Hear directly from the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities about the proposed offshore wind program throughout New Jersey and its impact on real estate.
All questions must be submitted in advance for review and selection from the BPU.
Deputy Chief of Staff, NJ Department of Environmental Protection
Megan Brunatti serves as Deputy Chief of Staff of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
A 22-year veteran of the Department, Megan is tasked with advancing the administration’s key priorities, as well as further developing and strengthening DEP strategic initiatives.
Among her responsibilities, since 2018 Megan has guided the DEP’s work to ensure the responsible development of offshore wind, coordinating a cross program team of experts on offshore wind permitting, acting as a liaison to state and federal agencies, and serving as DEP's representative for various external offshore wind initiatives.
Senior Project Officer, New Jersey Economic Development Authority
Cecile Coronato is a Senior Project Officer at the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) where she focuses on strategic development of the offshore wind and clean hydrogen sectors. In this role, Ms. Coronato develops and leads initiatives to support the growth of a NJ-based offshore wind supply chain, as well as build a supportive ecosystem for the deployment of clean hydrogen technologies in the state’s hardest to decarbonize sectors. Prior to NJEDA, Ms. Coronato worked in the nonprofit sector and also spent six years at the United States Agency for International Development where she worked on federal foreign development assistance programs in the Middle East, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.
Deputy Director, Division of Clean Energy, NJ BPU
Jim is a Deputy Director in the Division of Clean Energy at the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. In this role, Jim is leading teams working on New Jersey’s offshore wind, energy storage, grid modernization and Microgrid programs, as well as other clean energy initiatives since 2018.
Jim has been providing professional consulting and engineering services for over 40 years, and has focused on energy and sustainability for the past 22 years. Jim is well versed in both the technical and policy aspects of clean energy, particularly innovative and emerging clean energy technologies.
Jim received a BS degree in Earth and Planetary Sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is a registered Professional Engineer in New Jersey, and is a Certified Energy Manger.
Senior Scientist, Division of Clean Energy, NJ BPU
Dr. Kira Lawrence is a senior scientist with the Clean Energy Division at the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU), serving as the environmental lead for the BPU’s Offshore Wind Program. Her duties include serving as BPU’s point person for the Offshore Wind Research and Monitoring Initiative and on BPU’s State Agreement Approach team. Dr. Lawrence is an earth and environmental scientist with expertise in climate and ocean sciences. She holds an undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College, master’s degrees from the University of California Santa Cruz and Brown University and a PhD from Brown University. Prior to her work with the BPU, Dr. Lawrence spent more than a decade in academia as a Professor at Lafayette College serving as both co-chair of the Environmental Programs and as chair of the Department of Geology and Environmental Geosciences.