Project Management Workshop: Meet Our Instructors

Caryn J. G. Brookman

Instructor
NAEP Member
Principal
Blackwater Environmental Group

Caryn Brookman is the Principal and Owner of Blackwater Environmental Group, a Maryland-based environmental planning firm, and a senior NEPA practitioner with more than 25 years of experience in the transportation industry. She brings a distinct federal–state perspective gained through her work with the Maryland Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration prior to founding Blackwater, and has successfully led complex, high-profile transportation initiatives across Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Notably, she managed Maryland’s largest highway NEPA study, encompassing 48 miles across two states, delivered on an accelerated schedule as one of the first major projects implemented under Executive Order 13807 (One Federal Decision). In addition to her project leadership, Caryn is the founder and co-chair of the Maryland Quality Initiative’s Environment, Equity, and Engagement (E3) Subcommittee and is an active member of multiple transportation industry organizations.

Dan Cecchini

Instructor
Senior Program Manager, Stantec Government Services.

Dan is a senior program manager with Stantec Government Services. He retired from federal service in 2025 as the Environmental Director of Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC). He was the Environmental Planning and Terrestrial Resources lead for the Office of the Secretary of the Navy from 2014-2023, where he reviewed and approved all Navy and Marine Corps EISs and developed Department-wide NEPA policy, which included new NEPA regulations in 2020. He served as the Joint Guam Program Office Environmental Director from 2012-2014, where he oversaw environmental compliance for a $9B Marine Corps relocation to Guam. He served as a NEPA and conservation SME, project manager, and program manager for NAVFAC Atlantic from 1989-2012. He is a graduate of the Duke University Nicholas School of the Environment NEPA certificate program. 

Dan loves spending time in the outdoors with his family. He graduated from Virginia Tech with a degree in Forestry & Wildlife.

Eric Beightel

Instructor
NAEP Member
Federal Strategy Director
ESA

Eric Beightel is a nationally recognized expert on environmental policy, NEPA, and the federal permitting process. He has played a leading role in driving the national effort to streamline the environmental permitting process for major infrastructure projects. Eric currently serves as the Federal Strategy Director for Environmental Science Associates, monitoring and analyzing federal policy and providing clients with actionable advice on navigating the dynamic policy landscape. He previously served as the Presidentially appointed Executive Director at the Permitting Council, where he was responsible for overseeing a portfolio of more than $75 billion in large-scale infrastructure projects, supporting federal agencies and project sponsors through expedited federal environmental review and permitting that advanced dozens of critical projects to completion, realizing their economic and environmental benefits for the nation.

Jamie Bents

Instructor
Vice President, Director, Environmental Planning
WSP USA

Jamie is a NEPA Practitioner, Transportation and Environmental Planner with over two decades of experience and extensive NEPA leadership for transportation projects. She is a Local Business Leader for WSP’s Planning services (MN, WI, ND, SD, OH) directing and developing our transportation and environmental planning work.

She is NEPA Educator certified by National Highway Institute, who taught FHWA’s NEPA, PEL, and Section 4(f) courses. Jamie is a Project Manager delivering complex NEPA projects, including the Honoapiilani Highway Improvements Project and EIS (West Maui, HI) - September 2025 ROD.

Kristine MacKinnon

Instructor
Project Manager
JACOBS Engineering

Kristine MacKinnon, PE is a "plangineer" who utilizes her dual experience in civil engineering and environmental fields, predominantly focused on permitting a wide variety of infrastructure projects. Her technical expertise includes NEPA, CWA Section 404, Section 106, Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessments, and construction stormwater permitting. She has served as Project Manager, Task Manager, and Environmental Engineer for a wide variety of civil, natural gas, transportation, aviation, scientific, industrial, railroad, civil and environmental engineering projects throughout the United States. Kristine's 18 years of civil engineering experience combined with her environmental planning skill set provides a unique understanding of the relationship between infrastructure needs and environmental requirements to a much deeper degree than typical environmental planning.

Lauren Schramm

Instructor
NAEP Member and Working Group Lead
Senior Transportation Planner
Environmental Science Associates

As a Senior Transportation Planner at ESA, Lauren serves as an advisor to the firm’s clients on modernizing environmental review and decision-making processes. Her work supports clients as they navigate evolving federal requirements while advancing infrastructure and public-sector priorities efficiently and transparently.

Lauren is recognized for her leadership at the intersection of environmental policy and technology-enabled process improvement. She led a team that created an AI chatbot that won the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Modernizing NEPA Challenge, a national initiative focused on identifying innovative approaches to improve the efficiency, transparency, and effectiveness of the National Environmental Policy Act process. Building on this work, Lauren leads the National Association of Environmental Professionals Working Group on Technology. Lauren works closely with several federal and state agencies in this space and has been published alongside the National Labs.

Lauren holds a Master of Science in Wildlife and Fisheries Resources from Clemson University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Biology and Environmental Studies from Alfred University. She has been recognized with a 2025 Emerging Environmental Professional Achievement Award from the Academy of Board Certified Environmental Professionals, and named as one of the 35 Women Under 35 To Know by the American Council of Engineering Companies of Georgia.

Mehmet Secilmis

Instructor
Environmental Consulting Lead
Esri

Mehmet Secilmis is a Senior Global Account Manager and the Environmental Consulting Lead for Esri's Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) and Environmental Practice Team. With over 20 years of experience in environmental science, engineering, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS), he assists engineering and environmental firms in overcoming complex challenges through innovative geospatial solutions. Mehmet holds two masters degrees in Environmental Technology and Management (with a specialization in the Management of Technology). He has been a certified GIS Professional (GISP) since 2007. His mission is to empower organizations with data-driven insights that enhance decision-making, strengthen infrastructure, and promote sustainable outcomes.

Michael Mayer, J.D., CEP

Instructor
NAEP Past President
Biological Resources Working Group Lead
Principal Environmental Project Manager, HDR

Michael has 25+ years of experience in environmental planning and project management
Currently serves as a Principal Environmental Project Manager at HDR, Inc. He has extensive experience on Federal environmental compliance projects around the U.S., including large scale and controversial EISs and ESA consultations, and is a past Adjunct Instructor at National Conservation Training Center.

J.D. Lewis and Clark Law School
B.S. and M.S. Wildlife and Fisheries Biology/Conservation, University of Massachusetts.

Michael D. Smith, PhD

Instructor
Senior Vice President and National Practice Leader, Environmental Process and Policy
WSP USA

Dr. Michael D. Smith has extensive experience as a NEPA and CEQA Trainer. He is a nationally recognized leader in National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) compliance with over 29 years of experience in project and program management, technical analysis, policy development, and training/education for a wide range of public and private sector clients.

He is currently a Senior Vice President and the National Practice Leader for WSP USA's Environmental Policy and Process Group. He manages and oversees some of the nation's largest, most complex, and highly controversial projects, including major energy and transportation infrastructure projects, regulation of genetically engineered plants, commercial space transportation operations, and approval of new fuel economy standards.

Michael has earned a Ph.D. Sociology (Environment and Natural Resources emphasis), Utah State University, M.A. Geography, University of Wyoming, and B.A. Environmental Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz.

Pam Hudson-Danko

Instructor
NAEP Member
Retired Senior Attorney, FAA’s Office of Chief Counsel

Pam Danko, a member of NAEP, is a nationally known NEPA attorney and specialist providing extensive NEPA compliance services to federal agencies and private entities. She is a prolific writer of NEPA articles, including the NAEP Annual NEPA Case Law Review.

Mrs. Danko retired as a senior attorney from the FAA’s Office of Chief Counsel, Airports and Environmental Law branch after serving a long tenure with the Department of the Navy’s Office of General Counsel. Her experience includes roles as a Deputy Managing Counsel for NAVFAC Southwest, and earlier in her career, she led the agency’s formal environmental law and NEPA training program.

Mrs. Danko, a retired U.S. Navy Commander (Oceanography), is an alumna of FSU College of Law, where she was the Beverly Stout McLear Environmental and Land Use Scholar.

Nik Tompkins-Flagg

Instructor
NAEP Member
NEPA Program Manager, Cardno GS, Inc.  

Kik is a NEPA Program Manager and senior project manager with 7 years experience in Environmental Planning project management. She recently served as the Navy’s liaison to the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts; led interdisciplinary teams to negotiate required approvals from agencies for complex Navy projects. She also manages complex NEPA documents including contract management, regulatory compliance, public participation, and stakeholder engagement (both internal and external). Nik has a background in archaeology and historic preservation originally, but fell into NEPA by chance and her skills include problem solving, conflict management, interpersonal relationships, communication and team building. 

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Rich Walter

Instructor
NAEP Member
Vice President, Environmental Planning 

Rich Walter has 30+ years of experience in environmental planning, compliance strategy, permitting, and mitigation development and implementation. He serves as project director/environmental lead for environmental planning for large-scale infrastructure projects for public agencies and private clients. He has worked with a wide variety of federal agencies on NEPA compliance including FRA, FTA, FAA, NPS, BLM, USACE, USFWS, and FERC. Rich has also led ICF’s California Municipal Climate Action Planning practice since 2006 which has developed climate action plans, greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories for hundreds of communities across the U.S., general plan policies for climate change, cost-benefit analyses of emission reduction strategies, climate adaptation studies (including sea-level rise), as well as numerous California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documents addressing GHG emissions and adaptation. 

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Ron Lamb

Instructor
NAEP Member, Former Board Member
CEP Emeritus

Ron is a senior NEPA project manager and former NEPA program manager for the U.S. Marine Corps (retired 2022). At his retirement was awarded the Superior Civilian Service Award—the highest honorary award the Commandant of the Marine Corps may bestow on a civilian employee. In 2023 Ron was awarded the Dr. Richard Kramer Memorial Award by the Academy of Board Certified Environmental Professionals (ABCEP). In 2016-2017 Ron was detailed to the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) where he served as the Deputy Associate Director for NEPA to support administration transition and NEPA guidance and procedures. In 2014 he was detailed to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Environment (DASN-E) to serve as Acting Director for Environmental Planning and Terrestrial Ecology. Ron was a Vice President at HDR|e2M where his clients included the Coast Guard, Customs and Border Protection, Air Force, Bureau of Land Management, General Services Administration, National Park Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and NASA.

Ron has been an elected member of the NAEP Board of Directors and led the NEPA Working Group. Ron holds an M.S. in Environmental Science from Johns Hopkins University and his Certificate in NEPA from the Duke University Nicholas School of the Environment.  

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Scott Phillips, MA

Instructor
NAEP Member
Senior Technical Director, SWCA Environmental Consultants, Inc.

Scott Phillips is a subject matter expert in heritage preservation and cultural resources management, including as it intersects with environmental planning. As Senior Technical Director at large, he provides this expertise nationwide on behalf of SWCA Environmental Consultants, where he has been since 2001. Scott began his career in cultural resources management in 1990. He received his M.A. in Anthropology (cultural focus) from the University of Colorado at Boulder.  

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Ted Boling

Moderator
NAEP Member
Partner, Perkins Coie

Ted Boling served as the country’s top National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) attorney as an associate director at the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) in the Executive Office of the President. He also served at CEQ, the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in Democratic and Republican administrations. Ted currently advises leaders on transportation and energy development projects, agencies that must hire outside counsel, and the environmental professionals that support them on the development of renewable energy, resource development, transportation, and infrastructure. He has drafted NEPA guidance on mitigation and monitoring, cumulative impacts analysis, and the development categorical exclusions from detailed NEPA documentation. He advised the White House on the establishment of numerous national monuments, including the first marine national monuments in the United States and the largest marine protected areas in the world. He also assisted in briefing three U.S. Supreme Court cases. Ted has handled matters involving energy development on the outer continental shelf, including offshore wind power development, and the fast track for solar and wind energy projects on public lands. 

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