Robert J. Pirani is RPA's Director of Environmental Programs. His responsibilities include developing and directing programs in parks and open space advocacy, land use planning, water quality protection, and the reuse of abandoned industrial sites. Mr. Pirani has authored or co-authored several of the Association's recent publications including: A New Life for Governors Island, Keeping the Green Promise: An Action Plan for New York City's Urban Forest, Building a Metropolitan Greensward, Managing Watersheds, the Great Swamp Conservation Plan, the Palisades Conservation Plan, Putting a Price Tag on Solid Waste Management, and Tools and Strategies: Protecting the Landscape and Shaping Growth. He has been invited to testify before the United States Congress, the states of New York and New Jersey, the City of New York, and other public bodies on a variety of open space and land use issues. Mr. Pirani holds a Master's Degree in Regional Planning from Cornell University and a Bachelor's Degree in Environmental Studies from Hampshire College. He is an adjunct faculty member of the Pratt Institute Graduate Center for Planning and Environment.