Town Of Dedham: Dedham Welcomes Assistant Conservation Agent

Press release from the Town of Dedham:

08/12/2021 4:30 PM

Patrick Hogan joins the Town of Dedham as the Assistant Conservation Agent from the Neponset River Watershed Association where he was a Water Resource Professional. Prior to moving to Massachusetts with this family, Patrick worked for the Public Works Departments of both the City of Durham, North Carolina and the City of Roanoke, Virginia. In his role with the City of Durham, Patrick focused on stormwater compliance and pollution prevention, both internally and externally. Working with the City to ensure their operations were in compliance with stormwater regulations, Patrick tracked inspections and potential sources of pollution that enabled his team to catalog historic and present data and make it available on demand. While in this role, Patrick served the community by investigating and correcting issues of pollution through the stormwater permitting and compliance process as a representative for the City of Durham. For the City of Roanoke, Patrick mainly focused on managing internal processes and regulations within the Environmental Management Office.

It was during his time with the City of Durham, North Carolina that Patrick realized his passion for protecting the environment includes outreach and community engagement. “I enjoy working with people and communities and have found that while working in local government, I am able to build connections with the community that I cannot build in other roles,” said Patrick. When the job became available here in Dedham, Patrick was immediately drawn to the position because it most closely matches his skillset.

Patrick earned his Master’s Degree in Environmental Science and Engineering and a Bachelor’s Degree in Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences from Virginia Tech.

Having only been on staff for a few weeks, Patrick is still getting up to speed, but is excited to find opportunities to have a positive impact. “I have seen in past roles within large cities what can be done with a lot of resources and large teams, and I am motivated to adapt some of these practices here in Dedham on a smaller scale,” said Patrick. “We are here to be a resource for the community and make environmental protection relatable and realistic by building a connection through one-on-one interaction and education.”

Check out our Q&A with Patrick below to learn more about him:

Download Q&A with Patrick Hogan PDF

This press release was produced by the Town of Dedham. The views expressed here are the author’s own.