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| Home >> Academic & International Programs >> Environmental and Land Use Law >> Alumni Profiles | ||
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| Home >> Academic & International Programs >> Environmental and Land Use Law >> Alumni Profiles | ||
Alumni Profiles
The Environmental & Land Use Law Alumni Group was recently formed to provide interaction between alumni and students. The following alumni serve as co-chairs of the Alumni Group.
Vivian Feist Garfein
Vivian Garfein is the Director of the Central District , Florida Department of Environmental Protection and has held this position since 1995. She has been with the department and its predecessor agency since 1986, serving as Bureau Chief for Surface Water Management and Assistant General Counsel. Previously, Vivian Garfein held positions in Florida's University System as well as in the private sector as an attorney. Vivian Garfein earned a law degree (with honors), Master's in higher education administration, and a Bachelor of Science from Florida State University. She is a graduate of the Harvard Executive Program on Regulatory Reform at the John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Thomas G. Pelham
Thomas G. Pelham is an attorney with the law firm of Fowler White Boggs Banker, practicing in the Tallahassee office in the firm's environmental and land use law section. He is also a certified planner with extensive experience in administrative procedures. Pelham received his J.D. degree from Florida State University College of Law in 1971, receiving his LL.M. from Harvard in Land Use Planning Law, Local Government Law, & Property Law in 1977. He has litigated and/or provided consulting services to both private and public sector clients regarding a wide range of land use and growth management matters, including zoning, development permits, comprehensive plan consistency cases, comprehensive plans and amendments, school and transportation concurrency, developments of regional impact, building moratoria, vested rights, and takings claims. Pelham also has substantial experience in assisting major projects through the development review and approval process, and he has testified as an expert in comprehensive planning, land use planning and growth management in judicial and administrative proceedings.
Mary F. Smallwood
Mary F. Smallwood is a partner with the Tallahassee law firm of Ruden McClosky. She graduated from the Florida State University College of Law, magna cum laude, in 1977, where she served on Florida State University Law Review Journal editorial board. Smallwood has concentrated in the area of environmental law for the past 23 years. From 1981 to 1986 she served as General Counsel to the Florida Department of Environmental Regulation. In that capacity she supervised a legal staff in excess of 25 attorneys who handled all of the agency's legal matters, represented the agency in permitting and enforcement cases before the Environmental Regulation Commission, and lobbied before the Florida Legislature. From 1986-87, she served as Director of the Division of Environmental Permitting for the Department of Environmental Protection where she was responsible for each of the agency's six district offices around the state and for the permitting of major projects in Tallahassee. While at the Department of Environmental Regulation, she worked closely with the federal environmental agencies, other state agencies, the water management districts and local environmental programs. Since joining Ruden, McClosky she has represented a variety of private and public sector clients in matters including groundwater remediation for petroleum contamination, federal Superfund cleanups, dredge and fill permitting, air pollution, and surface water management. Also, Smallwood served on the Executive Council of the Environmental and Land Use Law Section of the Florida Bar from 1986-97 and was Chair of that Section from1995-96.