COPRI Lecture: Turning a Big Ship: Managing Climate Risk at the PANYNJ

The ASCE Met Section COPRI chapter presents:

Turning a Big Ship: Managing Climate Risk at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

1.0 NYS PDH will be offered.

Speakers: Felipe Lorca and Angela Wong of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

Abstract:

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) is literally and figuratively on the forefront of climate resilience. With operations that are water-adjacent and water-dependent, the PANYNJ has no choice but to adapt to changing climate conditions to minimize infrastructure damage and operational disruptions. In collaboration with our tenants and partner agencies, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) Engineering Department is actively studying, planning, designing, and constructing for a climate resilient future.

The PANYNJ has embarked on a multi-year, agency-wide climate risk assessment that produces risk profiles for every critical asset, including tenant and third-party assets, quantifies the consequences of direct and cascading impacts to revenue and the regional economy, and optimizes a portfolio of resilience projects to draw down our highest priority risks.

We would like to share our approach, means and methodology, and lessons learned from 15 years of climate resilient planning, design, and construction. Topics to discuss include scoping an action-oriented climate risk assessment for your organization, a systems-based approach to measuring risk, identifying and prioritizing assets to protect, resilient design strategies, and the importance of looking beyond your port boundaries for a resilient supply chain.

Speaker Bios:

Felipe Lorca, PE is the Principal Structural Engineer for Port Infrastructure at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s Engineering Department. His expertise is in design and retrofitting of port’s waterfront and upland structures, and on port planning and development. Felipe led the PANYNJ’s study for the systematic reconstruction of all waterfront structures and currently oversees the Agency’s rehabilitation plan based on his development of a data-driven Priority Repair Database. Before Joining the PANYNJ, he worked in New York City with Engineering Consultants firms, the Mayor's Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability, and the Department of Sanitation, and in his native Santigo, Chile, at Aguas Andinas. Felipe holds a Master of Science in Structural Engineering degree.

Angela Wong is a Senior Climate Resilience Specialist in the Resilient and Sustainable Engineering unit at the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey. With over 14 years of experience advancing climate resilience in the built environment, she leads efforts to ensure Port Authority facilities are planned and designed to withstand a changing climate. Angela has managed Climate Risk Assessments for critical infrastructure including ports, bridges, tunnels, and the World Trade Center, strategically mitigating high-priority risks. She integrates climate risk and resiliency considerations into capital project design and development. Angela holds a Master’s in City Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a B.A. in Environmental Science with departmental honors from Barnard College.

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