Tuesday, June 13, 2023
Dr. Crystal Tulley-Cordova, PhD, MWR (Diné) is a Principal Hydrologist in the Navajo Nation Department of Water Resources – Water Management Branch. Her work focuses on closing the clean water access gap in the Navajo Nation through regional water supply development, diversifying the Navajo Nation’s water portfolio and protecting the Navajo Nation’s water future by implementing water settlement projects. Her research interests include learning more about the Navajo Nation water budget, namely the interactions of precipitation, surface, and ground waters, and the nexus with Navajo communities. She has worked collaboratively with Navajo Nation partners on water-related projects since 2013. Her past research consisted of three projects conducted in collaboration with the Navajo Nation Water Management Branch, Navajo Tribal Utility Authority, and Navajo Environmental Protection Agency; they are entitled (1) Navajo Nation, USA, Precipitation Variability from 2002 to 2015, (2) Stable isotopes in precipitation and associated waters: Recording the North American monsoon in Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah, and (3) Groundwater sustainability and susceptibility to modern contamination in Fort Defiance, AZ. She received a doctoral degree in Geology and an Interdisciplinary Graduate Certificate in Sustainability from the University of Utah. She has received a Master of Water Resources in Hydroscience and a Bachelor of Science in Earth and Planetary Sciences from the University of New Mexico. In 2021, she was awarded the Professional of Year Award from the American Indian Science and Engineering Society and the University of Arizona Agnese Nelms Haury Program’s Tribal Resilience Leadership Award. Learn more.
Dr. Jason Robison is a Professor of Law at the University of Wyoming College of Law, as well as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Wyoming Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources. Dr. Robison completed his S.J.D. at Harvard University, focusing his dissertation on the “Law of the River” within the Colorado River Basin, and serving as a fellow for the Harvard Water Security Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School, and Colorado River Governance Initiative at the University of Colorado. Dr. Robison has also earned an LL.M. from Harvard University, a J.D. from the University of Oregon, and a B.S. in environmental studies from the University of Utah. His research focuses mainly on transboundary water law and policy, as well as the nexus between water law and policy and Indigenous Peoples, encompassing domestic, comparative, and international projects within these areas. Dr. Robison is the editor of the Colorado River Compact centennial volume, Cornerstone at the Confluence: Navigating the Colorado River Compact’s Next Century (link), and the lead editor of the 1869 Powell Expedition sesquicentennial volume, Vision & Place: John Wesley Powell & Reimagining the Colorado River Basin (link). He is also the author of the treatise, Law of Water Rights & Resources, and various articles, essays, and chapters on water law and policy in western North America and abroad. Dr. Robison serves as the chair of the Colorado River Research Group and as a member of the Leadership Team of the Water & Tribes Initiative in the Colorado River Basin. Learn more.
Wednesday, June 14, 2023
Dr. David R. DeWalle is an Emeritus Professor of Forest Hydrology at the Pennsylvania State University with the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management. He earned his B.S. and M.S. degrees in forest resources from University of Missouri and Ph. D. in 1969 from Colorado State University in watershed science. At Penn State he taught courses in watershed management, snow hydrology and forest microclimatology. He served as major thesis advisor to over 50 M.S. and Ph. D. students. Dr. DeWalle’s research covered a broad range of topics related to forest hydrology and ecosystem health including impacts of acidic atmospheric deposition. Along with faculty colleagues he conducted field studies that provided early evidence that acidic deposition was leading to episodic acidification of Appalachian mountain streams and mortality of native brook trout. Teaching and research experiences led to publication of numerous papers, books, and reports authored by Dr. DeWalle. He participated in research collaboration and book writing while on sabbatical leaves at the University of Canterbury, NZ; University of East Anglia, UK; and USDA-ARS in MD and NM. During his career Dr. DeWalle also served in several other professional capacities including Director of the Pennsylvania Water Resources Research Center, advisor of the Penn State AWRA award-winning student chapter and national AWRA President in 2006. Learn more.
Dr. Emile Elias is a Research Hydrologist with the USDA Agricultural Research Service and Director at the USDA Southwest Climate Hub. She holds a MS in Watershed Science from Colorado State University and a PhD in Hydrology from Auburn University. Her research interests include land use and climate change impacts on hydrology, water quality and agricultural communities in the Southwestern United States. Emile collaborates with partners to study and report on the impacts of regional changes on water resources, agriculture and interconnected communities reliant on these resources. This includes publishing in traditional peer-reviewed scientific journals, developing tools for informed decision-making and managing science synthesis projects. She has reported on the impacts of climate change on snowmelt runoff in western streams and the cumulative impacts of these changes. She is serving as one of the authors on the Southwestern Chapter of the 4th National Climate Assessment. When not studying water, she likes to play on, in and around lakes, streams and rivers with her family. Learn more.
Thursday, June 15, 2023
Dr. Jeffrey Basara serves as the Executive Associate Director of the Hydrology and Water Security Program at the University of Oklahoma and is an Associate Professor at the University of Oklahoma with a joint appointment between the School of Meteorology and the School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science. His research is focused on the complex integrated processes across weather, climate, water, and ecosystems with specific attention directed toward precipitation extremes and associated impacts. He is a Kavli Fellow of the United States National Academy of Sciences and has received multiple research awards including the Research, Education, and Economics (REE) Under Secretary’s Award in 2019 from the USDA. He received a bachelor’s degree in Atmospheric Science from Purdue University 1995 along with both a master’s degree and Ph.D. in Meteorology from the University of Oklahoma in 1998 and 2001 respectively. Learn more.
Kevin F. O’Donnell is a global sustainability executive who delivers results at the intersection between profit, purpose, people and planet. Kevin’s career spans leadership roles with marquee Fortune 200 companies (>16 years with Nike + General Mills), venture capital, cooperatives, consultancies and the public sector driving industry- leading results in sustainability and regeneration across diverse sectors. His industry experience includes a range of consumer products and global commodities delivering differential economic, environmental and social impact. Kevin brings thought leadership and expertise in global sustainable supply chains, production, operations, innovation, circularity, packaging, business integration, external stakeholder relations, ESG investor engagement as well as elevating organizational reputation with raters and rankers. He’s successfully led next-level strategy development and execution against groundbreaking public targets in the areas of sustainable ingredient sourcing, full value-chain GHG reduction, and regenerative agriculture. Kevin has extensive global sustainability and sourcing experience in 25 countries across five continents. Expatriate postings and wide-ranging travel to key ingredient sourcing locations, consumer markets and manufacturing bases have been the cornerstone for the world-wide lens he brings to sustainability/ESG issues and solutions. Learn more.
