Ava Richardson, Director of Sustainability
Ava has over a decade of experience leading public health initiatives, advocating for environmental policies, and managing programs designed to address social, racial inequities and environmental justice. She previously served as the Sustainability Manager and a Food Matters Technical Advisor in the office, where she led the implementation of special projects, supported the Commission on Sustainability, and helped to pilot new sustainability programming such as the Farmer’s Market-based food scrap collection pilot. During her time with the city, Ava also served as the ReCAST Project Director at the Baltimore City Health Department, advancing efforts to address decades of trauma in west Baltimore. She holds a BS in Biology from Frostburg State University, an MPH from Morgan State University, and is currently obtaining a Doctorate of Public Health with a focus on environmental health and engineering from The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Joanna Birch, Floodplain Manager
Joanna Birch is the City’s new Floodplain Manager! Joanna was born and raised in Maryland. She’s originally from St. Mary’s County and grew up surrounded by water. She has more than a decade of experience working in data-driven mapping and environmental compliance in both the public and private sectors. Joanna holds a BS in Environmental Science from the University of Maryland, a Master of Arts in Teaching from Goucher College, and a Master’s Certificate in Geographic Information Science from Penn State University. Her interests and hobbies include gardening and houseplants, spending time on the water, doing anything crafty, and making maps.
Amy Gilder-Busatti, Landscape Architect and Environmental Planner
Amy’s primary areas of responsibility include overseeing the creation of the City’s Green Network Plan and representing the Office of Sustainability on issues and initiatives related to water quality, greening, and urban design. Before joining the Office of Sustainability, Amy worked as a landscape architect and land planner with several Baltimore area architecture and engineering firms. She holds a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture degree from Ball State University and a Master of Urban and Regional Planning degree from Morgan State University. Amy is also a licensed landscape architect in the state of Maryland.
Grace Hansen, Coastal Planner
Grace Hansen is the Coastal Planner for the City. Her work focuses on managing development as it relates to Floodplain Management and the Critical Area Management Program. She also assists in updating the City’s Disaster Preparedness and Planning Project (DP3) and Nuisance Flood Plan. Grace has experience in the environmental field at the state, regional, and international levels. She previously served as a coastal planner in Coastal Virginia where she collaborated with seventeen local governments across Hampton Roads to strengthen the region’s ability to adapt to recurrent flooding issues. She also worked for The Nature Foundation SXM in St. Maarten, Netherlands Antilles where she led the country’s first plastic brand audit and has assisted in the upkeep and maintenance of coral fragments in the Man of War Shoal Marine Park through SCUBA diving.
Grace holds a Master of Arts degree in International Environmental Policy with a specialization in ocean and coastal resource management from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies and a BA in environmental studies from Rollins College. She is a former collegiate swimmer and spends her weekends as an Ocean Rescue Lieutenant in Sea Colony, Delaware. She is also an avid athlete in the sport of USLA surf racing where she competes at the local, regional, and national levels. Grace enjoys all things related to water and being outdoors. Hailing from Timonium, Maryland, she is excited to be back in the area.
Valerie Rupp, Climate and Resilience Program Manager
Valerie provides support for our office’s growing climate and resilience portfolio. She has prior experience as a public lands professional and is skilled in partnership building, nonprofit management, communications, planning, and project management. Before joining our office, she served as the Executive Director of the Partnership of the National Trails System. Prior to that, she worked with the Parks & People Foundation in Baltimore for eight years, led the fundraising and external relations as Development Director for the Women’s Law Center of Maryland, and worked in various positions with the Baltimore Museum of Industry.
Valerie holds Bachelor’s degrees in history and communications from Shippensburg University and a Master’s in Public Administration from the University of Baltimore. She hails from Scranton, PA, and currently lives in Ednor Gardens where she feeds the feral cats on the block and makes sure all the street trees are properly mulched.
Rachel Whiteheart, Environmental Planner
Rachel Whiteheart is an Environmental Planner with the Office of Sustainability overseeing forest conservation. Prior to joining the City, Rachel worked as an environmental engineer for several local consulting firms. As a licensed Professional Engineer, Rachel has developed designs for green infrastructure and helped restore natural ecological systems across the Baltimore region and beyond. Rachel holds a Master of Community Planning degree from the University of Maryland and a BS in Environmental Engineering from Cornell University. She currently lives in Remington and enjoys biking the streets of Baltimore, hiking, reading, and climbing on rocks.