Kearns & West Announces New Principal Eric Poncelet

Eric has more than 20 years designing, mediating and analyzing complex, multistakeholder collaborative planning and dispute resolution processes in the environmental and natural resource management domains. He specializes in processes involving complex policy, regulatory, and scientific contexts and characterized by diverse and conflicting stakeholder interests. Eric has led dozens of projects involving stakeholder assessments, strategic planning, policy analysis, stakeholder outreach, and design and facilitation of public involvement and multi-party agreement-building processes. His approach is interest-based and attentive to diverse stakeholder perspectives, and he works regularly to build lasting agreements among a broad range of stakeholders from government (federal, state and local), tribes, economic interests (including industry, fishermen, and farmers), environmental organizations, recreational interests, and community groups.

Eric leads Kearns & West's marine resources practice and also works actively in the firm's water, energy, and land management sectors. His work focuses on ecosystem-based management, species protection, sustainable fisheries management, coastal resiliency and climate adaptation, sediment management, offshore energy development, ocean planning, ecosystem restoration, flood management, water use efficiency, and forest management. Recent projects include facilitation of: the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's five-year offshore oil and gas leasing program environmental review process, the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary's Marine Shipping Working Group to address ship-whale strike issues, stakeholder and agency engagement to support implementation of the Bureau of Land Management's Greater Sage Grouse management plans throughout the West, and design and convening of the West Coast Ocean Partnership to address region-wide ocean challenges.

Eric also co-leads Kearns & West's training program and has delivered dozens of courses on such topics as mutual gains negotiation, facilitation and mediation, effective collaboration, and conflict management.

Eric holds a Ph.D. in cultural anthropology from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, with a concentration in multi-stakeholder environmental partnerships in the United States and Europe. He received his B.S. in mechanical engineering from Cornell University and an M.A. in cultural anthropology from the University of Arizona. Eric is a roster member of the U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution and currently serves on the Leadership Council for the Association for Conflict Resolution – Environment and Public Policy Section.

Contact:
Chaat Butsunturn
[email protected] 
415-391-7900 x1214

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SOURCE Kearns & West