Ready to turn vacant spaces into thriving community hubs? Join CCLR and EPA Region 9 staff for a three-part Vacant to Vibrant webinar series on brownfield revitalization for beginners!
The Vacant to Vibrant series will demystify the world of brownfield reuse by breaking down key terms, examining program structures, and exploring the resources you need to kick off a successful redevelopment program. As part of the webinar series, you will also learn how to engage your community effectively, from visioning meetings to navigating diverse opinions, all while ensuring equity and inclusion. To wrap up, we’ll dive into the funding game by exploring key characteristics of grant applications, and strategies for building valuable partnerships to get your project off the ground.
The series will feature three essential webinars, each offering practical guidance and expert insights on developing a brownfield program that works for your community:
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Introduction to Brownfields: Starting, Structuring, and Navigating Land Reuse in Your Community This session provides an essential overview of brownfields as opportunity sites for community benefits, including how to identify sites, understand key terminology, navigate available resources, and start structuring your brownfield program.
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Empowering Community Voices: Effective Outreach, Engagement, and Visioning for Brownfield Projects Learn how to develop inclusive community engagement strategies, address conflicting views, and facilitate visioning sessions to ensure that your brownfield project is driven by diverse voices and long-term community support.
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Funding Brownfield Revitalization: Identifying Sources, Crafting Proposals, and Building Partnerships Discover how to secure funding for brownfield revitalization by exploring state and federal funding opportunities and building partnerships with organizations, coalitions, and state agencies to strengthen your project’s chances of success.
You will hear from our staff as well as community champions that have made brownfield projects work for their communities. Whether you’re a local leader, nonprofit, or municipality, this series will equip you with the tools to transform brownfields into vibrant spaces for all!
Speakers
Devyn serves as a manager for various programs at CCLR, including the USEPA R9 Vacant to Vibrant outreach effort and an equity-focused learning module with Groundwork USA. She supports CCLR’s land-reuse TA delivery for EPA R9 and R10 both as a partner to EPA and the R9 TCTAC, Center for Community Energy and Environmental Justice (CCEEJ). She has coordinated many CCLR-led webinars and workshops for events including the California Land Recycling Conference and the National Brownfields Conference. Devyn gladly provides her skills and expertise in Environmental Justice to the programs at CCLR.
Lisa Hanusiak is a brownfields project manager with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Pacific Southwest Region based in San Francisco, CA. She has over 30 years experience working as an environmental scientist. Prior to joining the Brownfields Program, Lisa served in EPA’s Superfund Program as a remedial project manager, Oil Program as an inspector, and Quality Assurance Office as a chemist.
Brooklyn James is a project officer in the Toxics and Brownfields Section at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9. She recently earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering from the University of California, Merced. Her research focused on environmental justice and equity issues with an emphasis on food-energy-water systems for historically underserved communities. Before joining the EPA, Brooklyn was a pioneer in the Carbon Cleanup Initiative Fellowship Program at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where she explored carbon capture and storage capacity in California. In the Brownfields program, Brooklyn is a part of the Vacant to Vibrant outreach effort to connect with new communities with environmental justice concerns.
