Creating a Green Infrastructure Plan for Your Community

Bio: Senior Consultant at Geosyntec Consultants specializing in green infrastructure, low impact development, and water resources management.

Education: M.S. Water Resources Engineering, University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana

Key Publications: Dreher, D, “Chicago Wilderness Green Infrastructure Vision: Sustainable Planning at Multiple Spatial Scales,” American Planning Association, Regional and Intergovernmental Division, Winter 2010. Dreher, D., “Chicago Wilderness Green Infrastructure Vision, Challenges and Opportunities for the Built Environment,” Journal of Green Building, Volume 4, Number 3, Summer 2009. Dreher, D. and J. Welch, Chicago Wilderness Green Infrastructure Vision, Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission, 2004. Navota, J. and D. Dreher, “Protecting Nature in Your Community: A Guidebook for Preserving and Enhancing Biodiversity,” Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission, 2000.

Past Assignments: Numerous presentations on the topic of green infrastructure to local govwernments, professional associations, and regional forums.

Bio: Employed by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources as a Regional Watershed Coordinator Nancy also serves as the Green Cities Campaign Manager for the Illinois Wildlife Action Plan. Nancy co-chairs the Chicago Wilderness (CW) Sustainability Committee and the Green Infrastructure Task Force, is the Principal Investigator for the CW Sustainable Watershed Action Team (SWAT) and founder of the SWAT initiative.

Key Publications: Chicago Wilderness sustainability publications including: “Sustainable Development Principles for Protecting Nature in the Chicago Wilderness Area,” and “Conservation Development in Practice.” The Wetlands Initiative publication: “Living with Wetlands,” a publication required by the Chicago Army Corps of Engineers to be distributed in developments that impact jurisdictional wetlands.

Bio: Principal Planner for the McHenry County Department of Planning and Development. Plan Commissioner for the City of Woodstock, Illinois. Past internships with the City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development and the Congress for the New Urbanism.

Education: MA in Geography from Chicago State University. BA in Philosophy from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Bio: I have worked with the City of Crystal Lake for 6 years. With Crystal Lake I have been fortunate enough to work on a variety of projects. Including the day to day current planning applications, we have re-written our ordinances into a Unified Development Ordinance, we have drafted a new 2030 Comprehensive Plan and of course adopted the Green Infrastructure Vision plan. I have worked in municipal planning for over 10 years.

Education: I received a Bachelor of Science in Urban Planning at Arizona State University.

Bio: I am the Director of Planning and Development for McHenry County, Illinois, where I am responsible for the County’s overall planning, zoning, water resources management, construction permitting, and community development functions. Prior to joining McHenry County in 2008, I spent 10 years with the Lake County, Illinois, Planning, Building, and Development Department. I have additional planning and GIS experience in South Carolina, Kansas, New York, and New Jersey. I am a Past President of the National Association of County Planners and is a founding member and Past Chairman of the American Planning Association’s County Planning Division. I am also a member of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Counties.

Education: B.S. in Geography and a Certificate in Environmental Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Master of City and Regional Planning degree from Rutgers University.