Arthur Allison
New Mexico Secretary Arthur Allison is the first Navajo to head the cabinet level New Mexico Indian Affairs Department, which coordinates tribal and state programs. Arthur is a small business owner and veteran leader in the Navajo Nation government. He is the chairman of the board of the Diné Development Corp, a holding company established by the Navajo Nation to set up, invest in, own, and operate for-profit business ventures. Arthur holds a BS degree from Brigham Young University and did post-graduate study in business at Ball State University in Indiana.
(Times photo – Erny Zah)
Heather W. Balas
Heather W. Balas is President and Executive Director of New Mexico First, a public policy organization that engages people in important issue facing their state or community. Established in 1986, it offers unique town halls and forums that create recommendations for policymakers and the public. A fifth-generation New Mexican, Heather has over 20 years of experience in public policy, including citizen outreach, voter education, coalition-building, and policy research. She worked in Washington, DC and San Francisco for several years before returning to her home state. Previous employers include the Commission on Presidential Debates, the California Center for Civic Participation, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, and the National Network for Youth. She holds a master’s degree in political communication from the University of Maryland. Heather is married and is a mom to two busy children.
Jon Barela
Jon Barela is the Cabinet Secretary for the New Mexico Economic Development Department. He was appointed by Governor Susana Martinez and confirmed unanimously by the New Mexico State Senate. During his tenure, Jon has been active in leading the state’s efforts regarding tax reform, regulatory burden on job creators, export growth, and reducing unemployment. He is a native New Mexico, born and raised in Las Cruces. Jon earned a BS in history and diplomacy from the Edmund A Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. After graduating from Georgetown University he joined the staff of New Mexico Congressman Joe Skeen. While working for Congressman Skeen, he earned a law degree also from Georgetown in 1987.
Kenneth C. Carroll
Kenneth C. Carroll (KC) is an assistant professor in the Plant and Environmental Sciences Department at NMSU and supports the Interdisciplinary Degree Program in Water Science & Management. Formerly, he was a research scientist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. KC received a BS in geology from Ohio University, MS in aqueous/environmental geochemistry also from Ohio University, and PhD in hydrology and water resources from the University of Arizona. His research interests include advancing our understanding of water supply and water quality in arid regions, and development of innovative water resources, environmental-remediation, carbon-capture, and energy-production alternatives. KC is currently working with NM WRRI on the statewide water assessment on spatiotemporal groundwater level changes throughout New Mexico.
Martha Cather
Ms. Cather has worked on many research projects at the Petroleum Recovery Research Center of NMIMT since 1987, and her research has included topics as varied as reservoir characterization, fluid/rock interactions, and petrographic image analysis for reservoir modeling. Much of her work in recent years has focused on data acquisition and data access, technology transfer, and project management with national organizations such as PTTC and RPSEA. She has collaborated with various New Mexico state agencies and industry partners to make a variety of data available online including oil and gas production, price data, NM state lease data, water quality information, and many other smaller projects. The websites developed by Ms. Cather and the outreach group she leads at PRRC include Go-Tech, SLO data access, and NM WAIDS. Ms. Cather holds B.S. and M.A. degrees in Geology from the University of Texas at Austin.
Janie Chermak
Janie Chermak is Professor and Chair of Economics at UNM. Her research interests include natural resource and environmental economics with an emphasis on energy, water, and invasive species, along with interdisciplinary modeling and applied microeconomics. She received a BA in geology from Western State College, and MS and PhD in mineral economics from the Colorado School of Mines. Janie has been at UNM since 1999.
Dale R. Dekker
Dale R. Dekker is an original founder of Dekker/Perich/Sabatini with extensive experience in architecture and planning projects that are socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable. Dale’s contributions to architecture include high-tech, one-of-a-kind research facilities for Sandia National Labs, award-winning school designs across the Southwest, and large scale master planning projects such as the UNM Master Plan Update. Water and its use in the built environment has been of particular interest to Dale. He has served as a member of the Customer Advisory Committee of the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority and most recently as a member of the working group that has developed the Rio Grande Water Fund a Comprehensive Plan for Wildfire and Water Source Protection, an effort spearheaded by The Nature Conservancy. Dale earned a Bachelor of Architecture-Texas Tech University in 1975 and is a registered architect in New Mexico, Texas, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, and Wyoming.
Andrew Erdmann
Andrew Erdmann is a Water Resources Coordinator with the City of Santa Fe’s Water Division. Working in this capacity, Andrew has been involved in many large-scale water issues including the management of San Juan-Chama project water, watershed restoration and management, water rights permitting, and planning for the impacts of climate change on future water availability. Prior to his work in municipal water management at the City of Santa Fe, Andrew held other positions in the water field including in the fisheries biology program for the US Forest Service and in water rights adjudication and administration at the New Mexico Office of the State Engineer. Andrew has a BA degree from Bard College in upstate New York and MA degrees in both water resource policy and natural resources planning from the University of New Mexico.
Sam Fernald
Sam Fernald was appointed director of the New Mexico Water Resources Research Institute (NM WRRI) in July 2013 after having served as interim director since January 2011. As director, he will lead the institute in its mission to develop and disseminate knowledge that will assist the state, region, and nation in solving water resources problems. The NM WRRI, one of 54 water institutes in the nation, encourages university faculty statewide to pursue critical areas of water resources research while providing training opportunities for students, and transfers research findings to the academic community, water managers and the general public. Professor Fernald also is a faculty member in the Department of Animal and Range Sciences at New Mexico State University.
Dr. Fernald’s earned degrees include a 1987 B.A. in international relations from Stanford University, an M.E.M. in 1993 in water and air resources from Duke University, and a Ph.D. in watershed science from Colorado State University in 1997. His primary research interests include water quality hydrology; land use effects on infiltration, runoff, sediment yield, and nonpoint source pollution; and effects of surface water/groundwater exchange on water availability and water quality. Dr. Fernald received a Fulbright Scholarship to Patagonian National University, Trelew, Argentina in 2008, and another Fulbright Scholarship to the University of Concepcion, Concepcion, Chile in 2000. Dr. Fernald currently is leading a multi-institutional, five-year, $1.4 million water research project funded by the National Science Foundation. In addition to NMSU, partners in the study include the University of New Mexico, New Mexico Tech, Sandia National Laboratories, the New Mexico Acequia Association, and the Maxwell Museum.
Kenneth L. Garcia
Ken is currently the Utilities Director for the City of Las Vegas, NM and has worked in a variety of areas within the water field beginning in 1998. His management and technical experience extends to a variety of settings including private, tribal, and municipal utilities.
Ryan Gronewold
Ryan Gronewold, P.E. is a Hydraulic Engineer with the US Army Corps of Engineers, Albuquerque District, Reservoir Control Branch. He began working with the Corps upon his graduation from the University of New Mexico with a BS in Civil Engineering. As the Rio Grande Basin Coordinator, Ryan’s primary duty is to oversee the water management and flood control operations of the Corps dams within the Rio Grande Basin. Ryan is also involved in other areas where water management is a concern. Prior to his current position, Ryan was a hydraulic engineer with the Corps in the Hydrology and Hydraulics Section where he worked on flood risk management, ecosystem restoration, and watershed studies.
Mark Gunn
Mark Gunn is the Assistant Director at the USGS New Mexico Water Science Center. He is the first author on a 2014 publication, “The USGS at Embudo, New Mexico: 125 Years of Systematic Streamgaging in the United States.”
David Gutzler
David Gutzler is Professor of Meteorology and Climatology at the University of New Mexico. He and his students combine observed data and large-scale model output to assess the causes of global and regional climate variability, and to improve the skill and application of hydroclimatic predictions on seasonal and longer time scales. He holds degrees from the University of California at Berkeley (B.S., Engineering Physics) and MIT (PhD, Meteorology). He is a former Editor of the American Meteorological Society’s Journal of Climate. He served as a lead author for the fifth assessment report of the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, published in 2013. He received the UNM College of Arts & Sciences’ award for outstanding teaching in 2008 and was named a Fellow in the university’s new Center for Teaching Excellence this year.
John W. Hawley
A native of southern Indiana’s Ohio River Valley, John W. Hawley graduated cum laude from Hanover College in 1954 with a B.A. degree in geology. After employment by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)-Ground Water Branch and overseas U.S. Army service (1954-1957), John attended graduate school at the University of Illinois, receiving a Ph.D. degree in Geology in 1962. Besides hydrogeology, academic specialties included geomorphology and Quaternary geology, stratigraphy and sedimentology, engineering geology, clay mineralogy, and soil science. Doctoral research was on the Quaternary and groundwater geology of Nevada’s western Humboldt River basin. Graduate studies were supported by the GI Bill, NSF and University Fellowships, and part-time work with the Illinois Geological Survey, Nevada Department of Conservation & Natural Resources, and USGS-Water Resources Division.
Most of John’s subsequent career in research, public service, and consulting has dealt with a variety of environmental-geologic problems related to natural-resource development in arid and semiarid parts of the American West. From 1962 to 1977, he led soil-geomorphology studies at Soil Conservation Service (USDA)-Soil Survey Investigations projects in New Mexico (NMSU), West Texas (Texas Tech), and the Western-States Region (Portland Technical Service Center). He then joined the Bureau of Mines [Geology] & Mineral Resources (NMBGMR) at N.M. Tech where he developed and coordinated programs in Environmental and Engineering Geology for the Office of State Geologist (Socorro and Albuquerque) until “retirement” 1997. Since then, John has been sole proprietor of HAWLEY GEOMATTERS, a consulting firm that specializes in the environmental and groundwater geology of the binational New Mexico region. Projects include pro bono hydrogeologic investigations for the U.S. Indian Health Service and several Pueblo Tribes. He also continues to serve NM Tech as a NMBGMR Emeritus Senior Environmental Geologist and an Earth & Environmental Sciences faculty adjunct; and he has adjunct appointments at the NM Water Resources Research (Senior Hydrogeologist) and NM Museum of Natural History & Science.
John has been a Certified Professional Geologist (C.P.G., American Institute of Professional Geologists) since 1971. He is a “50-Year” Fellow of the Geological Society of America (GSA) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and past President and Honorary Member of the NM Geological Society. John has authored or co-authored more than 100 reports and maps on the New Mexico-West Texas-Chihuahua region, not including a large number of unpublished documents on expert-witness, consulting, and prior government-service activities. Honors for published research and public service include: AAAS Certificate of Merit “for distinguished contributions [to] arid zone research (1987),” GSA-Engineering Geology Division-Distinguished Career Award (2005), and Quaternary Geology & Geomorphology Division: Kirk Bryan and Distinguished Career Awards (1983 and 2006). John is also co-recipient of the 2005 New Mexico Earth Science Achievement Award for “outstanding contributions in areas of applied science and education;” and he has received Alumni Achievement Awards from Hanover College (2001) and the University of Illinois (Geology-2006). In 2007, the Santo Domingo Tribe honored John for “outstanding contribution to the improvement of [their] public water system.” His proudest 80-yr accomplishment, however, involves 52+ years of marriage to Diane Rose Bandyk Hawley, three (Las Cruces-native) children, and three grandchildren (3, 5, and 22).
Steve Henke
Steve Henke was selected as President of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association in August 2010. Steve has lived and worked in New Mexico for close to 50 years. He graduated from Alamogordo High School and from New Mexico State University in 1977, with a BS in agriculture. Steve had a 34-year career in New Mexico with the Bureau of Land Management culminating with eight years of service as District Manager for the Farmington District. Steve consistently practiced and promoted collaborative resource management on a variety of contentious issues while with the BLM, including: oil and gas leasing and development in the San Juan Basin; balancing endangered species protection with natural resource use; and balancing traditional land uses with environmental initiatives.
Steve previously served as Executive Director and BLM Coordinator for the Southwest Strategy, an interstate, interagency, intergovernmental effort to develop capacity for collaborative resource management conflict resolution in Arizona and New Mexico. He has been recognized for his contributions to New Mexico, and is known for his ability to balance competing interests with workable solutions. Steve appreciates the contributions the oil and gas industry makes to the quality of life of all New Mexicans, not just in jobs, income and taxes; but in the generosity and commitment member companies and their employees have in their communities. He looks forward to the challenge of protecting and promoting New Mexico’s vital oil and gas industry while working productively with legislators and regulators within the state.
James Hogan
James Hogan has over 15 years of experience from both the academic and public sectors working on a variety of hydrology and water quality issues. Since May 2012 James has served as the Bureau Chief of the Surface Water Quality Bureau at the New Mexico Environment Department. In this position, he is responsible for coordination and oversight of all bureau responsibilities including water quality protection and regulation, watershed restoration and water quality standards development. The bureau has roughly 50 staff members and nearly $6 million annual operating budget. Prior to this, he served as the program manager of the Monitoring and Assessment Section of the Surface Water Quality Bureau since February 2009. Responsibilities of his section included collecting water quality data statewide, assessing this data to develop the biennial 303d list of impaired waterbodies, and developing TMDL documents. Before joining the Environment Department, James was the Assistant Director of SAHRA, an NSF Science and Technology Center focused on Sustainability of semi-Arid Hydrology and Riparian Areas (SAHRA), and an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Hydrology and Water Resources at the University of Arizona. He has over 25 peer-reviewed publications covering many areas of environmental geochemistry and hydrology. He has a Ph.D. in Earth Sciences from Dartmouth College and a B.S. in Geochemistry from Bates College.
Michael Johnson
Mike Johnson has been Chief of the Hydrology Bureau at the New Mexico Office of the State Engineer since 2006, where he serves as a lead technical adviser to the State Engineer and heads a professional team of nine hydrologists. Prior to becoming chief, Mike worked seven years as a hydrologist in the bureau, conducting hydrologic data collection, analyses and modeling in support of water rights administration and management in New Mexico. Before joining OSE in 1999 Mike worked as a hydrogeologist with the Navajo Nation Water Resources Department and in consulting. Mike has B.S. and M.S. degrees in geology and is a registered Professional Geologist with 22 years of experience as a hydrogeologist in the southwestern U.S.
Peggy Johnson
Peggy Johnson is a Principal Hydrogeologist with the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources in Socorro, New Mexico. She received her M.S. in hydrology from New Mexico Tech in 1990, and her B.S. in geology from Boise State University at Boise, Idaho in 1987. Her research interests focus on integrating geology, hydrology and geochemical tracers of water flow to characterize basin-scale flow systems. Ms. Johnson has 25 years of experience in applied research of the hydrogeology of New Mexico. She has completed numerous hydrogeologic studies in the northern Rio Grande rift, including the Placitas area, the southern Española Basin, and throughout Taos County, with a view toward supporting informed development of groundwater resources.
J. Phillip King
J. Phillip King, P.E., Ph.D., is Associate Professor and Associate Department Head, Department of Civil Engineering and Associate Director, Institute for Energy and the Environment, at New Mexico State University. He specializes in civil (water resources) and agricultural engineering and teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in computing, water resources engineering, irrigation and drainage, hydraulics, hydrology, geohydrology, hydraulic structures, construction, and engineering economics. Phil’s research includes applied and basic projects on water use optimization, consumptive use, conservation, water resource planning and management, international development, and transboundary water issues. Since 1991 he has been a consulting engineer with projects on irrigation design, evaluation, and operation, evapotranspiration estimation, canal instrumentation, water quality monitoring, design of hydraulic structures and systems, erosion/sedimentation analysis and control, groundwater modeling, flood modeling and analysis, nonpoint source pollution control, domestic water supply analysis, water conservation planning and evaluation, training, and expert services in support of legislation, litigation, and negotiation. Phil has a BS in civil engineering from Berkeley, an MS in agricultural engineering from Colorado State University, an MBA from New Mexico State University, and a Ph.D. in agricultural engineering.
Eddie C. Livingston
Eddie C. Livingston, P.E. is President of Livingston Associates water resources consulting engineering firm in Alamogordo, NM. He is a professional engineer with 30 years of experience in water resources planning, supply and treatment. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from New Mexico State University and a Master of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of New Mexico. Mr. Livingston has been the consultant on a number of innovative water supply projects locally and abroad, which have included water treatment, water reuse, desalination and aquifer storage.
Adrian Oglesby
As the Director of the Utton Transboundary Resources Center at the UNM School of Law, Adrian works to develop meaningful legal and policy solutions for natural resource challenges facing New Mexico. Before graduating from the UNM School of Law, Adrian managed environmental cleanup projects. He has since run a successful law firm that provided legal counsel to tribes, farmers, and NGOs on water and environmental issues. He also represented the New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission on the Pecos River and he established and managed a river protection program for The Nature Conservancy in New Mexico. He is currently the Vice Chairman of the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District Board of Directors, President of the New Mexico Riparian Council, Chair-Elect of the Natural Resource Section of the State Bar, Chairman of the Mid-Region Council of Government’s Water Resource Board, and a member of the Tamarisk Coalition’s Board of Directors.
Mary “Kay” Papen
Mary “Kay” Papen is a democratic member of the New Mexico Senate representing the 38th District in Doña Ana County since 2001. She is the current President pro tempore of the Senate being sworn in on January 15, 2013. She studied history at the University of Colorado, has a BS in horticulture and completed master’s coursework from NMSU. Currently, Senator Papen is a member of the Mesilla Valley Rotary Club, board member of First Step Center and co-chair of First Step Capital Campaign. She is also on NMSU’s Health Sciences Advisory Board and board member St. Luke’s Clinic. Her legislative positions include; past vice-chair of the Senate Education Committee and past chair of the Water and Natural Resources Sub-Committee on Water Adjudication. Current positions include Chair of the New Mexico Finance Committee Oversight Committee, member of the Senate Finance Committee, and chair of the Health and Human Services Sub-Committee on Behavioral Health.
Fred Phillips
Fred Phillips is a professor of hydrology and director of the Hydrology Program at New Mexico Tech. He joined the university in 1981 after completing a PhD in hydrology from the University of Arizona. Fred also has an MS in hydrology from UA as well as a BA in history from the University of Santa Cruz. His scientific interest lies within the area where hydrology, geochemistry, and geology overlap. Fred has focused on the effects of climate change on the hydrologic cycle and the influence of the hydrologic properties of geologic materials on the transport of solutes in groundwater and soil water. His favorite tools for these investigations are stable and radioactive isotope techniques. Fred was elected into the American Geophysical Union in 2008 and in 2007, he was elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Lee A. Reynis
Dr. Lee A. Reynis is a Research Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of New Mexico and the former Director of the UNM Bureau of Business and Economic Research. Dr. Reynis has been a close observer of the New Mexico economy for more than 30 years and participates in the process of developing BBER’s consensus forecast using the FOR-UNM model.
Dr. Reynis continues to be very involved in the research efforts of BBER where she has served as the principal investigator on a number of projects. She is currently working with other BBER staff and students to analyze the economic impacts of climate variability and drought as BBER’s contribution to a Legislative appropriation. She is also heading up an analysis requested by the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District of their finances and options. And she is also leading up an effort to analyzing the results of a UNM faculty survey on work-life balance.
Before joining the BBER staff as Associate Director in 1998, she was the City Economist for the City of Albuquerque. Prior to working for the City, she worked as an economic analyst and then as the Chief Economist for the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration in Santa Fe. Dr. Reynis has taught a number of courses over the years at the University of New Mexico and was formerly on the faculty at the University of Utah. She holds an M.A. and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Michigan.
Lucia Sanchez
Lucia Sanchez is a native of Alcalde, New Mexico. Like several generations before her, Lucia is a farmer who raises many traditional agricultural crops and livestock with her family. For the past ten years, Lucia has served her traditional community irrigation system as an elected official on Acequia De Alcalde commission. The Acequia De Alcalde is one of many centuries-old irrigation and water governances systems in New Mexico. Lucia currently works for the County of Rio Arriba as the Director of the Planning and Zoning. For Lucia, no one-day is ever alike. Her responsibilities range from the oversight of technical and clerical personnel to the administration of the various codes and ordinances related to land use planning in the County. Lucia’s earned degrees include a 2004 B.A. in Anthropology and a 2004 B.A. in Spanish from the University of New Mexico. Most recently in April of 2014, Lucia was selected by the New Mexico Floodplain Manager’s Association as Floodplain Manager of the Year for outstanding dedication and achievements displayed in floodplain management issues to better serve the citizens of Rio Arriba County. In addition to her work for the acequia and Rio Arriba County, Lucia passions include advocating for the protection of irrigated agricultural lands, beekeeping, traveling and teaching her young nephew about traditional agricultural practices.
Tom Schmugge
Tom Schmugge is a volunteer senior scientist at NM WRRI and is working on the institute’s new initiative on developing a statewide water assessment. His expertise includes microwave and infrared remote sensing of the land surface. Formerly he was the Gerald Thomas Professor of Natural Resources at New Mexico State University. Tom served 33 years with NASA and the USDA Agriculture Research Service using satellite observations for Earth surface studies. He is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union, from which he received the Union’s Horton Metal in 2006. He received a PhD in physics from the University of California at Berkeley.
John Stomp
John Stomp is the Chief Operating Officer for the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority. He is responsible for managing the operations of the water and wastewater utility that provides service to more than 650,000 residents and businesses in the metropolitan area. John has been involved with water issues in NM and the Western U.S. for more than 25 years and is currently participating in the Bureau of Reclamations Colorado River Assessment Team. He is a native New Mexican and holds a holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from the University of New Mexico. John is also a registered professional Engineer in New Mexico and is certified as a Level IV Water and Wastewater Operator.
Stacy Timmons
Stacy Timmons manages the Aquifer Mapping Program at the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources at New Mexico Tech, in Socorro. Working with the Aquifer Mapping Program, she has been involved with several large-scale, long-term hydrogeologic studies focused on geologic influences on recharge, and groundwater movement and occurrence. Stacy has worked in diverse locations over New Mexico, including the San Agustin Plains, Magdalena, northeastern Tularosa Basin, Truth or Consequences hot springs district, La Cienega wetlands, and southern Sacramento Mountains. She has managed the Aquifer Mapping Program since 2013. This program aims to combine geologic, hydrologic, geochemical, and geophysical data to develop regional conceptual models to describe groundwater flow within aquifers in New Mexico. This work serves the state of New Mexico by providing publicly available reports and data that can be applied to decision-making and water resource planning. Stacy has BS and MS degrees in geology and has worked in hydrogeology for the Bureau of Geology since 2004. Prior to working at the Bureau of Geology, Stacy worked in environmental, groundwater, and surface water consulting in New Mexico.
