West Michigan Sustainable Business Forum will host a forum on stormwater management and green stormwater infrastructure on Monday, April 8 at Davenport University.

The program will feature a panel of national and regional stormwater experts who will discuss the importance of investing in sustainable stormwater management, providing a business case to encourage these voluntary green stormwater infrastructure improvements among private property owners.

Panelists include:

• Don Carpenter, Vice President of Water Resources, Drummond Carpenter PLLC – Dr. Carpenter is an accredited green design professional and practicing professional engineer whose expertise includes green infrastructure, stormwater best management practices (BMPs), sustainability, hydrologic modeling and design, and field data collection for performance monitoring. Dr. Carpenter is a professor of civil engineering at Lawrence Technological University teaching water resources courses including Hydraulic Engineering, Hydrology, Stormwater Management, Design, River Engineering & Restoration, and Ethics. Dr. Carpenter also serves as Director of the Great Lakes Stormwater Management Institute at Lawrence Tech.
• Carrie Rivette, Wastewater/Stormwater Maintenance Superintendent, City of Grand Rapids – Carrie has over 19 years of experience in the environmental field, with an emphasis on soil and groundwater investigation and remediation.  She spent several years working in the site development field, concentrating on design and construction inspection.  In 2011, she began working for the City of Grand Rapids and is the Stormwater Maintenance Superintendent for the City.  She is certified by the MDEQ in Construction and Industrial Storm Water Management and Comprehensive Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Control.
• Jim Kozminski, Advanced Environmental Engineer, Haworth – Jim has more than 30 years leading Haworth’s environmental compliance & ISO 14001 programs, including air pollution control, wastewater management, industrial & hazardous waste management, DOT, zero waste to landfill, and property transaction environmental risk management. Jim has worked on stormwater programs at Haworth including pollution prevention plans, inspections & voluntary programs (Macatawa Greenway & Project Clarity).
• Shanyn Viars, Economics and Policy Research Associate, American Rivers (moderator) – Shanyn joined American Rivers as the Economic and Policy Research Associate in 2018. As an economist, adding the environment into the equation is important to Shanyn in planning a sustainable future. She also produces economic impact analysis to assist decision-makers on the policy implications for residents in their communities.

This month’s forum is presented by American Rivers and the Lower Grand River Organization of Watersheds.

Register for the WMSBF April Forum here.

Lunch is $17 for members if paid online ($22 at event), $25 for  future members ($30 at event).  Davenport University students and faculty may attend the program with a brown bag lunch for no cost.

Tentative Agenda