Howard N. Apsan, Ph.D.

Howard Apsan has taught graduate courses on management, environmental policy, and sustainability at Columbia for many years. He teaches Project Management and Leadership in the Project Management Program. 

As an executive, he served most recently as the Senior Executive Director of Environmental, Health, Safety, and Risk Management for The City University of New York, with 26 campuses, 300 buildings, 500 fleet vehicles, and more than 300,000 students, faculty and staff. As EHS Director, he was responsible for system-wide management and compliance; as Risk Manager, he promoted resiliency, continuity, and emergency preparedness.

Project management highlights included managing hurricane evacuation shelters at CUNY campuses during Hurricanes Irene and Sandy; leading CUNY’s COVID-19 testing program (600,000 tests at 19 testing sites tracking 350,000 people); and implementing a Body-Worn Camera program for more than 500 CUNY Peace Officers.

Earlier, he served in the New York City Mayor’s Office, Board of Education, and Sanitation Department, and then pursued a consulting career at ICF, McLaren/Hart, Clayton, and Marshall & Stevens, progressively increasing his leadership and P&L responsibility, and ultimately founding Apsan Consulting. His clients were in diverse sectors throughout the United States and internationally. 

In addition to teaching, he writes and lectures regularly, and dedicates time to community engagement, serving as a member of his local environmental commission, as president of a community-based non-profit corporation, and as an auxiliary police lieutenant. He maintains several professional certifications, including Project Management Professional (PMP) and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Accredited Professional.