The Environmental Finance Center @ The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (efc@unc)

Past Faculty, Staff, and
Researchers

Below is a list of people who have previously worked with the UNC EFC.

For a list of current staff, please click here.

Christine Boyle is a doctoral student in UNC’s Department of City and Regional Planning. Christine is working on EFC’s current project analyzing relationships between customer characteristics, consumption patterns, and rate structures in several North Carolina communities. Prior to working at EFC, Christine worked on several research teams looking at different aspects of sustainable rural development in China. She has conducted research on willingness to pay for vaccines, as well as analyzing investment patterns in irrigation infrastructure, among farmers in rural China.

Christine’s dissertation research focuses on water resource management in northern China’s Yellow River Basin. She researches methods for water users to participate in irrigation water decision-making processes. Her long term goal is to improve the means for all people to attain equitable access to clean water resources. Christine graduated from Columbia University with a B.A. in East Asian Languages and Cultures.

Jordan McMillen graduated with a Masters of City and Regional Planning at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His areas of study included affordable housing development, neighborhood and downtown revitalization and commercial real estate. He developed maps for the EFC that helped the public comprehend data spatially.

Jackie Ashley earned her MPA at University of North Carolina in 2008. She is interested in environmental issues and public relations. She helped the EFC with our communication material and researched green government initiatives in North Carolina. In addition, Jackie researched successful stories of NC local government sustainability efforts.

Photo of Rich Thorsten

Rich Thorsten is a doctoral student in the Department of City and Regional Planning at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He graduated with an honors Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Texas with concentrations in development and resource economics. Prior to graduate school, Rich worked for seven years with a non-profit resource conservation organization in Austin, Texas and a non-profit growth management advocacy group in Seattle, Washington. He has also worked for Research Triangle Institute, and U.S. House of Representatives, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Currently he studies water and sanitation issues in developing countries, particularly the impact of ownership on water utility performance. Rich has conducted research on behalf of the World Bank to examine the relative role of post-construction assistance in promoting sustainable rural water systems in Peru and Ghana. He is currently working with the EFC to study water and sewer rates and rate structures and their relationships to the financial impacts of different policies and scenarios at the household and utility levels. Details of the project will be periodically updated on this webpage.

Mark Horowitz is a second-year graduate student in UNC-CH’s Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, focusing on Environmental Management and Policy. In particular, he is interested in working on water supply and sanitation solutions for developing countries that combine economics, public policy, and engineering. Mark has worked for local non-governmental organizations in India and Guatemala, the Organization of American States in Washington DC, and engineering consulting firms in southern California and Washington DC. Mark graduated from UC Berkeley with a BS in Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Tim Healy is a master's student in the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering with a focus on Environmental Policy and Management. He graduated from Purdue University with B.S. in Civil Engineering. Tim has worked for Commonwealth Engineers, Marathon Ashland Petroleum, and the Illinois Department of Transportation. He is interested in working with communities that lack access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation.

Garrett Davis is a second year graduate student in City and Regional Planning at UNC - Chapel Hill. He is interested in Real Estate Markets, Affordable Housing, land conservation and GIS applications. His current research is in coordination with the North Carolina Division of Solid Waste Management. This work includes developing a GIS model for metropolitan solid waste flows in North Carolina and forecasting the remaining capacity of North Carolina's landfills. Garrett graduated from Appalachian State University with a B.S in Geography and Community and Regional Planning in 2005. When he's not making maps, he makes time for Frisbee sports and music.

Julie Walden is a first-year Master of Public Administration student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She graduated from the University of Florida in 2006 with a B.A. in political science and history. Julie is interested in several environmental protection issues and is currently involved in an endangered species and conservation project for the Environmental Finance Center.

Scott Morrissey graduated from the Masters of Public Administration program at the School of Government. While attending UNC-Chapel Hill as an undergrad, his Senior Honors thesis examined the Environmental Justice movement within the context of the mainstream environmental community. He has experience in environmental policy on the local, state, and federal level, and within the public and nonprofit sectors. Scott worked with the EFC and the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources to determine an accurate state landfill capacity, and to consider the economic ramifications of impending landfill closures on tipping fees. See information on Scott's thesis: NC Landfill Capacity Analysis.

Photo of Matthew T. Richardson Matthew T. Richardson graduated with an MS degree from UNC-CH's Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering. After earning a BS degree in Environmental Chemistry, Matt worked as an environmental consultant for nine years providing regulatory compliance services, conducting underground analytical sampling surveys, and establishing Management Systems for refineries and manufacturing companies. Matt is interested in the balance of environmental economics, industrial ecology, and public policy, as they apply to water resource demands. Matt's current EFC project work includes drinking water and wastewater infrastructure finance assessments of disadvantaged areas in the Appalachia Region. See information on Matt's thesis: Examination of the Relationships between Public Funding for Water and Sewer Infrastructure and Indicators of Need in the Appalachian Region

Anne LeBel graduated from the School of Information and Library Science at Chapel Hill. Her undergraduate work was done at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas where she received a business degree, specializing in Corporate Finance. Before her graduate work at UNC, Anne worked as a database developer and business analyst for a plastics manufacturer and more recently she worked with the Special Forces History Directorate at Ft. Bragg to create an information system to track both physical and digital born images in their collection. Anne worked with the EFC in creating a database that merges information collected on NC utilities - specifically government water and sewer systems - from the Local Government Commision, the NC League of Municipalities, as well as several others in an effort to spotaneously generate comprehensive reports and comparison data.

Betsy Kane worked with the EFC to produce a Model Ordinance for use by communities in North Carolina in complying with new federal Phase II NPDES stormwater rules. She also assisted with the development of a new course for local government personnel on establishing and managing a stormwater utility. Betsy has a law degree from the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Law and a Master's degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Florida. She has worked as a planner and zoning administrator for local governments in Florida and North Carolina. As a consultant, she has played a part on teams advising local governments in North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Virginia about land use regulation and financing the costs of growth. One of her primary focus areas has been crafting flexible land development standards (zoning and subdivision regulations) that allow for better protection of natural resources and open space, while reducing the costs of providing development infrastructure. She serves as a volunteer on the City of Raleigh Planning Commission.

Chris Heaney is a graduate student in UNC-CH’s Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering. Chris received his B.A. in Environmental Science and Anthropology from UNC-CH in 1999. He has worked with the USGS, the EPA Office of Water in Cincinnati, OH, and the Town of Chapel Hill Engineering Department on microbial water quality and stormwater management projects. As a graduate student, Chris’s focus is on environmental health issues affecting underserved populations in rural North Carolina. Chris is an Albert Schweitzer Fellow for public health service in North Carolina and is focusing on the environmental health of disadvantaged communities lacking adequate water and sewer services. Chris’s EFC project work included analyzing methods states use to make State Revolving Loan Programs accessible to disadvantaged communities.

Adrienne Simonson is a third year law student at UNC-CH, and received her MPA from the School of Government in May 2004. While earning her BA in Environmental Studies at Warren Wilson College, Adrienne helped to establish the Environmental Leadership Center. Later, she worked as Administrator for the Southern Appalachian Forest Coalition, a non-profit conservation organization, before returning to school. Adrienne has also clerked for the Office of Administrative Hearings in Raleigh, edited publications for the Center for Agricultural Partnerships, and served as an editor of Carolina Law’s 2004 Environmental Law Symposium, The New Political Battleground. Focused on the nexus of government, law, and environmental policy, Adrienne’s UNC EFC project built on her Capstone research: A Snapshot of Septic System Repair Funding in North Carolina. This research through an intern ship for Orange County’s Health Department, in the Environmental Health Division. Adrienne also conducted legal research and economic analysis on hog lagoon technology for the North Carolina Attorney General’s office.

Maia Blankenship is a graduate of UNC's Kenan-Flager Business School. She pursued a concentration in Sustainable Enterprise and received a certificate of Nonprofit Leadership from the University. Maia received a B.S. in Computer Science from Spelman College in 1998. Before graduate school, Maia had a career in management consulting focused in areas of process improvement and data warehousing implementations. She intends to combine her strong project management skills with the diverse and rigorous business strategy coursework at UNC's Kenan-Flager Business School to pursue a career in Corporate Philanthropy and Nonprofit Management. With EFC, Maia worked with the Orange County NC Solid Waste Management Department to refine their financial planning model. Ultimately, the project created a fee setting option that generates revenues that ensure the future of sustainable disposal and recycling services in Orange County.

Photo of Ben Altz-Stamm

Ben Altz-Stamm was a graduate student of UNC's School of Public Health, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering. His graduate pursuits focused on environmental management and policy. Before attending graduate school, Ben spent two years as a civil engineer in Washington State. Ben worked with UNC EFC to compile and analyze reports and data on the funding gap for water and wastewater infrastructure in Appalachia.

Joe Cook is a doctoral student in UNC-CH's Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering. After earning a Bachelor's degree in Natural Resources from Cornell University, Joe worked in environmental consulting before joining Resources for the Future (RFF), a non-partisan, non-profit research organization in Washington, D.C. He is interested in environmental economics and water and sanitation policy in developing countries. He helped with the EFC distance education finance course. More information on Joe's current interests can be found at www.unc.edu/~joecook

Vimalanand Prabhu joined the Ph.D. program in UNC-CH's Department of Public Policy in Fall 2000. He has a Bachelors degree in Civil Engineering and Master of Management from India. Prabhu's main interests lie in Infrastructure finance and Economic development. He has helped with the EFC finance course. He has also worked on a World Bank sponsored project to develop a Cash-Flow equilibrium model for the Water sector in developing countries.

Kim Tungate is a master's student in the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering with a focus on Environmental Policy and Management. She recently graduated from N.C. State with a Ph.D. in Plant Physiology and Soil Science. Prior to attending graduate school, Kim was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Kenya working as an agroforestry extensionist. Her Bachelor's degree in Biology was completed at Indiana University. With the EFC, Kim is currently working on identifying the important variables affecting the successful function of stormwater best management practices in North Carolina.

Heather Jankowski is a first-year graduate student in the Masters of Public Administration program at the School of Government. She is pursuing dual degrees in Public Administration and Regional Planning. Heather received her bachelor's degree in City and Regional Planning from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Before arriving in North Carolina, she volunteered with Americorps-NCCC. She is interested in sustainable practices at the local government level and in environmental education. Heather is currently assisting the EFC with a variety of projects. Eventually, she will continue work on the Landfill Capacity Study.

Alex Ashton is a third year dual degree graduate student in the School of Government and the Department of City & Regional Planning at UNC – Chapel Hill. His concentration is in Land Use and Sustainable Development, and Alex has experience with Brownfields, Sustainable Agriculture, Local Government Planning, Land Preservation and Economic Impact Modeling. Before coming to UNC, Alex earned an undergraduate degree in Sociology and Environmental Science from Mars Hill College in NC. His current work with EFC stems from an effort at the state level in North Carolina to coordinate funding sources for local water infrastructure projects and involves researching best practices for such coordination. This research is funded by the NC Rural Economic Development Center.

Elmar D. Kapfer is currently pursuing an MBA at the Kenan Flagler School of Business at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His concentration is corporate finance and sustainable enterprise. In May 1995, he received a Master of Science Degree in Environmental Engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, Switzerland. His professional experience includes, management, design, planning, and construction of projects in water, wastewater and water resources engineering. He is a licensed professional engineer in the State of North Carolina.