Session V

Kathleen P. Toolan, Special Counsel for Environmental Affairs, Florida Department of Transportation

KATHLEEN TOOLAN currently serves as Special Counsel for Environmental Affairs at the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT).  She has held this position since 2016, when she was appointed in conjunction with her successful effort to achieve FDOT’s NEPA Assignment.  Prior to this appointment, she served as Chief Counsel for FDOT’s Administrative Law Section.  Before joining FDOT in 2008, Kathleen practiced with a private law firm concentrating on environmental law, mass torts, securities fraud and class action litigation.  Kathleen also spent eleven years as an Assistant General Counsel with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.  She earned her bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University and received her J.D. from Florida State University College of Law, where she served as an editor on the Journal of Land Use & Environmental Law. 

Maria Salgado, District Contamination Impact Coordinator, Florida Department of Transportation

Maria Salgado is currently the District Contamination Impact Coordinator (DCIC) for the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) District 4 office. She started her career in the fall of 2000 with a private firm designing Remediation Cleanup systems for contaminated sites. She joined FDOT D6 in Summer of 2008 working in the Planning and Environmental Management Office (PLEMO) as an Assistant DCIC. In 2016, she was promoted to District 4 DCIC. Her role as the DCIC is to ensure the public and roadway construction employees working on FDOT projects are protected from contamination exposure.  In addition to providing guidance on avoiding and minimizing contamination impacts, Maria reviews Project Development & Environmental projects for impacts, reviews contract plans and performs Level I & II assessment activities during the project’s final design phase. If avoidance or minimization is not achieved or possible, Level III Remedial Action activities are performed during the construction phase of the project. 

Education:

Graduated in 1995 from South Dade Senior High home of the Buccaneers located in Homestead Florida

B.S. in Civil Engineering with a specialty in Environmental Engineering from FIU in 2000

Environmental/Contamination Experience: 25 years 

Aja Stoppe, Environmental Specialist, Florida Department of Transportation

Aja Stoppe is an Environmental Specialist in the Florida Department of Transportation's (FDOT) District 2 Environmental Management Office in Lake City, Florida. She began her career with the Department in 2012 as an assistant to the District’s Contamination Impact Coordinator (DCIC) and has held the position of DCIC since 2017. In this role, she leads the Contamination Program for both the project development and design phases, as well as leading the District’s engagement with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection under the Contamination MOU. Her responsibilities include identifying and evaluating contamination impacts to FDOT projects, providing guidance on avoidance and minimization strategies, managing remediation efforts prior to construction, and supporting the Construction DCIC as projects transition into active construction. 

Aja holds a Master’s degree in Soil and Water Science from the University of Florida. Prior to joining FDOT, she worked at the University of Florida as a chemist in both the Forest Soils Laboratory and the North Florida Research and Education Center’s Soil Fertility Laboratory.