The conference is being held at Saint Andrew’s School in Middletown.   This private boarding school's campus was featured in the Robin Williams’ film Dead Poet’s Society.  St. Andrew’s students and staff are very active in the Tributary Action Team process.   Working with students from Middletown's Everett Meridith Middle School, they have conducted water quality monitoring projects in the Appoquinimink Watershed and helped to identify locations for the Dove Nest stormwater retrofit project in Middletown.

The conference begins at 8:30 AM with registration and sign in.   Coffee and refreshments will be provided by E’s on Main Street Café in Middletown.  The conference will open at 9:00 AM with welcoming remarks from Mike Schuller of St. Andrew’s School.

The agenda for the day includes presentations by each of the Tributary Action Teams followed by speakers from the Office of State Planning and Coordination, Delaware Department of Agriculture’s Nutrient Management Program, DNREC’s Division of Water Resources and Division of Soil and Water Conservation, and the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service.  Following lunch, provided by Bachetti Brothers Catering, we will have a keynote address by Mr. David Gershon, founder and CEO of the Empowerment Institute.

Attendees are invited to participate in discussions on how to generate future participation and further efforts to measurably reduce nonpoint source pollution in Delaware’s watersheds.

Van Pool

Our Keynote Speaker

The Speakers

Constance C. Holland became Director of the Office of State Planning Coordination in 2001.  Her organization serves as staff to the Governor's office, and the Livable Delaware Program.  Before accepting this responsibility, Connie served for more than 20 years with the Kent County Planning Office, holding positions of Planning Technician, Planner, Planning Services Coordinator, and Supervising Planner.   She was unanimously confirmed as Planning Director by the Levy Court and took over the position in December 1993.  Connie was appointed Director of Planning Services in July 2000, which broadened her responsibilities to not only that of the Planning Office but also the Inspection and Enforcement Division and the GIS division where she served until 2001.

Bill Rohrer has served as the Program Administrator for the Delaware Nutrient Management Program since 1999. He resides in Marydel where he owns and operates a small grape farm. Bill has a bachelor’s degree in Agriculture from West Virginia University.  He served as Army Field Artillery Officer for over four years, serving with the Third Infantry Division and the First Infantry Division in Germany and the Balkans during the 1995 occupation of Bosnia.   Prior to his current position with the Nutrient Management Program, Bill was employed by Sycamore Lane Nursery in Warwick, Cecil County, Maryland, with Brubaker Agronomic Consulting Service as an Agronomist for the lower eastern shore, and by the Maryland Department of Agriculture as a Nutrient Management Specialist.

Rodney Wyatt is the Section Manager for the Ground Water Discharges Section in the Division of Water Resources of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.  The Ground Water Discharges Section oversees all aspects of the siting, design and installation of on-site wastewater treatment and disposal systems (septics).  The Section is also responsible for the permitting of underground injection wells, large spray irrigation wastewater systems, and other means associated with land application wastewater treatment.  They also issue waste transporter permits and licenses to designers, percolation testers, site evaluators and system installers.

Frank Piorko is the Sediment and Stormwater Program Manager with Delaware's Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, Division of Soil and Water Conservation.  Frank has worked with sediment and stormwater programs at the local, county and state level for 18 years.  he is responsible for the Delaware Sediment and Stormwater Program and participates in land use and environmental committees statewide.

Virginia (Ginger) L. Murphy was recently assigned as the new State Conservationist for Delaware by the USDA's Natural Resource Conservation Service.  She has an extensive background in Landscape Ecology and community and resource assessments, along with policy and program leadership.  Prior to her appointment, she was the Acting Staff Leader for the Farmland Protection and Community Planning Staff in Washington, DC, responsible for overseeing administration of the Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program, the Farmland Protection Policy Act, and all policy and program activities related to farmland protection and community assistance.  Ginger previously worked as a Community Planning Specialist on the Farmland Protection and Community Planning staff before taking the Staff Leader position.  Having national responsibility for Community Planning, she worked to advance the Service’s capacity to deliver technical assistance to communities by developing tools and methods in Geographic Information Systems for natural resource and socioeconomic assessments.

Lester (Les) Stillson is the State Operations Manager for the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in Delaware. He is responsible for managing and directing all NRCS operational functions involved in developing and implementing a comprehensive conservation program for Delaware.  His specific leadership responsibilities include direct supervision of all field operations, program management for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQUIP), the Agricultural Management Assistance Program (AMA), and the Conservation Security Program (CSP), workload analysis, program assessment, strategic planning, and quality assurance.

Cynthia McAllister will moderate the morning session of the conference.   Cyndy provides meeting facilitation and management consulting for corporations and non-profit agencies through her Middletown, Delaware based consulting business.  Her expertise is providing structure and process to group interactions so they are able to function effectively and make high-quality decisions.  Ms. McAllister has over 13 years of experience in facilitation, corporate training and organizational development.  This experience includes work as a consultant and facilitator for Kepner-Tregoe, an international management development and training firm and as an educator in business development, and management development at MBNA America.  As a faculty member at the University of Delaware and Wesley College, Ms. McAllister taught business and leadership courses.  She also coached University of Delaware faculty members on best practices in adult education and worked to develop an executive education market with local businesses.

Carolyn White Bartoo will facilitate the afternoon “break-out” session.   Carolyn provides marketing and public relations consulting for “micro” sized businesses and for government agencies through her Newark, DE based company Catalyst Communications, specializing in environmental communication.  Her company focuses on image enhancement and branding programs, special events planning, media relations and press conferences, development of collateral materials (web site content, brochures, flyers, posters, reports, etc.), community outreach and promotion, strategic writing for fundraising, development, and membership campaigns.  Carolyn has over 16 years of communication experience which includes work as a television producer and reporter, Marketing Director for Delaware State Parks, and Tourism Public Relations Manager for the Delaware Economic Development Office.   She is also a part-time faculty member in the University of Delaware’s communication department teaching public relations courses.

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