Julie Byrd
Scientist III/Client Development, Brown & Caldwell consulting firm, Atlanta

Raised on a dairy farm in the rural Appalachian Mountains, Byrd developed a strong appreciation for the value of land that has served her well throughout her career, which is marked by a decade of experience managing a wide range of environmental projects. This includes hazardous waste investigation and remediation, building decommissioning and decontamination, and environmental auditing and compliance projects. Launching her career with the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD), where she worked in both the Risk Assessment and State-led Superfund programs, Byrd was able to develop an understanding of environmental regulations applied by a regulatory agency. During her tenure there, EPD began work on the first and largest brownfield site developed in the Atlanta area (Atlantic Station) before Georgia had formally created their current Brownfield program. Byrd witnessed the inception of Georgia’s Brownfield program, as an old steel mill in the middle of downtown Atlanta was transformed into a dynamic and successful mixed-use complex that includes retail, residential, dining, and outdoor events. Wishing to pursue other opportunities in the environmental field, Byrd moved from EPD to a career in consulting with Brown and Caldwell, where she focuses mainly in the area of hazardous site remediation and brownfield redevelopment. “My favorite aspect of the job is the sense of accomplishment achieved by taking something viewed as a blight on the community and converting it to a sustainable use that is beneficial from both a social and economic prospective—recycling at its best,” said Byrd, who participates in a number of related professional organizations, including the N BAs (N BA), Air and Waste Management Association (AWMA) and Georgia Association of Water Professionals.

Melanie Gregg
Community Programs Marketing Manager for the City of Buffalo Economic Development and Planning offices.

As a longtime award-winning broadcast journalist, Melanie Gregg knows how to get the word out—and those with a stake in the Buffalo brownfield efforts are lucky to have her voice in disseminating the vital talking points within the brownfield realm. In her job capacity, Gregg is responsible for all external communications for the departments, including all media inquiries, weekly press conferences, and, as warranted, ribbon cuttings and ground breaking events. In 2006, Gregg initiated an aggressive brownfield marketing and publicity program for the City of Buffalo, working directly with N BAs to bring the 2008 regional conference to the western New York city—an opportunity that coincided with the launch of Buffalo’s “Green Belt” initiative. Gregg is currently producing a series of programs for the web and local cable access on brownfield redevelopment, green industry and sustainability in the City of Buffalo Green Belt and Brownfield Opportunity Area. In addition, Gregg directs the creation of marketing materials and other visuals to promote City of Buffalo development projects. Prior to her position with the City of Buffalo, Gregg served as public relations director to then-New York State Sen. now Mayor Byron W. Brown, and Chief of Staff to retired New York State Assemblyman Richard A. Smith. Born and raised in western New York, Melanie is a graduate of SUNY Fredonia with a BS in Communications, and the University of Illinois-Springfield with a MA in Public Affairs Reporting.

Catherine Finneran
Brownfield Coordinator, State of Massachusetts

Back in the early 1990s, at the infancy of the national brownfields program, Catherine Finneran’s career also got its start. In her first job as a development manager for a city in western Massachusetts, Finneran authored what became one of the first successful grant proposals under the EPA pilot assessment program. From there her interest in the intersection of environmental and economic development through brownfields redevelopment began. Finneran served as acting director of a local community development corporation focused on housing and downtown revitalization. She also addressed entitlement issues for public and private sector developers at a private sector planning firm in Arizona. In 2000, she accepted the role as Brownfield Coordinator, State of Massachusetts, and is the state contact for brownfields issues, works with developers and communities, and markets state and federal programs. “The State of Massachusetts is leading efforts nationwide with its program—we have the first privatized cleanup program in the country, and brownfields legislation passed in 1998 that included the first state-subsidized environmental insurance program,” said Finneran, who has spoken at more than 100 national/state conferences and authored numerous articles.