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STAFF
Zack
Shelley, Program
Director
As the Forum's Program Director, Zack coordinates the
Forum’s water quality monitoring and assessment
programs, data analysis, and reporting strategies.
Before moving to Colorado in September 2006, Zack
worked for the Florida Department of Environmental
Protection (FDEP) in their Watershed Assessment
Section. With FDEP, he developed sampling and
analysis plans and conducted intensive field surveys
of fresh and marine surface waterbodies and watersheds
to determine potential impairment and corrective
solutions/practices. In this capacity, he became
familiar with water quality analyses, compliance
with federal and state water quality standards,
and the development of Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs)
under the Clean Water Act and Florida Watershed
Restoration Act. Zack’s educational background
includes a M.S. in Environmental Science and Policy
from Johns Hopkins University and a M.S. in Health and
Safety Management from West Virginia University. Zack
resides in Loveland with his wife and daughter.
Tim
Schmitt, Watershed Specialist
As
the watershed specialist, Tim calibrates and
maintains water quality
sampling
equipment and prepares field kits
for the
Forum's USEPA Volunteer Monitoring Program.
Since June of 1998, Tim has worked full time as a technical advisor
and trainer for Hach Company, a manufacturer of equipment and
reagents for water quality testing. At Hach Company he has worked
with a broad range of equipment used for sampling and analyzing
water and as a trainer for other companies to utilize analytical
laboratory equipment, use proper analytical techniques, as well as
troubleshooting analytical procedures and equipment problems. Prior
to moving to Colorado in 1997, Tim worked as a Wetlands Biologist
for an environmental consulting firm in Nebraska, as well as working
on a variety of limnology and water quality related projects as a
research aide at the University of Nebraska. Tim graduated from the
University of Nebraska – Lincoln, with a M.S. in Forestry, Fisheries
and Wildlife, and a B.S. in Natural Resources – Water Sciences. Tim
currently serves as the President of the Board for the Spring Canyon
Water and Sanitation District, and has served on the Board since
2002. Tim resides in Fort Collins with
his wife, daughter and son.
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS
John Matis,
Chairman of the Board
John served as geologist &
hydrologist, environmental scientist, and manager in organizations
dealing with pollution control & waste disposal operations; energy
and mineral development; and environmental impact analysis. He
served as Associate Director of the Colorado Alliance for Science
while on loan from the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM); and
concurrently served as Regional Education Officer for the US
Department of the Interior at the Colorado School of Mines. He was
assigned as BLM HAZMAT Program Lead in Denver, and subsequently
served as Group Supervisor for Information & Communications Group
with the National Applied Resource Sciences Center. He chaired
National Recruitment Team for the BLM; served as primary BLM Lead
and Coordinator for Tribal College programs; and served as SW
Regional Recruiter for the BLM in Santa Fe, NM. Completed Federal
Service with BLM in Santa Fe as Special Projects Officer & Geologist
for the NM BLM Division of Mineral Resources. John also served as
Faculty with the University of New Mexico, University College
Sophomore Seminar Program; and served as Treasurer & Hydrogeologist
for the Eldorado Area Water & Sanitation District (Santa Fe, NM).
Greg
Dewey, Vice-Chairman of the Board
Greg is a Civil Engineer with the City
of Loveland, Department of Water and Power. Greg completed his B.S.
Degree in Civil Engineering in 1992 from Colorado School of Mines,
and is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Colorado.
He has worked in both the public and private sectors. His variety of
water quality and water resources project experience includes the
fields of hydrology, water rights administration and engineering,
water quality permitting, water resources planning and management,
water and wastewater treatment, and endangered species issues. Greg
is one of the City’s liaisons to the ditch companies in the Big
Thompson watershed, primarily because of the City’s ownership
interests in many of these ditches. Greg was raised in rural Weld
County, and attended schools in Kersey, Colorado. His parents
continue to farm ground which has been in the family for over a
hundred years. Greg resides in Loveland with his wife and two daughters.
Gabrielle
(Gabri) Vergara, Secretary to the Board
Gabrielle (Gabri) graduated from the University of Northern Colorado
in 1994 with a Masters in Public Health.
She lives in Greeley with her husband and two children.
Gabri has been an employee with the Weld County Department of Public
Health and Environment for the last
11 years. As the Solid & Hazardous Waste Education Specialist
she works with the community in addressing the detrimental affects
of improper disposal of solid and hazardous waste to the environment
and humans. This includes the promotion and marketing of Weld
County’s two household hazardous waste facilities and providing
presentations to community groups to create a greater awareness of
this issue. Gabri has participated in the Big Thompson Watershed
Forum
since 2003 as a board alternate and, most
recently, as a regular board member, representing Weld County.
Gabri is also a board member of the Big Dry Creek Watershed.
Ed Young
Ed graduated from the University of Northern Colorado in 1970
with a B.A. in Biology and Chemistry teaching. He has been in the
Water Treatment field since beginning as an Operator Trainee in Salt
Lake City in December 1972. After working in the Tri-Districts and
Loveland Water Plants, he presently holds the position of Plant
Superintendent of Greeley’s Boyd Lake Water Treatment Plant. In the
1980's, Ed served as an instructor and advisory board member of the
Larimer County Vo-Tech Water Operator's training course and was an
instructor in the Colorado Operator's Training Course held annually
in Boulder. For stress relief, Ed is involved in three local bands
as well as being active in his church. Ed lives in Loveland with his
very patient wife. His three grandchildren keep "Poppa" from getting too bored. Ed is a
founding Director of the Big Thompson Watershed Forum, and has
served on the Board since 1997.
John
Fraser
John retired in 1994
from the United States Air Force where he served for over 27 years
as a Civil Engineering Officer. His Air Force responsibilities
included facility maintenance, construction and all aspects of
physical plant management, including water, wastewater, electrical
power, and steam generation facilities. He is currently
employed part time by Weston Solutions, Inc. as the Quality and
Training Manager for their construction service line. John is
a fly fishing guide with Great Western Fly Fishing Company, North
Poudre Irrigation Company stockholder, and Board member for the
Rocky Mountain Flycasters Chapter of Trout Unlimited. He
believes available clean water in acceptable quantities is the most
significant consideration in development of the Front Range.
John works out of his home in Fort Collins.
Esther
Vincent
Esther is the Water
Quality Manager with the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy
District in Berthoud, Colorado. She completed her Masters degree in
Civil Engineering in 1999 from the National Superior School of
Hydraulics and Mechanics of Grenoble, France and is a registered
Professional Engineering in the State of Colorado. She has been with
Northern Water since 1999 where she started as an intern working on
water resources planning and forecasting. Her responsibilities then
expanded to the areas of water quality and water conservation. She
now manages the District water quality program and leads its water
conservation team. Esther is also on the board of the Grand County
Water Information Network and the Colorado Water Wise Council.
Esther was born and grew up in Paris, France and went to college in
the French Alps where she became an avid skier.
Esther resides in Old Town, Fort
Collins with her
son.
Judy Billica, PhD
Judy is the Senior
Process Engineer/Watershed Manager at the City of Fort Collins Water
Treatment Facility. Judy has worked for the City of Fort Collins
since 1998. Prior to that, she worked for consulting firms in Fort
Collins and California, starting with her first consulting position
in 1980 with HDR in Santa Barbara. During Judy’s professional
career, she has worked on a wide range of water quality-related
projects, including managing, designing and conducting water quality
studies of watershed and ground water systems; designing water and
wastewater treatment processes; conducting drinking water treatment
process optimization studies; conducting pilot-scale studies for TOC
removal during water treatment; and developing numerical models,
conducting experiments, and performing tracer tests to better
understand the movement of water and contaminants through natural
and engineered systems. Judy received her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in
Civil Engineering from Colorado State University and her B.S. degree
from the University of California at Davis. She is a registered
Professional Engineer in Colorado.
John Bartholow
John recently
retired with over 30 years of service with the U.S. Geological
Survey's Biological Resource Division in Fort Collins. At the USGS,
John's responsibilities included designing, developing, testing, and
transferring methods to assess the impacts of water development
activities on aquatic ecosystems nationwide. Recent projects
included the development of a decision support system for the
Klamath River in Oregon and California, development of a salmon
population model for evaluating water management alternatives,
enhancement of stream temperature models, and providing expert
advice to field personnel. John has been involved in many peer
review activities including water temperature standards for the EPA
and TMDL margin of safety requirements. He has been a Faculty
Affiliate at Colorado State University and chair of the Larimer
County Environmental Advisory Board. John currently serves as an
advisor on the City of Fort Collins Water Board.
John's family resides in Fort Collins.....he
is an empty nester and gets invigorated taking
landscape photos.
Rosemarie
(Rosie) Pindilli
Rosie is the Water Quality Compliance
Manager for the Tri-Districts and Soldier Canyon Filter Plant. She
has a Bachelors degree in Environmental Planning and Management,
with concentration in water quality, from the State University of
New York at Plattsburgh. She also has an Associates degree in
Business Management. Rosie has 16 years of experience in the water
treatment field, employed eight years with the Cheyenne Board of
Public Utilities and eight years with Soldier Canyon Filter Plant.
She holds the highest-level certification for a WTP Operator in
both Wyoming and Colorado with over 10 years of operating experience
and six years of management/regulatory experience. She has led
pilot studies on many different water treatment processes. She has
managed water treatment labs and has been the person responsible for
all regulatory compliance issues related to drinking water. Rosie
has also organized, developed, and implemented a
watershed-monitoring program for Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Charles Olmsted,
PhD
Dr. Olmsted retired from the
University of Northern Colorado after 26 years of directing the
Environmental Studies Program and teaching courses that focused on
how people interact with and depend on the natural world for their
long-term welfare. He received his undergraduate Biology degree
from Earlham College, a M.S. in Physiological Plant Ecology from the
University of Oklahoma and a Ph.D. in Ecosystem Ecology from the
University of Colorado. His research interests have emphasized the
maintenance of constrained natural ecosystems and how humans can use
ecological principles to develop more sustainable patterns of
living. He has a long history of involvement with conservation work
and environmental education and has served on the Boards of
Directors of the Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education, the
Colorado Wildlife Federation, the High Plains Environmental Center
at Centerra, the Colorado Native Plant Society, Defenders of
Wildlife, and the National Wildlife Federation. His interests and
involvement with the Big Thompson watershed and its resources span a
variety of uses and locations. These include directing research on
social trails in upper Forest Canyon and wildlife and tourism
impacts in the lower meadows of the Park, fishing the reaches
between RMNP and Drake, keeping a sailboat at Carter Lake, domestic
use of the BT water supplied by CWCWD for drinking, cooking, etc.,
and viewing the lower floodplain as a major aesthetic component of
the view from the passive solar house he and his family constructed
near the confluence with the South Platte.
Al Paquet
Al
is a Senior Project Manager for CH2M HILL INC., with
19 years of experience as a civil engineer
specializing in planning, design, and construction
management to support water and wastewater treatment
facilities. Al has worked on a broad variety of
projects throughout Northern Colorado and the
Southwest that address customer water quality concerns
as well as compliance with State and Federal
regulations for drinking water, reclaimed water,
groundwater recharge, and treated wastewater effluent
discharges. He has worked closely with local
utilities to consider watershed and receiving stream
water quality in providing sustainable solutions that
meet project objectives and regulatory compliance. Al
was the former Special Projects Manager for the City
of Loveland Water Utilities Group, responsible for
management of capital improvement projects for the
City's water and wastewater treatment facilities. He
has a Bachelor of Science degree from Northeastern
University, Boston, MA, and is a registered
Professional Engineer in Colorado and California. Al
is a resident of Windsor, CO, and enjoys spending time
outdoors with his wife and three sons.
Forum Volunteers
Pictured left to right: Scott Cornell, Chris
Stewart, Kelsey McCarty, Fred Renner, Erik Anglund,
Bob Alexander, Charlie Ferrantelli, Jen Stephenson,
Eddie Trevino & Tim Schmitt. Not pictured:
Tracy Phelps-Emmanuel.
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