Society of Women Environmental Professionals

Please join Elly and me in welcoming Katelyn Lazar and Macy Kiel as the new co-chairs for the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Society of Women Environmental Professionals (SWEP).  Elly and I would like to say it has been a great pleasure leading the Rocky Mountain Chapter of SWEP for the past few years.  We look forward to Macy and Katelyn bringing a new and exciting path forward for the Rocky Mountain Chapter of SWEP. If you have ideas for upcoming events, please reach out to Macy Kiel or Katelyn Lazar. Be on the lookout for more information about upcoming events.

2020 Rocky Mountain SWEP Newsletters are attached at the following links:

Jan/Feb Newsletter      Mar/April Newsletter     May/June Newsletter

2018 Rocky Mountain SWEP Newsletters are attached at the following links:

 April Newsletter          May Newsletter        June Newsletter         

July Newsletter 

August Newsletter      September Newsletter    October Newsletter

November Newsletter      December Newsletter

2019 Rocky Mountain SWEP Newsletters are attached at the following links:

Jan/Feb Newsletter          Mar/Apr Newsletter          May/June Newsletter

July/Aug Newsletter         Sept/Oct Newsletter         Nov/Dec Newsletter

The Society of Women Environmental Professionals (SWEP), Rocky Mountain Chapter, is excited to announce the following events:

November 14th Progressive Dinner and Silent Auction

Time  6:00 to 8:00 p.m., Registration begins at 5:45

Place: Old Spaghetti Factory (note new location in Westminster)
9145 Sheridan Boulevard, Westminster, CO 80031

Cost: SWEP Members $25/ person ~ Non-members $30/person
No walk-ins will be accepted
RSVP by COB Monday November 11th* to [email protected]
The Progressive Dinner will involve changing tables throughout the course of the evening, providing opportunities to meet many people. This is a great networking event, so bring your business cards and feel free to invite a friend! Silent auction items will be available to bid on during the evening so come prepared to try to outbid your competitors.
*OSF charges for dinners based on the RSVP numbers, if you RSVP and cannot attend, please let us know by COB Monday November 11th. If you do not give us notice and are a no show, we will kindly request that you pay for your dinner. Proceeds go to the Rocky Mountain SWEP Scholarship Fund.

May 22nd Networking Happy Hour and Mastering Balance Presentation by Monica Graves

Please note: NEW DATE May 22, 2019

Please see the events calendar for more detailed information on the date and location.

This event was previously scheduled for Thursday April 25th, but has been moved to a new date.

March 26th Luncheon Presentation by Jane Bral, P.G.

See the events calendar for more detailed information on the date and location.

January 30th Luncheon Presentation by Dr. Dorothy Colagiovanni

See the events calendar for more detailed information on the date and location.

Thanks!

Past Events:

2018

January 24^th KATELYN HALL, MPH from the Marijuana Health Monitoring and Research Program, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment presented on Monitoring Changes in Marijuana Use and Potential Health Effects. Colorado voters legalized recreational marijuana in November 2012 with Amendment 64. Retail sales began in January 2014 along with a developing and diversifying marijuana industry. Ms. Hall discussed trends in marijuana use among pregnant and breastfeeding women, children, adolescents, young adults, and adults 21+ years old, pre- and post-legalization of recreational marijuana in Colorado.

September 12^th ALLISON HARAMINAC from Pinyon Environmental, LLC. Presented on Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act Compliance and Permitting. The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (BGEPA), enacted in 1940, protects two species of eagle from unauthorized “take.” This presentation discussed the definition of “take” and provide an overview of the BGEPA permitting process. It also offered suggestions for minimizing cost and schedule impacts to projects where eagles are present.

October 3^rd DR. KRISTEN KETELES from U.S. EPA presented on The Role of Toxicology in Environmental Crime Investigations and Prosecutions: Answering the So What? Part of EPA’s mission is to vigorously enforce our nation’s environmental laws by investigating and assisting in the prosecution of criminal conduct that threatens human health and the environment. Dr. Kristen Keteles discussed her role as a toxicologist at EPA’s National Enforcement Investigations Center, an accredited environmental forensics facility.  She provided examples of criminal cases where she evaluated evidence and served as an expert witness in the courtroom.

November 15th Progressive Dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory – Rocky Mountain SWEP and RMAEP participated in this Networking Progressive Dinner.

2017

January 12th Toxicology Panel from U.S. EPA, CDPHE, and independent consultants. The panel included toxicologists who have applied their expertise to solve problems and protect human health in a variety of contexts, like workplace exposure, drinking water, Superfund and other environmental contamination, product safety, and civil and criminal litigation. The panelists provided a brief introduction to the field of toxicology along with real-world examples of ways that toxicology can be of practical benefit. Panelists welcome interaction with attendees during the luncheon.

Panelists Included:

• Susan Griffin, Ph.D., Senior Toxicologist, USEPA Region 8
• Tami McMullin, Ph.D, Program Manager, Oil and Gas Health Information, CDPHE
• Jenifer S. Heath, Ph.D., Independant Toxicology Consultant

June 29th DR. MONICA HEINTZ from Arcadis U.S., Inc. and Denver Sustainability Advisory Council on Sustainable Cities presented on Denver’s Sustainability Programs and Goals. City governments across the world have realized the importance of sustainability to maintaining quality of life for citizens and the competitive advantages that sustainability can offer. Effective sustainability efforts are built on balancing the elements of people, planet, and profit – the triple bottom line. To achieve a balance among these elements, cities set goals and assess their progress toward those goals with defined metrics. Dr. Heintz discussed Arcadis’ Sustainable Cities Index, with a focus on Denver, and Denver’s sustainability goals and programs.

October 4th Networking Happy Hour and Negotiation 101 with Rhonda Caudill.  Rhonda Caudill discussed the basic negotiation process and explained how to ensure successful outcomes for you, your project or your business by taking the right approach and planning ahead. Whether you are an engineer,
project manager, scientist, technician, or business development professional, it pays to know how to negotiate.

November 8th Progressive Dinner at Old Spaghetti Factory – Rocky Mountain SWEP supporters enjoyed a networking dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory.

Happy fall everyone!  We are excited to announce our next meeting, a book club dinner.  This is SWEP’s first book club, and we think it should be very interesting.  We will discuss the book Full Body Burden: Growing Up in the Nuclear Shadow of Rocky Flats.  We are pleased to announce that the book’s author, Kristen Iversen, will join us via Skype for the discussion.  Though it is not required, we recommend reading the book prior to the meeting so more people can join in the discussion.  The meeting will be at GeoTech Environmental Equipment, Inc. on E 40th Ave in Denver on Thursday November 10th from 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm.  The fee is $15 for members and $25 for non-members and will include dinner.  Please email [email protected] to RSVP.  We ask that you do this no later than Wednesday November 2nd.  You can review the event announcement here: book-club-dinner_nov-10-2016.

Hope to see you there!

Hope everyone is having a good summer – we sure are! But we think it’s missing something…a networking event!  Let’s get together and mingle with other environmental professionals in a relaxing atmosphere.  Space is reserved at Paxia near W 38th Ave and Pecos St in Denver on Tuesday July 26th from 4:30 pm – 6:30 pm.  The $15 fee for members and non-members will include light appetizers and your first drink.  Please email [email protected] to RSVP.  We ask that you do this no later than Thursday July 21st.  You can review the event announcement here: SWEP Networking Event_July 26 2016.

Hope to see you there!

Thanks to all of you who joined us for the SWEP Progressive Networking Dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory. We hope to do this type of event again and would be interested in your feedback.

Please send your comments to: [email protected]

Some people requested Jody Ostendorf’s presentation from the January 21st meeting.  She has graciously provided it to us to post along with a link to the EPA white paper regarding background ozone she mentioned.  Thank you Jody for the informative presentation on the new ozone NAAQS!

Presentation: SWEP_Jan21_Ozone_NAAQS

White Paper:  http://www3.epa.gov/airquality/ozonepollution/pdfs/whitepaper-bgo3-final.pdf

Happy New Year!  We hope your 2016 is off to a great start.

Thursday January 21st will be our first meeting of the new year.  Ms. Jody Ostendorf will present on the “Final Updates to the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Ozone”.  Her presentation will discuss EPA’s October 1, 2015 decision to tighten the ozone standard to 70 ppb and other provisions of the final rule.  She is the State Implementation Plan Program Manager  for EPA Region 8 and is currently working on ozone issues in the Air Quality Planning Unit.  Please contact us if you have any questions at [email protected].  You can review the meeting information here: SWEP_January 21_Jody Ostendorf.  Details are also provided below:

Date: Thursday, January 21st

Time: 12:00 – 1:00 pm, check-in begins at 11:45 am.

Location: US EPA, Bitterroot Room (2nd Floor)
1595 Wynkoop Street, Denver, CO 80202

Please remember your government issued photo ID as it is required at the EPA building security desk.  You may need to allow a few extra minutes to get through security.

Cost: Purchasing a lunch will be optional due to the meeting being held at the EPA building.  There will be no charge for attending the presentation. The typical fees will be charged if you would like a SWEP lunch ($15 for members/$25 for non-members).  Please include in your RSVP if you will attend and whether you would like a lunch or not.

RSVP by COB January 15th to [email protected].

Elaine Porter, Colorado Oil and Gas Association (COGA) Wildlife Subcommittee

The Colorado Habitat Exchange is a program developed to incentivize habitat improvements and conservation on private, state, and federal lands that would offset impacts to Greater Sage-Grouse habitat in Colorado.  The Colorado Department of Natural Resources is currently seeking recognition for the program from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Ms. Porter is serving as liaison for COGA in development of the habitat exchange and will provide a summary and explanation of the program and its intricacies.

Date: Monday, November 9th

Time: 12:00 – 1:00 PM, Registration begins at 11:45

Location: Colorado Collaborative for Nonprofits Training Center, Aspen Room B 789 Sherman Street, Suite 100, Denver, CO

RSVP by COB November 3rd to [email protected]

About the Speaker: Elaine Porter is a Project Manager and Ecologist with Tetra Tech, Inc.  She is a consultant for the Colorado Oil & Gas Association (COGA) Wildlife Subcommittee where she serves as a liaison among COGA management, operating companies, State agencies, agricultural producers, and environmental interests.