including the FAA, air carrier operators, elected officials and other interested community members.
Ms. Knack has a bachelor’s degree in Aviation Management from St. Cloud State University. She is currently the Noise Working Group Chair for ACI-NA’s Environmental Committee.
Anne Kohut
Editor & Publisher of Airport Noise Report and Aviation Emissions Report
Anne Kohut is the publisher of two newsletters: Airport Noise Report, which is in Volume 32, and Aviation Emissions Report, which is in Volume 13. Prior to that, she served a senior editor for Noise Regulation Report, a publication of the Bureau of National Affairs, Inc., which was acquired by Bloomberg News.
She holds a B.A. in Liberal Arts and an M.S. in Audiology from Penn State University, where she worked for several years as a graduate assistant in the Penn State Environmental Acoustics Lab.
Jennifer Landesmann, Sky Posse Palo Alto
Jennifer Landesmann is co-founder of Sky Posse Palo Alto, an initiative that came together in 2014 to engage with neighbors and local and federal officials to reduce noise and emissions impact from FAA’s Nextgen implementation at Bay Area airports. Currently, Jennifer is co-editor of the Sky Posse Palo Alto newsletter which tracks efforts to address noise and emissions impact of aviation locally and nationally. She is also co-founder of, and actively involved as a Board member of, the Quiet Skies Conference, a national coalition of grassroots groups established to serve as a forum for information exchange on aviation impact and lobbying.
Jennifer is a longtime community leader in Palo Alto having served on PTSA boards in the local public schools system. Professionally, she held several leadership positions in the financial services industry. As a banker, she successfully grew ultra high net worth client relationships for top Wall Street firms as well as served as an expert advisor on emerging markets debt funds. Before that she led Argentina and Brazil exposure management for JP Morgan, restructuring their national debt alongside the Firm’s chief negotiator. Jennifer has a Masters in International Management from the Thunderbird School of Global Management, Phoenix, Arizona and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, Texas.
Xiaobo Liu
Aviation Noise Specialist, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
Xiaobo Liu is an Aviation Noise Specialist with Port Authority of NY & NJ. He has been working on aviation noise systems, i.e. Noise and Operation Management System (NOMS), Noise Monitoring System, and Noise Complaint Management System, since 2016.
Before he joined Port Authority of NY & NJ, he has worked in private sector. He has 8 years of experiences in environmental study for infrastructure projects, from highways, bridges, tunnels, rails, to airports.
He holds a master’s degree in Environmental Engineering and is a licensed Professional Engineer (P.E.) in New York State. He is also a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) of Project Management Institution (PMI) and a certified member (CM) of American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE).
Eric Lu
Principal, Ramboll
Eric Lu is a Principal at Ramboll and located in the Irvine, California office. He has more than 20 years of experience in air quality management and climate change issues, with expertise in air quality and GHG emissions inventory and reporting, risk assessment, climate action plan development, CEQA, and agency/public stakeholder outreach and communication. He has assisted a variety of clients including, airports, oil and gas, manufacturing, landfills, commercial and residential land use development, and renewable energy facilities. He is the North America Airports Service Line co-Leader for Ramboll and on the Environmental Committee for the American Association of Airport Executives. Mr. Lu is a Registered Professional Engineer (PE), a Certified Permitting Professional (CPP), an Accredited Greenhouse Gas Lead Verifier in California and a former verifier under the Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA) Program. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Brown University and a Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.
Mike McKee
Airport Noise Abatement Manager, Denver International Airport
John Pehrson
Principal, CDM Smith
John conducts air quality impact analyses, human health risk assessments, and greenhouse gas inventories for NEPA and state environmental disclosure documents on airport, marine port, transit system, and federal water infrastructure projects. He also prepares air quality general conformity determinations for federal actions associated with airport, marine port, and federal water infrastructure projects.
Jorge Rodriguez Cifuentes
Group Leader, MITRE Corporation
Jorge Rodriguez Cifuentes is a Group Leader at The MITRE Corporation, a not-for-profit organization managing federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs) supporting several Federal government agencies, including the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). At MITRE, Jorge manages a team of engineers and air traffic control experts supporting the FAA in delivering some of largest and most complex airspace and procedures redesign projects in the United States. Prior to that, Jorge was an airport management consultant with extensive experience preparing noise analyses in support of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) reviews. He is a licensed private pilot and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.
Michele Ross, Metropolitan Airports Commission
Sam Tan
Environmental Project Manager, DFW International Airport
Sam Tan serves as Environmental Project Manager for DFW International Airport, under the Environmental Planning and Development Program within the Environmental Affairs Department (EAD). His work in the Noise Compatibility Office (NCO) focuses on the integration of applied technology, centered on operational analysis as it relates to aviation noise and the affects to surrounding community. EAD’s NCO oversees community outreach as it relates to significant changes in airfield operations and significant weather events, as well as monitoring the aircraft noise levels and flight tracks surrounding the airport.
Sam holds a Master’s Degree in Theology from Dallas Theological Seminary and Bachelors of Science in Electrical Engineering from Southern Methodist University.
Yolanka Wulff
Co-Executive Director, Community Air Mobility Initiative
Yolanka is a business attorney and consultant with over two decades of experience in the successful development, implementation and management of mission-driven programs. Prior to joining Community Air Mobility Initiative as Co-Executive Director, Yolanka has been a sustainable aviation consultant for ten years, working with industry, government, academia and nonprofits on policy, standards and regulations, industry development, market challenges, communications and media relations. She has experience in sustainable transportation and land use. Yolanka also serves as Executive Director of CAFE Foundation where she organizes the annual Electric Aircraft Symposium.