Mr. Klapkowski serves as the Deputy Secretary for the Office of Oil and Gas Management with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. As the Deputy Secretary, he leads an organization responsible for the oversight of the oil and gas exploration and production industry in the Commonwealth. The Office of Oil and Gas Management is comprised of two Bureaus – the Bureau of District Oil and Gas Operations, which is responsible for permitting, inspection, compliance and oversight of the conventional oil and gas and unconventional gas industries, and the Bureau of Oil and Gas Planning and Program Management, which is responsible for the Department’s development of policy, regulatory, technical guidance and legislative documents, and data management systems, as well as providing on-going education and outreach to the public and regulated communities. Prior to becoming the Deputy Secretary, Mr. Klapkowski served as the Director of the Bureau of Oil and Gas Planning and Program Management for ten years. Before joining the Office of Oil and Gas Management in 2012, Mr. Klapkowski worked with the Department’s Bureau of Regulatory Counsel for more than 18 years, including service as the counsel to the Oil and Gas Program for four years. Other program clients included Pennsylvania’s Storage Tank program, the Land Recycling Program, the Office of Energy and Technology Deployment, the Division of Hazardous Waste Management, the Division of Nuclear Safety and the Office of Pollution Prevention and Compliance Assistance. He received his J.D. in 1993 from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and graduated Magna Cum Laude from Washington and Jefferson College in 1990.

Mr. Walker currently serves as a supervisory counsel in the DEP’s Office of Chief Counsel, Bureau of Regulatory Counsel in Harrisburg where he counsels the Bureau of Air Quality on permitting and compliance & enforcement matters. He previously served as an assistant counsel for the Bureau’s air quality planning and mobile sources divisions. Since 2015, his practice area has primarily involved state implementation plan and regulatory development and representing DEP in state and federal appellate litigation matters. Mr. Walker also previously served as the program counsel for DEP’s Bureau of Waterways, Engineering and Wetlands and Coastal Zone Management programs where he counseled clients on permitting matters involving the Dam Safety and Encroachments Act, federal Clean Water Act and Coastal Zone Management Act. Mr. Walker received his J.D. from the University of Massachusetts School of Law in 2013 and an Environmental Policy Certificate from the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth in 2012. He received his B.A. and M.A. from Duquesne University in 2002 and 2004, respectively.

Ms. Gardner is Regional Counsel for the Mid-Atlantic Region of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, where she provides legal counsel to the Regional Administrator and senior leadership team on federal environmental and general law matters. She has been an attorney in the regional office for more than 22 years, where she has held various roles in management and as a staff attorney. Prior to joining EPA, Ms. Gardner was a judicial clerk for the Honorable Frank Maas in the Southern District of New York. She received her J.D. from New York University School of Law, where she served as Editor-in-Chief of the N.Y.U. Environmental Law Journal. Ms. Gardner was also a Fulbright fellow to Canada, where she researched international environmental policy and received an M.A. in Political Science from Carleton University. She received her B.A. in political science and classical studies summa cum laude from Wellesley College. She is a member of the bars of the State of New York, State of New Jersey, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, and the United States Third Circuit Court of Appeals.

Jessica O’Neill is a Senior Attorney at PennFuture. She is based out of Philadelphia, and her work focuses on water quality and watershed protection as well as the creation and protection of green space for all. She also works on issues related to the petrochemical and fracking industries that threaten our health and environment across Pennsylvania. Prior to joining PennFuture, she was an Assistant United States Attorney with the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey. She also worked as an environmental lawyer in private practice, where she primarily focused on clean water issues, and as an Assistant Regional Counsel for the Environmental Protection Agency in its Mid-Atlantic office, bringing administrative enforcement actions under federal hazardous waste and toxic chemical regulations. In 2010, she served as an assistant counsel to the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling. Ms. O’Neill clerked for the Honorable Louis H. Pollak on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the Honorable Robert B. Kugler on the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. She has an undergraduate degree in environmental studies from Brown University and graduated magna cum laude from the Georgetown University Law Center. 

Mr. Wolford maintains a solo practice, Wolford Law, in Erie. Before going into private practice, he served as Regional Counsel and as an Assistant Counsel for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Northwest Region. Before joining the DEP, Mr. Wolford served as a prosecutor for the Office of Attorney General (OAG), Environmental Crimes Section and also as a civil litigation attorney for the OAG’s Torts Litigation Section. He was also a special prosecutor of environmental crimes for both the OAG and the United States Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Mr. Wolford is currently a member of the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board Rules Committee and the State Water Plan Statewide and Great Lakes Committees. He is also a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Environmental and Energy Law Section, a Past Chair of the Section Council, the current Chair of the Section’s Programs and Publications Committee, and previously served as a contributing feature editor for the Section’s newsletter. He has lectured for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (National Enforcement Training Institute), the DEP, the Erie County Bar Association, Pennsylvania’s minor judiciary, and various other organizations.  Mr. Wolford received his undergraduate degree from the Pennsylvania State University and his J.D. from the Temple University School of Law, and is a member of the Erie County and Pennsylvania Bar Associations.

Mr. Mandelbaum is a shareholder in Greenberg Traurig’s Environmental Practice. His principal offices are in Philadelphia and Boston. His practice tends toward environmental litigation of various sorts, including some Superfund matters that the government characterizes as among its most significant. He also advises on compliance, regulatory and transactional issues. He served as Vice-Chair of the Pennsylvania Statewide Water Resources Committee and as a member of the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission. Mr. Mandelbaum teaches “Superfund Litigation” and “Oil and Gas Law” in rotation at Temple Law School and the Superfund course at Suffolk (Boston) Law School. He was educated at Harvard University (A.B. 1980; J.D. 1983) and served as law clerk to Hon. Louis H. Pollak, then-United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He is a Fellow of the American College of Environmental Lawyers.

Mr. Garber is a shareholder in the Environmental, Energy and Natural Resources Group of Babst Calland Clements & Zomnir, P.C. in Pittsburgh. He concentrates much of his practice on environmental, water, and land use issues facing the oil and gas, mining, and manufacturing industries, and on infrastructure development issues facing municipalities, municipal authorities, and developers. He represents exploration, development, and pipeline companies working in the Pennsylvania conventional and unconventional oil and gas industries, and represents companies and trade associations in other extractive industries in Pennsylvania, including coal and noncoal mining. Mr. Garber has written and lectured extensively on oil and gas, water, and development issues. He is ranked among Pennsylvania’s top environmental lawyers in Chambers USA: Americas Leading Lawyers for Business. He is listed in the environmental section, the water section, the natural resources section, the environmental litigation section, and the energy section of the Best Lawyers in America, and was selected as its Lawyer of the Year for Pittsburgh each year between 2014 to 2021 and again in 2024 for energy, environmental, or natural resources law, and was named to the 2023 Energy & Environment Power 100 by City & State Pennsylvania. He is recognized as one of Pennsylvania’s Super Lawyers, according to an annual survey published in Philadelphia Magazine. He has served on the council of the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Environmental, Mineral and Natural Resources Law Section. Mr. Garber is a member and past chair of the Allegheny County Bar Association Environmental Law Section and is a member of the Pennsylvania and American Bar Associations. He is a member of the board of directors of the Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce and the 3 Rivers Wet Weather Program, and is a former member and past chair of the board of the Allegheny Land Trust in Pittsburgh. Mr. Garber received his B.S. in biology from Pennsylvania State University, his M.S. in oceanography and limnology from the University of Wisconsin, his Ph.D. in ecology from the University of Pittsburgh, and his J.D. from Duquesne University School of Law. He is an adjunct professor at Duquesne University School of Law, where he teaches courses in environmental law and litigation.

John Herman is the Regional Chief Counsel for the Department of Environmental Protection’s Southwest Office of Chief Counsel in Pittsburgh.  The office includes a staff of 15 attorneys, and represents all of DEP’s environmental programs, including Air, Water, Waste, Drinking Water, Wetlands & Waterways, Mining, Radiation and Oil & Gas.  Mr. Herman is a 1982 graduate of the Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, and worked in private practice for ten years prior to joining the Commonwealth’s Office of General Counsel and DEP.

Ms. McCabe is the managing partner of Manko, Gold, Katcher & Fox LLP, working in the firm’s complex industrial and regulatory practices.  She counsels clients on a wide variety of environmental issues, including permitting, compliance and enforcement matters related to air emissions, hazardous waste, storage tanks, stormwater and wastewater pretreatment.  Ms. McCabe concentrates her practice in air matters for a wide range of industrial clients at both the state and national level. She has assisted clients with environmental due diligence, auditing, permit appeals, emergency planning, and defense of agency enforcement actions. Ms. McCabe has represented clients before the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board, the New Jersey Office of Administrative Law, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Environmental Appeals Board, and the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals. She has been recognized in The Best Lawyers® in America, Pennsylvania Super Lawyers, New Jersey Super Lawyers and Chambers USA – America’s Leading Lawyers for Business. Outside of the office, Ms. McCabe serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, among other volunteer roles in the community.  

Mr. Sullivan was appointed Chief Counsel to PA DCNR in April 2024. He previously served as a Supervisory Counsel in PA DEP’s Southcentral Regional Office where he counseled the Waterways and Wetlands program, the Chesapeake Bay program, and the State Conservation Commission. His PA DEP practice focused on enforcement, litigation, and permitting matters related to pipelines, agriculture, and other water-related environmental issues. He also previously served PA DEP as Acting Deputy Chief Counsel and in the Bureau of Regulatory Counsel. Mr. Sullivan received B.S. degrees in Biology and Psychology from The Pennsylvania State University at University Park as well as a J.D. and a Certificate in Environmental Law, Science & Policy from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.