Gulf Coast Citizen Diplomacy Council

The national program for Spyridon Kouvelis, Shadow Minister for the Environment and Member of the Greek Parliament, focused on climate change, environmental protection, approaches to urban environmental concerns, and the importance of environmental education in city planning.  To that end, while in Northwest Florida he met with Dr. Richard "Dick" Snyder of the UWF Center for Environmental Diagnostics and Bioremediation, learned about the UWF BEST House from Glenda Mayo, and attended a round table discussion at the Gulf Ecology Division of the Environmental Protection Agency which was arranged by Steve Jordan and William Benson.  Kouvelis toured the county landfill with Sandra Jennings of the Escambia County Department of Solid Waste Management and was privileged to have  Keith Wilkins, Director of the Escambia County Neighborhood & Environmental Services Deptartment, introduce him to colleagues and orient him to the environment of Northwest Florida.  To answer questions about area disaster planning, Kouvelis visited Michael Hardin at the Escambia County Division of Emergency Management. 

Lucky Council members and guests from the local Greek and environmental communities attended a lunch at Jackson's to hear Kouvelis speak on "Eco-systems of the Mediterranean," a presentation he had recently given at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.  Following the presentation, he joined a joint city-county planning meeting where he was presented with Honorary Citizenship by the City of Pensacola and with a plaque by Escambia County.  Later in the afternoon he was interviewed on Hot Issues by Pat Windham.  While in town he and his U.S. Department of State English Language Officer also enjoyed a lovely evening of home hospitality in the home of Jack & Cookie Kichler.