STORMS, FLOODING AND SEA LEVEL DEFENSE CONFERENCE 2023 @ SCOTTS SEAFOOD, OAKLAND, CA WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 8TH 2023 

8:00 CALL TO ORDER

Stas Margaronis, Propeller Club of Northern California (MC)

8:10 WELCOME

Danny Wan – Executive Director Port of Oakland

*Maria Conaster, President International Propeller Club

Charles Perham, President Society of American Military Engineers

LTC Timothy Shebesta, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, San Francisco District 

Arvind Acharya, President Society of American Military Engineers, San Francisco Post

Scott Humphrey, Executive Director San Francisco Marine Exchange

9:00 KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Mario Cordero, Executive Director Port of Long Beach

9:30 CALIFORNIA PORT REPORTS 

Kristin Decas, Executive Director, Port of Hueneme 

Kristine Zortman, Executive Director, Port of Redwood City 

Justin Luedy, Senior Environmental Specialist, Port of Long Beach 

Brad Benson, Waterfront Resilience Program Director, Port of San Francisco 

Jan Novak, Associate Planner and Scientist, Environmental Programs and Planning, Port of Oakland 

Paul Ruff, Pilot, San Francisco Bar Pilots 

11:00 PREPARING CALIFORNIA FOR STORMS, FLOODING & SEA LEVEL DEFENSE

Tom Ducker, Critical Infrastructure Lead, California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services 

Brian Garcia, Warning Coordination Meteorologist, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) 

Emery Roe, Senior Research Associate, Center for Catastrophic Risk Management, U.C. Berkeley 

Maya Hayden, Director of Outreach, U.S. Geological Survey 

12:00 STATE OF HAWAII REPORT
Derek Chow, Pacific Islands Business Development Manager, Burns & McDonnell Engineering Company, Inc. “Hawaii’s Sea Level Defense Strategy
12:30 LUNCH 
*California Senate Majority Leader Mike McGuire invited not confirmed 
2:00 SPECIAL REPORT
Rachael Hartofelis, Project Manager, MTC/ABAG “Sea Level Rise Adaptation for S.F. Bay Area Could Cost $110 Billion” 
2:30 IMPACT ON DAMS & LEVEES

Moderator: J.R. Gregory, Senior Geomatics Analyst / Project Surveyor, Towill 

Mike Mierzwa, Technical and Policy Advisor, California Department of Water Resources 

Scott Humphrey, Executive Director, San Francisco Marine Exchange 

Pooja Mahajan, Product Manager, Digital Solutions, Stantec 

3:30 BENEFICIAL USE & NATURE BASED SOLUTIONS

Moderator: Summer Bundy, Climate Change Adaptation & Coastal Resilience Regional Sector Leader, Stantec 

Erika Powell, Senior Project Manager, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, San Francisco District 

Peter Dreyfuss, Managing Director, Watermaster North America, “The Case for Suction Dredging in California” 

*Brenda Goeden, Sediment Program Manager, Bay Conservation and Development Commission 

Julie Beagle, Environmental Planning Section Chief, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, San Francisco District 

Janelle Kellman, Executive Director, Center for Sea Rise Solutions 

5:00 CONCLUSION

Stas Margaronis, Propeller Club of Northern California

5:30 NETWORKING & RECEPTION

*Invited but not confirmed 

REGISTRATION 

SPONSORSHIPS

1 https://abag.ca.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2023-07/SLR_Framework_Final_Report.pdf