Philadelphia
Future City Philadelphia Engineering Fair
October 30, 2021
The Future City City Steering Committee assembled a group of individuals who are working on creating a waste free world to present a series of webinars that we think the students will find interesting and educational. Our volunteer speakers come from non-profit advocacy, consulting and industry.
Videos of the webinars from the 2021 Future City Engineering Fair are posted on our YouTube Channel . as well as being available below.
The 2021—2022 Theme
Designing A Waste-Free City
Imagine a city 100 years in the future that generates no waste and no pollution. Is this even possible? If we look to the natural world, the answer is yes! In nature, one organism’s waste is another organism’s food. Nutrients and energy flow in a cycle of growth, decay, and reuse. This is called a circular system.
The Competition Challenge:
Design a waste-free city that uses the principles of a circular economy.
About the Speakers
| Speaker | Video | Bio and Related Material |
|
Mark Ginsberg 
Principal, Ginsberg Green Strategies, LLC Senior Fellow, USGBC |
Tools to Help Design a Zero Waste City of the Future |
Ginsberg Green Strategies provides consulting services on Eco-Cities, energy efficiency, renewable energy and the green economy.
In January 2012. In the Fall 2012, the US Green Building Council designated Mark as the first USGBC Senior Fellow, where he serves
as a senior policy adviser and Ambassador. Mark also pursues advanced energy technologies, from innovative energy efficiency and
renewables to seawater agriculture, solid waste, and wave energy. He continues to address global policy including climate, urban development
and the green economy. Mark consults on a variety of innovative technologies in clean energy and climate, and more recently, health and wellness.
mark.ginsberg35@gmail.com US mobile 202 375 9412 www.ginsberggreen.com |
|
Samantha Wittchen 
Director of Programs and Operations, Circular Philadelphia |
Closing the Loop: How We Can Get to a Circular Economy
|
Circular Philadelphia's mission is to drive growth of a thriving circular economy in the greater Philadelphia region through advocacy, education, infrastructure development, and collaboration. A seasoned sustainability professional, Samantha’s work with manufacturing, municipal and institutional clients has spanned operational sustainability, metrics and evaluation, and outreach. She led the development of the City of Philadelphia’s first Commercial Recycling Toolkit, as well as waste audits and the creation of waste and recycling signage and communications materials for clients such as the University of Pennsylvania, Swarthmore University, and Green Philly. She has written on recycling- and sustainability-related topics for Philadelphia-based Grid Magazine, Green Building and Design magazine, and Keystone Edge, and she has presented talks on recycling throughout the Eastern PA region. Samantha is a LEED Green Associate and holds in a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Virginia. |
|
Chris Farley 
Vice President, Waste Management’s Greater Mid-Atlantic Area (GMA), |
Driving Toward a Waste Free Future |
Chris Farley, vice president of Waste Management’s Greater Mid-Atlantic Area (GMA), joined WM as senior legal counsel for mergers and acquisitions in
2011. In this position, Chris represented the company’s venture portfolio investments and advised on joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, divestitures,
antitrust issues and general corporate matters.
Chris began working in the GMA in early 2018 and managed the company’s business in Delaware where he was integral to the development of WM’s new hauling station and compressed-natural-gas collection fleet in Laurel. Chris earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business from Indiana University, a Master’s Degree in Business Administration in Finance from Rice University, and a law degree from the University of Houston Law Center. |
|
Ken Golkin 
Retired project manager and engineer. |
Project Management for Future City Competition and Better Grades
|
Ken Golkin is a retired project manager and engineer. Since he retired in 2018 Ken has focused his management and technical skills on volunteer work
with organizations he supports especially the Philadelphia Future City Competition where he has been involve since 1996. Ken has been the Special Awards coordinator,
Tech Guru and Engineering Fair coordinator. Other organizations that Ken
supports with his time are Project Management Institute – Delaware Valley Chapter where he is currently the
Director of Academic Outreach. He also has volunteered with Young Men and Women in Charge, The Planetary Society and the Mars Society.
Ken is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and Six Sigma Green Belt. He has a BS in Environmental Science from the University of Maryland, MS in Natural Resource Management from the University of Florida and an MS in Industrial Engineering from North Carolina State University. |
Last Modified Updated 11/02/2021 10:45 PM ET