Heather M. Morgan Climate Risk Adaptation Lecture Series Endowment Fund

Heather M. Morgan Climate Risk Adaptation Lecture Series Endowment Fund

AECOM, Premier Private Sponsor

Waterfront Alliance, Supporting Nonprofit

About the Lecture Series
The Heather M. Morgan Climate Risk Adaptation Lecture Series is an endowed fund supporting the annual participation of a keynote lecturer in climate risk and design at the annual Waterfront Conference. The fund is managed by the Waterfront Alliance with AECOM as the premier private sponsor of the fund.

The keynote lecture at the Waterfront Alliance’s annual Waterfront Conference will honor Heather M. Morgan, noted climate risk adaptation expert, and her contributions to the field of sustainability. Heather believed that “[t]he health of the natural system is [a] national security concern” and dedicated her career to redefining the relationship between our human inhabitation and the natural system utilizing a transdisciplinary approach. She used her formidable oratory skills to educate people and empower them to advocate for their communities because she felt that unless people understood the dynamic, there would be no real progress. Heather was herself a force of nature who brought boundless energy, genuine integrity, and limitless passion to her work. She will be greatly missed by her friends and colleagues alike.

The keynote lecture speaker will be chosen each year through an advisory committee consisting of one representative from AECOM, one representative each from the top sponsors of the fund, Waterfront Alliance’s board chair and CEO or vice president of programs, and an academic with specific expertise in the field. The lecture will focus on a cutting-edge subject that reflects Heather’s transdisciplinary approach at the intersection of design, nature, community, infrastructure, public education, and natural systems in the context of climate change. The advisory committee will emphasize speakers who are women leaders in their field.

Endowment Fund
The Waterfront Alliance has set a goal of $65,000 to establish an endowment to provide a stipend and/or travel expenses for the selected speaker annually at each Waterfront Alliance conference. AECOM is committed as the $25,000 premier private sponsor to the fund.

The following benefits are offered to sponsors to the fund:

• Contributions of $10,000 and above: top listing in the fund’s donor list, verbal recognition during the lecture introduction, six complimentary tickets to the lecture and option to purchase tickets to the full conference at a discounted rate (for inaugural 2022 lecture).
• Contributions of $5,000 – $9,999: prominent listing in the fund’s donor list, three complimentary tickets to the lecture and option to purchase tickets to the full conference at a discounted rate (for inaugural 2022 lecture).
• Contributions of $1,000 – $4,999: listed in the fund’s donor list, one complimentary ticket to the lecture and option to purchase tickets to the full conference at a discounted rate (for inaugural 2022 lecture)
• Contributions of $500 – $999: listed in the fund’s donor list, one complimentary ticket to the lecture (for inaugural 2022 lecture).
• Contributions under $500: listed in the fund’s donor list.

About Heather
Heather brought neary 20 years of experience in flood risk management, infrastructure planning, landscape architecture, and landscape archaeology to projects focused on sustainability through climate change adaptation. Her expertise included riverine flood risk management, coastal storm risk management, ecosystem restoration, community planning for public and private lands, landscape archeology, ethnographic/cultural landscapes, and heritage management.

Heather was most recently the Climate Risk Adaptation Lead at AECOM, where she oversaw sustainability and risk management for the New York metropolitan region. She was the lead for the Battery Park City Authority’s (BPCA) South Battery Park City Resiliency Project, overseeing integrated flood risk and public space design, stakeholder and community engagement, and FEMA certification and accreditation for the western edge of Lower Manhattan. Heather also served as the Flood Advisor for the BPCA’s North Battery Park City Resiliency Project and was previously the Design and Community Engagement Lead for Rebuild By Design – Hudson River.

Prior to joining AECOM, Heather worked at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Headquarters as the Civil Works Sustainability Lead and National Sustainability Program Manager. She assessed existing and proposed water resource projects across all missions to create a national sustainability strategy that addressed urgent, short-, and long-term risks. In USACE’s New York District, Heather worked on numerous flood risk management projects, including Fire Island, Passaic River, East Rockaway, Plumb Beach, and Lake Montauk, as well as ecosystem restoration throughout the region.

Heather earned a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from the University of Georgia and a Master of Landscape Archaeology from the University of Bristol in England. She was a registered landscape architect in New York State.

Contribute to the Endowment
To contribute to the endowment or if you have questions please contact Kate McLetchie-Sheldon, kmcletchie@waterfrontalliance.org or 212.935.9831 x105 or send check payable to Waterfront Alliance to:

Kate McLetchie-Sheldon
Chief Operating Officer
Waterfront Alliance
256 W. 36th Street, 11th Floor
New York, NY 10018

Waterfront Alliance is a 501c3 nonprofit organization. Contributions to the Heather M. Morgan Endowment Fund are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law.