Jeanne Herb, Executive Director of the Environmental Analysis & Communications Group at the Rutgers University

Live from the Social Coast Forum 2020, Peter Ravella, Tyler Buckingham, and Bill O'Beirne sit down with Jeanne Herb, the Executive Director of the Environmental Analysis & Communications Group, at the Rutgers University Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy.  Coastal management is people management and, as Jeanne explains, it is critical to incorporate strong community engagement and collaboration themes into the process of climate change response if we are to succeed. Jeanne leads applied research projects related to environmental sustainability and policy, health equity, and climate change.  She works closely with state and local decision-makers, communities, and non-governmental organizations to implement evidence-based best practices.  Jeanne co-facilitates several academically hosted multidisciplinary initiatives that are designed to integrate science and evidence-informed best practices into planning, policy and decision-making: the award-winning New Jersey Climate Change Alliance, the Sustainable Raritan River Initiative, the Planning Healthy Communities Initiative, and the Coastal Risk and Resilience Initiative.  Jeanne is in the first national cohort of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Culture of Health Leaders Program and is in the second year of the Rutgers Leadership Academy.  Prior to joining Rutgers, she spent more than two decades advancing environmental policy at the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection where, most recently, she served as the Assistant Commissioner for Policy, Planning and Science through which she oversaw programs related to climate change, coastal management, environmental health, environmental justice and sustainable development.  Earlier in her career, Jeanne was the Manager of Public Policy at the Boston-based “think do” tank, Tellus Institute, where she focused on state and federal level environmental policy innovations.  Jeanne is the proud graduate of Rutgers University Cook College, received a master’s degree in Science and Environmental journalism from the New York University, and is a New Jersey native and mother of two brilliant young women.