Mr. Abbott is a territory manager with Cultec, the 1st patented manufacturer of plastic stormwater chambers. He manages the Midwest and NY territories, working directly with civil engineers and landscape architects to promote responsible and economical design of plastic stormwater chambers. He has overseen the installation and design of commercial chamber systems with all ranges of project goals and storage requirements. Mr. Abbott graduated from Western Connecticut State University where he played men’s soccer and obtained a bachelor’s degree in History. Following his graduation he joined the family business, Cultec. His grandfather was responsible for patenting the very first stormwater chamber, and his father still has a managing role in the company, now owned by ADS. Mr. Abbott’s history with Cultec and the stormwater chamber industry thus runs deep into his childhood and his passion for the industry has not waned in the passing years. Mr. Abbott is now focused on building partnerships with engineers and acting as a resource to the designing community on how best to account for stormwater. Connecting designers; and as a result developers, contractors, and home owners with these solutions can have far reaching benefits to the community, and is the motivation behind these efforts.

Dr. Balci is accomplished in successfully developing and delivering large climate resiliency and sustainability projects. At the South Florida Water Management District, she managed Federal and State Policy and Permitting Division to achieve goals of Everglades Restoration. At NYC DEP, she led the nations’ largest green infrastructure and innovative cloudburst management program with a budget to reduce Combined Sewer Overflows and improve water quality in New York Harbor while providing flood mitigation benefits and resiliency in environmental justice communities. Notably, she led the Tibbets Brooks Daylighting and Greenway project in the Bronx and developed NYC’s first Wastewater Resiliency Plan. Dr. Balci worked as the NYC interagency lead to manage NYC’s Stormwater Management Program Plan under the Phase 1 MS4 permit covering 14 city agencies and led the permit negotiations with the State and EPA. Currently, she leads the JMT’s climate resiliency and adaptation initiatives. She is a doctoral faculty member at CUNY Graduate School and teaches classes on climate resiliency and integrated water systems management.

Mr. Fortuna’s nearly 50 years’ experience in the construction industry brings extensive and diverse knowledge of many facets of commercial and residential construction. A fourth generation home builder and land developer, Mr. Fortuna designed homes that work in unison with the land, creating ecologically friendly designs which focus on energy efficient homes and environmentally friendly landscapes. He has created landscapes and hardscapes that focus on controlling runoff and recharging the water cycle. Mr. Fortuna was also a certified post-tension concrete designer/installer building PT concrete tennis courts. Shifting focus after the 2007 housing fiasco he spent several years as a regional sales manager for a large pre-cast concrete stormwater manufacturer managing the culverts and underground retention/detention vaults division in the heavy civil construction sector. Most recently working as New York area sales manager for ACO, Inc., he demonstrates his passion of delivering a top-notch consultative sales approach offering the most innovative stormwater systems on the market and is also known for providing industry-leading support to designers, suppliers, and contractors alike.

Dr. Montalto is a civil engineer interested in the development of ecologically, economically, and socially sensible solutions to urban environmental problems, with a focus on sustainable water resources engineering and climate change. His 25 years of experience have included research and design of a variety of nature-based solutions involving ecological restoration of degraded landscapes, the use of constructed wetlands for wastewater and stormwater treatment, as well as work with “green infrastructure” and “low impact development” technologies as a means of managing urban runoff, while promoting urban sustainability and resilience. Dr. Montalto is currently a professor at Drexel University, where he directs the Sustainable Water Resource Engineering Lab. He is the founder and president of eDesign Dynamics LLC, an environmental consulting firm based in New York City, with an international portfolio of projects.  Dr. Montalto also serves as the director of the North American Hub of the Urban Climate Change Research Network (UCCRN) and in June of 2020 was appointed by Mayor Bill de Blasio to serve as a member of the 4^th New York City Panel on climate change. Previously, he served as a research fellow at The Earth Institute at Columbia University, and a Fulbright Scholar in Venice, Italy. His degrees are from the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art and Cornell University. Dr. Montalto is a licensed engineer in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, and Puerto Rico.

Ms. Steblein is a registered professional engineer in New York State and a certified professional in erosion and sediment control. For 25 years, she has worked as a civil engineer in consulting engineering, first with URS Corporation (acquired by AECOM) and for the last 16 years with LaBella Associates. Ms. Steblein specializes in stormwater regulations, permitting of all varieties, and municipal engineering. Her stormwater focus is on the NYSDEC SPDES permits for Stormwater Discharges from Construction Activity and Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems. Ms. Steblein has been involved in more than 75 Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPPPs) with LaBella and has reviewed dozens of SWPPPs for municipal clients. Ms. Steblein is a graduate of Lafayette College and is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Society of Women Engineers, and the International Erosion Control Association.