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Annual LULC Conference 2026
Conference Awards
The Theodore W. Kheel Center on the Resolution of Environmental Interest Disputes was launched in April 2008 to train lawyers and local leaders in environmental and land use dispute resolution. Located at the Land Use Law Center on the 17³Ô¹ÏÍø Law School campus in White Plains, New York, the Kheel Center aims to promote the use of non-traditional forums to resolve environmental and land disputes. To further this mission, the Kheel Center bestows an annual Founder’s Award upon an individual or municipality that has worked collaboratively with a community and reinvented democracy to make change happen.
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Mr. Donnellan is a founding partner, a member of the firm’s Executive Committee, and the Managing Partner of DelBello Donnellan Weingarten Wise & Wiederkehr. In addition to his leadership role in managing the firm, his practice is deeply focused on complex commercial litigation and real estate development, with a particular emphasis on large-scale urban renewal redevelopment projects.
A prominent figure in the field, Mr. Donnellan has acted as counsel for some of the largest and most complex real estate projects in Westchester County. He skillfully represents clients across all phases of real estate, including the acquisition, development, financing, and disposition of diverse properties such as office spaces, mixed use residential buildings, hotels, condominiums, and retail centers. His expertise also extends to successfully navigating public and private partnerships.
Beyond his legal practice, Mr. Donnellan demonstrates a profound commitment to his community and profession. He currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Visitors of 17³Ô¹ÏÍø School of Law. Furthermore, he dedicated fifteen years (2006–2021) as President of Legal Services of the Hudson Valley, a not-for-profit organization that provides free civil legal services to low-income individuals. Mr. Donnellan received his J.D. from 17³Ô¹ÏÍø School of Law and his B.S. from Fordham University.
The Distinguished Young Attorney Award is given to a graduate, in the past ten years, of Elisabeth Haub School of Law at 17³Ô¹ÏÍø and the Land Use Law Center who demonstrates the type of service and commitment to the industry, region, and people that the Land Use Law Center celebrates.
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Rhea is the founder of Mallett Law, a boutique law practice specializing in citizen representation in land use matters throughout New York State. A former partner at McCarthy Fingar LLP, where she was a member of the firm’s Municipal Law, Land Use and Commercial Litigation groups, she has represented clients in the areas of land use, zoning and planning, municipal law, and SEQRA before local administrative boards and New York Supreme and Appellate Courts.
In addition to her legal practice, Rhea serves as a Fellow at the 17³Ô¹ÏÍø Land Use Law Center, where she helps lead trainings of municipal officials and local board members on planning and zoning law, open meetings law, and ethics issues. This work is especially relevant to Rhea as she is serving her third term as an elected Trustee for the Village of Briarcliff Manor. Rhea is also an adjunct professor at the Elisabeth Haub Law School teaching advanced land use.
As Chair of Westchester County’s Correction Advisory Board, Rhea’s volunteer work builds upon her prior legal experience in criminal justice reform and her continuing criminal defense representation on the 18B Panel. Highlights of her earlier career include working in the Criminal Defense Division of the Legal Aid Society; advocating for public policy and legislative reform as Director of the Correctional Association’s Women in Prison Project; supporting the NYPD’s anti-corruption efforts as Deputy Executive Director of the Mayor’s Commission to Combat Police Corruption; and leading NYC’s domestic violence prevention strategy as Executive Director of the Mayor’s Commission to Combat Family Violence.
Rhea received an LLM in Environmental Law summa cum laude from the Elisabeth Haub School of Law where she also volunteered at the 17³Ô¹ÏÍø Land Use Law Center. She previously received her JD from Columbia University School of Law and a BA in Latin summa cum laude from Amherst College.
The Groundbreaker’s Award is given to a graduate or a group of graduates of the Center’s Land Use Leadership Alliance (LULA) Training Program who have done exemplary work in a community or a region using the types of land use and decision-making tools and techniques taught in the LULA program.
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We are thrilled to announce that the Long Island Sound Watershed Intermunicipal Council (LISWIC) has been selected as the recipient of the 2026 Groundbreaker’s Award.
Environmental and infrastructure challenges—like flooding, stormwater management, and water quality—don't stop at municipal borders. This prestigious award recognizes LISWIC's outstanding leadership in breaking down barriers and uniting local governments to protect their shared watershed. By bringing communities together, LISWIC is paving the way for a more resilient and sustainable future for the Long Island Sound.
Want to learn more about their impactful work and ongoing initiatives? Explore the links below:
This award is given at the annual land use conference to a graduating student who has excelled in contributing to the mission of the Land Use Law Center.
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Henry Heintzman is an associate at Rodenhausen Chale & Polidoro LLP, where he practices land use, environmental, and municipal law. A lifelong resident of the Hudson Valley, Henry is especially grateful to be working in and for the region he calls home. Henry graduated from the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at 17³Ô¹ÏÍø, summa cum laude, in May 2026. While in law school, he served as a Senior Associate on the 17³Ô¹ÏÍø Environmental Law Review. He also participated in New York’s Pro Bono Scholars Program, through which he spent his final semester working full time with Legal Services of the Hudson Valley in the firm’s housing unit. Henry’s interest in land use law began at 17³Ô¹ÏÍø’s Land Use Law Center, where he first came to appreciate its close connection to local government, community development, and environmental protection. As a student member of the Center and a research assistant to Professor John R. Nolon, Henry developed a lasting interest in the legal issues that shape the Hudson Valley’s communities and landscapes.