A conversation with Judith A. Enck, Administrator of Region 2 of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Maria Damon, Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at NYU.

EPA Region 2 covers the incredibly diverse territory of New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and seven federally-recognized Indian Nations, home to a total of more than 31 million people. The Administrator will discuss her agency's efforts to promote healthy communities and ecosystems throughout the region, and touch on implications for transportation systems.

In a career devoted to public service, Ms. Enck has served as Deputy Secretary for the Environment for New York State, Senior Environmental Associate with the New York Public Interest Research Group, and Executive Director of Environmental Advocates of New York.

Professor Damon's research focuses on environmental policy design, and how understanding decision-making processes can lead to more effective policies. She also studies the relationships between health and natural resource management in developing countries, and ways in which resources can be better managed in the face of disease epidemics.