You are cordially invited to

The Columbia University Club of South Florida’s Architecture, Planning & Preservation Luncheon

Monday, February 23rd, 2026 at 12 Noon

The Flagler-Kenan Pavilion, Henry Morrison Flagler Museum

One Whitehall Way

Palm Beach, FL

Lunch and panel discussion 

Conservation, preservation, and coastal resilience in Southern Florida

Eric Blair-Joannou ‘14BUS ‘15GSAPP, Columbia University Club of South Florida Palm Beach Chair (moderator)

Michael Greenwald, Adjunct Professor, Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA); former Town of Palm Beach Investment Committee Member; Global Head of Financial Innovation and Digital Assets at Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Sean E. Sawyer, Ph.D ‘99GSAS, Washburn & Susan Oberwager President & CEO of The Olana Partnership

Rachel Silverstein, Ph.D ‘06CC, CEO of Miami Waterkeeper

Tickets $125 (seating is very limited)

About our panelists:

Michael Greenwald, Adjunct Professor at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) is a former Investment Committee Member of the Town of Palm Beach, and the current Global Head of Financial Innovation and Digital Assets at Amazon Web Services (AWS). Though with boundless exposure to geopolitical and international economic trends at the U.S. Treasury Department and at AlTi Global, Michael has focused his energy on hyper-local public affairs at the Town of Palm Beach, helping them steward their significant long-term investment portfolio to plan for longer and longer time horizons and more and more environmental headwinds. He is an affiliate of The Atlantic Council, The Trilateral Commission, the French-American Foundation, and Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center. He is a graduate of Harvard Business School, Boston University’s Law and Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, and The George Washington University. He was honored by Palm Beach Illustrated as one of the city’s 100 most influential business leaders in 2021.

Sean E. Sawyer, Ph.D ‘99GSAS, is the Washburn & Susan Oberwager President & CEO of The Olana Partnership, which serves the public by preserving and interpreting renowned artist Frederic Church’s Olana, a New York State Historic Site and National Historic Landmark within the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area. The Olana Partnership envisions Frederic Church’s living canvas as vibrant with the activity of visitors, students, scholars, and artists, as the most widely recognized artist’s home and studio in the World. A tremendously experienced preservationist, at the helm of Olana Sean has engaged in “view shed preservation,” helping acquire or preserve properties surrounding the site in order that the artist’s view and inspiration for his work might be preserved along with his own land and historic home. Prior to Olana, Sean served as the Executive Director of The Royal Oak Foundation, the American partner of the National Trust of England, Wales & Northern Ireland, and as the Executive Director of the Wyckoff Farmhouse Museum in Brooklyn, bringing an historic Dutch farmhouse to national attention with innovative educational and cultural programs in partnership with New York City’s Department of Parks & Recreation and the Historic House Trust of New York City. Sean received his B.A. from Princeton University and a Ph.D from Columbia in Architectural History, and has taught at Columbia, Fordham, and Harvard Universities. 

Rachel Silverstein, Ph.D ‘06CC is the CEO of Miami Waterkeeper, the front-line organization protecting South Florida’s waters by advocating for resilient solutions grounded in science, rooted in nature, and driven by community. Under her leadership MWK envisions a resilient South Florida that is a global leader in clean water solutions, where thriving communities and nature coexist. Rachel is a renowned marine biologist and environmental advocate who was named a 2023 Elevate Prize winner, a Miami Herald Visionary Award winner, a Florida Wildlife Federation’s Water Conservationist of the Year, among countless other accolades. She has been quoted in hundreds of press articles, including by the New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, and Bloomberg News, and has published numerous op-eds and scientific articles. Prior to Miami Waterkeeper, Rachel was a Knauss Sea Grant Fellow and Professional Staff for the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries and Coast Guard in Washington, D.C. She graduated cum laude from Columbia in 2006 with a B.S. degree in Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, and in 2012 received her Ph.D from the Department of Marine Biology and Fisheries at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School for Marine and Atmospheric Science. Her research focused on the effect of climate change on reef corals, funded in part by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. 

Menu

Jumbo shrimp cocktail, key lime mustard

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Cherry-glazed duck breast served over harvest greens salad with goat cheese, butternut squash, pomegranate champagne vinaigrette; with roasted asparagus and potato au gratin

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Mandarin cake with chocolate coin, composed of Swiss meringue, citrus purée, almond shortbread, yogurt, and cardamom cream

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Coffee & tea

**Vegetarian option available**