Land Use Law Center Staff

CONSULTANTS

Meg Byerly Williams
Attorney Consultant, Land Use Law Center

Meg Byerly Williams is a consultant based in Charlottesville, Virginia, where she works on sustainable development projects promoting renewable energy, distressed property remediation, and sustainable neighborhood development, among other related subjects. Previously, Meg worked as a staff attorney at Pace Law School’s Land Use Law Center in White Plains, New York, where she served as lead author on several Center publications, administered academic seminars, guided student research projects, and wrote for legal publications on various sustainable development topics. She holds a JD from Pace Law School, as well as an MEM from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and an MS in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences from Texas A&M University.

Kevin Dwarka, J.D., Ph.D.
Attorney Consultant, Kevin Dwarka LLC

Dr. Kevin Dwarka is a land use and economic consultant specializing in urban revitalization. Broadly trained in both land use law and urban economics, Kevin helps localities throughout the metropolitan New York Area unlock the economic value of their train stations, enhance the fiscal performance of their main streets, build vibrant mixed-use neighborhoods, finance sustainable infrastructure and implement affordable housing policies.

Kevin’s practice offers clients an unusually comprehensive scope of consulting services including market analysis, neighborhood planning, zoning revisions, real estate financial modelling, infrastructure financing, fiscal impact analysis, and environmental impact assessment.

Kevin currently teaches land use law at NYU’s Schack Institute of Real Estate. He has also taught urban economic development at the City University of New York and Israeli Politics at Yeshiva University. His dissertation at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, examined the use of global capital and public private partnerships for financing light rail projects in Israel, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Kevin is admitted to practice before the New York State Bar and serves on the New York City Bar Association’s Housing and Urban Development Committee. He also serves as a Senior Fellow at Pace Land Use Law Center and on the board of the New York chapter of the Congress for New Urbanism.

Prior to launching his own consultancy in 2007, he held senior positions at the MTA, Nelson Nygaard Consulting Associates, and the Israel Union for Environmental Defense.

He received his BA from Columbia University, JD from Pace Law School, MCP from UC Berkeley, and PhD from Hebrew University.

Dexter H. Locke, Ph.D.
Science Advisor

Dexter H. Locke is a Research Social Scientist at the USDA Forest Service, within the Urban Forests, Environmental Quality and Human Health Research Unit. Prior to this role, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center at the University of Maryland. Dexter describes himself as an Urban Ecologist with a doctorate from the Graduate School of Geography at Clark University. Prior to Clark, he received a Master's of Environmental Science from The Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies at Yale University, and graduated Summa Cum Laude from The Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources at The University of Vermont with a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resource Planning, with Minors in Economics as well as Forestry.

Dexter also worked for the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation and the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station in the People and Their Environments: Social Science Supporting Natural Resource Management and Policy work unit.

Conducting applied research with urban natural resource managers is Dexter’s passion. When not doing urban ecology, he can usually be found rock climbing and hiking throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, listening to classic rock music, popping wheelies, and hopping off curbs on a kids-sized BMX bike throughout Baltimore City.

For complete works, including peer-reviewed publications, reports, self-published material, posters, datasets, and select presentations, his curriculum vitae can be accessed here. 

Rosemarie Noonan, J.D.
Executive Director, Housing Action Council

Ms. Noonan has held the position of Executive Director since 1986 and has been with the Council since 1979. She began her housing career as Director of the National Leased Housing Association, the leading trade association for government assisted rental housing development and management located in Washington, DC. She has held program and policy positions at the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development and the New York State Division of Housing & Community Renewal. She attended Trinity College in Washington, DC, received an advanced degree in Government from Georgetown University, and is a graduate of Pace University School of Law.

Ms. Noonan has developed various programs which have assisted in the development of housing, including tax-exempt financing, mortgage insurance, and housing rehabilitation programs. She has advised State and local housing officials on designing and implementing affordable housing programs and plans. She manages the Yonkers Affordable Housing Office which is responsible for implementing a housing desegregation order. She has designed housing seminars and trained professionals nationwide. She is experienced in integrating the housing development process with health and human service programs.

She has fostered the creation of several Westchester not-for-profit organizations, e.g. The Preservation Company, Washingtonville Housing Alliance, and the New Rochelle Neighborhood Revitalization Corporation. The goal of these organizations is the development of housing which serves low income families and individuals of modest means. She has advised many civic groups, religious groups, and community organizations on appropriate roles for themselves in housing development and assisted them through the development process. Her services are primarily focused in the Hudson Region; however she has provided this service throughout New York State and in many areas throughout the country. She has a strong working knowledge of Federal, State, County and local housing programs and is skilled in integrating them to develop financially feasible and affordable housing developments.

She is the author of over a dozen guidebooks and manuals on housing programs and developing housing.

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RESEARCH ASSISTANT & SENIOR SCHOLAR OF HOUSING

Bailey Andree

Bailey Andree is a 3L at Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University, where she is the Managing Editor of Pace International Law Review. Prior to law school, she graduated from the University of Georgia with a Bachelors in Ecology. Bailey was a Student Associate at the Land Use Law Center in 2021 and has continued her work with the Center as a Research Assistant to Professor John Nolon. She is now a Senior Scholar of Housing. In her free time, Bailey enjoys reading, biking, sewing, and cooking

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LAND USE SCHOLARS

Ethan Baer

Ethan Baer is a 2019 graduate of Florida State University where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Economics. He is entering his second year at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University. He is expected to graduate with his J.D. and a certificate in Environmental Law. Ethan is a Student Associate for the summer of 2022 and will continue working with the Center as a Land Use Scholar during his second year. In his spare time, Ethan enjoys golfing, hiking, and socializing with friends. He is looking forward to further developing his legal skills and knowledge of Land Use Law and Environmental Law at the Land Use Law Center this summer.

Caitlin Boas

Caitlin Boas is a rising 3L at Elisabeth Haub School of Law. Prior to pursuing a career in environmental law, she worked as a paleontologist at the American Museum of Natural History where she conducted research on ancient ecological systems and mass extinction events through deep time. This highlighted the urgency for action in the current climate crisis, turning her to serve as a science communicator and outreach liaison for NYC Parks and the USDA Forest Service. As a Land Use Scholar, she is identifying land use strategies that local governments can adopt to increase their climate resilience. Caitlin holds a B.S. in Geology from CUNY Brooklyn College (2014) and an M.P.A. In Environmental Science and Policy from Columbia University (2018). When not reading zoning ordinances, she can still be found hunting for fossils and sharing her love for all things science across NYC.

Gabriella Izquierdo

Gabriella Izquierdo graduated from SUNY Oneonta in 2021 where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Environmental Sustainability and Business Economics. She is a rising 2L at Elisabeth Haub School of Law and is expected to earn her J.D and environmental law certificate. Gabriella began with the Land Use Law Center as a 1L Research Volunteer, and will serve as a Student Associate and Land Use Scholar. Gabriella is the current treasurer of the Environmental Law Society and vice chair of the National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition. Gabriella also is a student liaison for the ABA SEER Environmental Law Society Network and Junior Associate on Pace Environmental Law Review. She is looking forward to further developing her legal skills and knowledge of Land Use Law at the Land Use Law Center this summer.

Laurel Jobe

Laurel is a rising 2L and Land Use Scholar working towards her Environmental Law Certificate. Hailing from Tennessee, Laurel graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science from UT Chattanooga in 2020. While there, she frequently volunteered as a SCUBA diver at the aquarium. Her curiosity for the natural world has inspired various trips abroad to conduct studies on tropical island ecology. Laurel loves immersing herself in the outdoors by running, playing disc golf and mushroom foraging. This coming year, she is eager to take Environmental Survey and continue her research on Urban Tree Canopy in the novel Climate Resilient Development project. 

Samuel Stewart

Sam Stewart graduated from Miami University of Ohio in 2020 with a Bachelor of Science in Supply Chain Management and Sustainability. During his time at Miami, Sam worked with two environmental non-profits and gained experience supporting sustainable initiatives and environmental campaigns. Sam is entering his second year at Elisabeth Haub School of Law, and is expected to graduate with his J.D. as well as an Environmental Certificate. Sam looks forward to developing an understanding of how land use laws can be used to address climate change.