Melissa Hulting Email & Phone Number

Washington, District Of Columbia, United States

Chicago, Illinois, United States

I managed staff our climate, air toxics, and indoor air quality teams, as well as the air program’s community-based and environmental justice initiatives. Region 5 is a leader in all of these areas. Our climate team was active in promoting EPA's climate partnership programs (particularly ENERGY STAR), provided meaningful contributions to implementation of the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant program, and used discretionary funding to support small clean energy grants that often leveraged or led to larger investments for recipients. Our air toxics team had leadership roles in multiple rulemakings, resulting in more protective regulations, and developed processes and analytical tools to target, screen, and address emissions from facilities posing potential health risks to surrounding communities. Our indoor air quality team helped countless school districts and members of the public identify and address indoor air quality issues and provided key input and technical expertise to HQ and our partners on indoor air sensors, air cleaners, indoor air contaminant metrics, home interventions for asthma, and near-road vegetative barriers. Personal achievements included:1. I contributed to development of program guidance and implementation strategies for the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant program, including co-chairing the Industrial sector Technical Assistance Forum (TAF). 2. I hired several new climate and air toxics staff to support Region 5’s leadership roles in both areas. 3. I managed projects to address air quality issues in underserved areas of Chicago, Flint, and Detroit including inspection targeting, indoor air quality assistance, outreach to community representatives about how air quality regulation works (particularly in Flint with our wonderful community partners and MI EGLE), assistance to the City of Chicago on engaging industry on energy efficiency, and launch of an Environmentally Beneficial Project Bank in Detroit.

As the regional climate change lead, my duties morphed with changing administrations and priorities, but included climate change mitigation and adaptation, energy efficiency, and improving air quality in communities.I developed and implemented a climate change mitigation strategy for the Region with senior management; promoted multiple partnership programs successfully, including Climate Leaders, ENERGY STAR commercial and industrial programs, and the Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP); and assisted with the development of the region’s first climate adaptation plan. Successes included a 50% increase in participation in partnership programs for local governments and increased use of clean energy Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs) resulting from enforcement cases. Towards the end of my tenure in this staff position, I became actively involved in ENERGY STAR’s industrial program, working with multiple utilities and implementers to hold local energy efficiency workshops for industry and integrate the ENERGY STAR Challenge for Industry into Strategic Energy Management (SEM) programs. My success led to other EPA Regional offices investing in the industrial program. I served as the Regional lead for the EPA's charitable giving campaign in 2012, increasing participation and exceeding our goal through a focus on peer marketing and employee testimonials.I also led a community air quality project in the “I-55 Corridor” (Chicago SW side and suburbs). One enforcement case resulted in a SEP that benefited a local school district through an energy-efficient boiler upgrade. Another outcome was an emerging environmental justice group becoming actively involved in writing an Odor Management Plan for an air permit for a facility of concern.

Chicago, Il

I managed air and water monitoring programs for persistent bioaccumulative toxic chemicals (PBTs) in the Great Lakes region. This included creating and issuing Requests for Proposals, managing proposal review and selection, serving as a Project Officer for grants ranging from hundreds of thousands to 1M+ dollars, leading project teams (binational with Canada for air program), arranging for periodic program review by experts, presentations to technical and policy experts, and co-authoring reports and website content.I served for several years on the Environmental Monitoring and Assessment group for the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), including as the U.S. co-chair of the group. The CEC implements the environmental provisions of NAFTA. Among other achievements, we developed and funded PBT laboratory intercomparisons, monitoring campaigns, analytical training, and a trinational (Canada/Mexico/US) PBT monitoring plan.I also served as a point of contact, proposal reviewer, and Project Officer for several grants involving aquatic invasive species and avian botulism.I served as a field scientist on the Research Vessel Lake Guardian, conducting sampling for routine and special studies on the Great Lakes.

B.S., Biology

Activities and Societies: Undergraduate research in plant ecology, Bronze Tablet, Student Alumni Association, Senior 100, Gamma Phi Beta.

M.S., Environmental Science And Engineering

Activities and Societies: Research assistant on US EPA-funded project examining enforcement of erosion control regulations and associated.