Thanks for Making RPA’s 2024 Celebrate The Tri-State a Success!

Event Journal

For more than 100 years, Regional Plan Association (RPA) has promoted sustainability, equity, prosperity, and quality of life for the tri-state metropolitan region by advising cities, communities, and public agencies through research-based strategies on transportation, land use, housing, governance, and the environment.

Each fall, RPA hosts the Celebrate the Tri-State benefit, bringing together civic, business and elected leaders to recognize three outstanding contributors to the region’s public realm and support RPA’s work.

Co-Chairs

Host Committee

Above and Beyond

For most of his career, RPA Vice Chairman Jim Johnson, has advanced major efforts to promote the common good through his life’s work as an attorney, public servant, and community leader. As Board Chair of the Brennan Center for Justice, he was a staunch advocate for voting rights across the country, including personally representing classes of voters and potential voters in several cases in Florida and Colorado. He also launched efforts to bring together law enforcement leaders to reduce crime and incarceration. In New Jersey, Jim led the state’s Advisory Committee on Police Standards, spearheading efforts to eliminate racial profiling by the State Troopers with a legislative package that received strong bipartisan support. As Special Counsel to Governor Murphy, he led efforts to build a better future for Atlantic City where he produced and implemented a groundbreaking transition report: ​“Building a Foundation for a Shared Prosperity. He served as the court-appointed monitor implementing an affordable housing consent decree in Westchester County and developed approaches that the NY Times Editorial Board commended as ​“encouraging” in the face of a difficult path forward.

Early in his career, he served as Under Secretary of the U.S. Treasury where he led one third of all federal law enforcement. Jim also served as the Deputy Director of the White House Security Review and, as such, was the force behind the decision to close Pennsylvania Avenue to vehicles. The decision opened the avenue to the public and drastically reduced the threat posed by attacks like the Oklahoma City bombing During the worst and most lethal days of the pandemic, he served as Corporation Counsel of the City of New York, the largest municipal law department in the country. In that role, he provided guidance to all of the city agencies and the mayor during that time of crisis. Jim currently serves as Chief Operating Officer of Trinity Church, which has had centuries of impact in New York City and around the world.

Jim believes that a vibrant society depends on artistic expression. He has helped guide several prominent local arts organizations, including the Montclair Art Museum, the Montclair Film Festival and Jazz House Kids and has ensured that the arts feature prominently in his community projects.

Serving as Executive Vice President and Chief of Communications, Marketing, and Advocacy Officer at Lincoln Center for Performing Arts since 2019, Leah Johnson helped steer the cultural institution through the COVID crisis and is at the nexus of its ongoing transformation into a cultural and civic organization where all are welcome. She led the communications campaign for the opening of the reimagined David Geffen Hall; is helping expand audiences through new, accessible ticketing models and deep community engagement practices; and leads the Legacies of San Juan Hill project as part of an ongoing commitment to providing platforms for artists, scholars, and historians to uplift the people, arts, and culture of the San Juan Hill neighborhood. Leah sits on numerous boards, including NYC Tourism + Conventions, the Museum of the City of New York, and New York Public Radio. Early in her career, she served as Director of Public Affairs at Kings County Hospital, Press Secretary for Mayor David Dinkins Reelection campaign, and Deputy Director for Communications for the Clinton-Gore ​’92 NYC Coordinated Campaign.

Making It Happen

Doreen M. Harris was appointed President and CEO of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) on April 7, 2021, after serving as Acting President and CEO since June 2020.

President Harris is leading NYSERDA’s role to advance the policy frameworks, clean energy technologies and solutions that help New York advance toward the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by no less than 85 percent by 2050 while creating hundreds of thousands of good-paying clean-energy jobs and building an equitable economy.

Under President Harris’s direction, NYSERDA is making significant progress toward New York’s clean energy initiatives including advancing infrastructure and innovation, large-scale and distributed renewables, building decarbonization, energy storage, transportation electrification, clean fuels, transmission and resiliency.

President Harris joined NYSERDA in 2010 and served as Vice President of Large-Scale Renewables, where she spearheaded the strategic development of New York’s land based renewable and offshore wind resource, including the execution of the State’s offshore wind master plan. Prior to her career in public service, President Harris spent more than a decade in the private sector, serving in management and engineering roles.

President Harris co-chaired the New York State Climate Action Council, which in December 2022 finalized the State’s Scoping Plan. She serves on the boards of the Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center (AERTC), Alliance to Save Energy, National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium, and NY BEST; and is a member of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network Leadership Council and an ambassador for the Clean Energy Education and Empowerment (C3E) Initiative.

President Harris holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Rochester and a Master of Business Administration from the University at Albany, State University of New York.

Abigail Ross Hopper is the President and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association, the national trade organization for America’s solar energy industries. She oversees all of SEIA’s activities, including government affairs, research, communications, and industry leadership, and is focused on creating a marketplace where solar will constitute a significant percentage of America’s energy generation.

Before joining SEIA, Abby served as Director of the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the Director of the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA), Energy Advisor to Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, and Deputy General Counsel with the Maryland Public Service Commission. Before embarking on a career in public service, Abby spent nine years in private practice.

Abby graduated Cum Laude from the University of Maryland, School of Law and earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Dartmouth College. She is the very proud mom of three children and loves to read and run.

Project of the Year

In celebrating Google’s St. John’s Terminal, RPA is showcasing the company’s more than twenty-year investment in New York City which has restored dynamism and vibrancy to industrial neighborhoods and set the standard for forward-thinking, adaptive redevelopment. Google’s commitment to economic opportunity and community engagement, sustainability, and the highest standards for workplace design have resulted in projects where iconic office space retail development, and public and community spaces are inextricably woven together to create resilient destinations.

Google’s New York offices enhance the communities where they operate by adapting historic buildings, such as 111 8th Avenue, Pier 57 and Chelsea Market. The original St. John’s terminal structure, which served as the terminus of the High Line, was dramatically reimagined to open up the neighborhood connection to the waterfront by removing the overpass over Houston street and by adding a new alleyway connector and crosswalk. By adapting the existing structure and foundation, Google saved approximately 78,400 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions when compared to creating a new structural foundation. That’s comparable to removing roughly 17,000 cars from the road for a year.

The building also created 1.5 acres of native vegetation at street level, in rail bed gardens, and on terraces, redefining what ​“green space” means for commercial real estate in New York. This not only enhances the experience for occupants but also benefits the local ecology. Over 95% of the exterior plants at St. John’s Terminal are native to New York State, reknitting the building into the local ecology and providing a habitat for migratory birds. The building also incorporates solar panels, rainwater retention and wood that was reclaimed from the Coney Island boardwalk after Hurricane Sandy.

The building is Google’s North American Headquarters for its Global Business Operations, housing more than 3,000 workers. Google has called New York City home for more than 20 years, growing to over 14,000 full-time employees during that time.

Congressman Dan Goldman of New York’s 10th District is an attorney who, before running for office, served as lead counsel in the first impeachment of former President Donald Trump and as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York. He has written about, and provided expert analysis on, significant topics ranging from criminal justice reform to the Special Counsel’s investigation. In law school, Goldman contributed to Michelle Alexander’s seminal book, The New Jim Crow, which addresses the inequalities in our criminal justice system.

Congressman Goldman currently serves on the House Committee on Homeland Security, the House Oversight Committee, and the House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government. He has distinguished himself as a leader on issues including offshore-wind investment, gun safety, and affordable housing. He is also leading efforts to revitalize the Brooklyn Marine Terminal, having helped New York secure a $163.6 million mega grant from the USDOT and serving as Chair of the Brooklyn Marine Terminal Task Force.

As Vice President of Real Estate & Workplace Services (REWS) and Global Security & Resilience Services (GSRS), Scott is responsible for managing all aspects of Google’s global real estate portfolio, including industry-leading workplace services, physical security, and resiliency services that enable the company to thrive. His organization creates inspiring environments to support Google employees around the world, with offices in over 150 cities in nearly 60 countries.

Under Scott’s leadership, REWS & GSRS continue to scale, innovate, and evolve Google’s dynamic workplace environment and services, promote employee health and safety, and drive sustainable solutions for both Google, the industry, and our broader communities.

Before Google, Scott served as Royal Bank of Canada’s (RBC) Senior Vice President and Global Head of Corporate Real Estate. While at RBC, he also led the company’s net-zero operations strategy and global workforce location strategy. Scott previously served as the Chief Operating Officer at Nelson Worldwide and Senior Vice President and Workplace Executive at Bank of America. He is an active member of CoreNet Global and serves as lead faculty for the CRE Portfolio Management course where he has been recognized as ​“Top Rated Faculty” for the past 16 years.

Scott graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Environmental Design. He received his MBA and Master of Architecture with Honors from Washington University in Saint Louis. He holds the Master of Corporate Real Estate (MCR) designation from CoreNet Global.

Scott has previously served on several non-profit boards in the areas of homelessness, urban development, job-skills training, and youth. He enjoys reading, traveling, hiking, and spending time with his wife and three children.

Sponsors