2017 NGWS Presenter Info

Reese Baker

Reese served on the Board of Directors for the Santa Fe Watershed Association and the City of Santa Fe Water Conservation Committee. He has taught many classes on water harvesting, permaculture, and erosion control at Ecoversity, Plants of the Southwest, Santa Fe Preparatory School, Quivira Coalition, Earthworks Institute, Arboretum Tome, Permaculture Institute and Santa Fe Community College, Santa Fe Botanical Gardens, Santa Fe Master Gardeners, and the Association for Professional Landscape Designers.

Since 2008, he has served as Program Chair for the WaterSmart Innovations Conference, the world’s largest professional event dedicated to urban water efficiency. He served for five years as a water efficiency technical advisor to the U.S. Green Building Council. Bennett holds a bachelor of arts in agriculture and a master of arts in business and personnel management from New Mexico State University.

Ms. Borchert received her MS degree from UNM’s Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences in 2002, and a bachelor’s degree in geology from Amherst College in 1990.

She is a graduate of New Mexico State University (B.S. in Environmental Science and M.S. in Biology).

From the early 1990s to the present, Faren has continued to evolve his sustainable building practices, application of renewable energy and environmental educational outreach through his building models, articles, TV and radio shows, public appearances, classes and seminars. He is Past Chair of the Santa Fe Green Building Council, former co-chair of LEED for Homes New Mexico, Past President of the Santa Fe Area Home Builders Association and former member of the Sustainable Santa Fe Commission.

Faren’s award winning, leading edge, residential building models include net-zero energy, net-zero water and zero carbon, along with the highest green building certifications of LEED for Homes “Platinum” and Build Green New Mexico “Emerald.”

Mr. Dancer co-authored the Santa Fe Building Codes and has spearheaded New Mexico State legislation for Home Owner Association regulation regarding solar and water rights. He also emerged as a national force for energy efficiency and sustainable building practices, speaking on Capitol Hill and the National Press Club representing the grassroots of the sustainability movement. His testimony at National Code hearings, along with his net-zero building models, brought a 2009 nomination for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Jeffrey A. Johnson Award for Excellence in Building Energy Codes and Performance. His upcoming book, “The Emerald Home… Our Cultural Shift to Sustainable Values,” will be released through Schiffer Publishing in 2018.

Prior to joining the Alliance in July of 2007, Mary Ann was Executive Director of the California Urban Water Conservation Council, a non-profit organization composed of urban water supply agencies, environmental groups, and other entities managing statewide water conservation in California and implementing the nation’s first set of Best Management Practices.

Mary Ann has over 40 years of experience, having worked at the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority, and the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection.

A graduate of the University of Connecticut with a degree in environmental planning, Mary Ann has authored numerous publications on water conservation, land use planning, and natural resources management, and has co-produced two films which have aired on public television and community cable stations. Mary Ann is currently Chair of the Efficient Urban Water Management Specialist Group for the International Water Association, past Chair of the American Water Works Association National Water Conservation Division, past President of the California Irrigation Institute, past President of the Lake Arrowhead Community Services District, and currently serves as a Board member of the Green Building Initiative, Texas Water Foundation, and River Network. Mary Ann has presented numerous papers on water conservation internationally and all across the United States and Canada.

David’s primary role is the Director of Operations for Baywa r.e. Solar Systems, LLC, a distributor of Solar PV equipment and supplies to the Americas. Serving the local and regional installers of both residential and commercial PV systems, he supports all of the day to day operational and supply chain logistics for distribution, bringing globally manufactured equipment to the North American market.

Before joining BayWa r.e., David wore the various hats of Senior Project Manager, Estimator, and Assistant Designer for a multiple award winning custom design/build firm in Santa Fe NM. He is also a trained HERs rater and green verifier. David is passionate about green building and renewable energy and has been a strong advocate for PV, solar thermal, water conservation and using green building practices in all the homes he built over 16 years. He also worked for the West Region Energy team at Honeywell Building Solutions, selling energy and water efficiency upgrade projects in the public sector.

Sandra holds a B.S. in Conservation and Resource Sciences from the University of California at Berkeley, a B.S. in Nursing from Creighton University and a M.S. in Environmental Studies from the University of Oregon.

Kyle has advised clients and litigated on their behalf on land & water law regulation and policy issues throughout New Mexico. He also drafts regulations and policy for clients. He has authored numerous articles on water resource issues and lectured on land use & water law. Kyle represents public, private, nonprofit and governmental clients, in water and natural resource issues, including special master assignments and expert witness services.

Kyle received recognition as a New Mexico State Bar Board Certified Specialist in Natural Resource Law – Water Law in 2013. Kyle was certified as an instructor for the New Mexico Real Estate Commission in 2012 and has taught classes in water law to hundreds of real estate professionals. Kyle is a former board member and chair of the New Mexico State Bar Natural Resources, Environment and Energy Law (NREEL) Section.

Tom is a recognized California and western regional expert in the public interest water law niche of voluntary water right transactions and instream transfers. His client work also includes prominent pro bono public interest advocacy related to the 2014 California Water Bond (Prop One), including written comments and testimony at public hearings before the state agencies and projects that enhance stream flow. He specially represents Trout Unlimited’s Western Water Project on the federal tax deductibility of gifts of appropriative water rights.

Before law school, Tom was an energy and water policy analyst at the Natural Heritage Institute and the founder and Executive Director of the Headwaters Institute. He has interned at the San Francisco Office of the City Attorney, California State Water Resources Control Board, and American Rivers. Tom founded and chaired the inaugural California Water Law Symposium sponsored by leading northern California law schools and is a Board member. He is the author of the Water Education Foundation Layperson’s Guide to Water Rights Law, recognized as the most thorough explanation of California water rights law available to non-lawyers. Tom is a former Rio Grande and Taos Box whitewater raft guide, kayaker, and Colorado Outward Bound School instructor. He holds a JD from the University of San Francisco School of Law and a BA from the University of Vermont.

He holds a Ph.D. from Iowa State University.  Dr. St. Hilaire’s research focuses on plant stress physiology, the development of tools that promote efficient water use in residential landscapes, and mapping and categorizing land cover in urban ecosystems.  He is the author of the book “Landscape Plants for the Lower Rio Grande Valley” and has published over 126 papers in scientific journals and in the popular press. He has won awards for both his teaching and research and is the originator of the Mesa Glow™ bigtooth maple tree.

In addition, Regina is an executive board member of the California Water Reuse Policy Council. Regina Hirsch’s goal is to focus on integrated, collaborative appropriate decision making when it comes to water, energy, plants, soils and most of all, community.

Water has always been one of the most important issues in the County. When the Buckman Direct Diversion (BDD) water treatment plant was completed, the County Water Utility was created and began to serve customers in the unincorporated areas of the County near the City of Santa Fe. Kathy served on the BDD Board for two years (2012 – 2013) as co-chair and chair of the Board. Kathy was also involved with setting policies and developing funding for extending the County water system into the more rural areas of the County where there are problems with water quality and/or quantity. She also was a co-chair of the Steering Committee that was formed in 2015 to update the Jemez y Sangre Regional Water Plan — a state-directed effort through the Interstate Stream Commission.

Kathy currently serves on the boards for three different non-profits: the Santa Fe Conservation Trust, the Forest Stewards Guild, and the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market Institute. All three organizations are concerned about water supply in our area in various ways.

On the home front, Kathy and her husband live on Glorieta Mesa, where their entire water supply is from captured rainwater. Off the roof of the house, they collect water that goes into 10,000 gallons of storage in underground cisterns, sufficient for their own domestic use. In addition, they collect 900 gallons of water into two tanks near the horse barn and garage for their two horses, garden, and expanding orchard.

Peter also serves as a City of Santa Fe Councilor from District 2 and was selected by Major Javier Gonzales to serve as his initial Mayor Pro Tem. Having successfully sought re-election, Peter now serves on the Public Works Committee; he chairs the Water Conservation Committee, is a member of the Finance Committee, is an Alternate Director of the Coalition of LANL Communities, a member of the Santa Fe Health Care and Hospital Study Group. He also serves as Parliamentarian for the City Council. Peter looks to Santa Fe’s Sustainable Future as a guiding principle, acknowledges the deep ties between its diverse cultures and respects and honors the historical richness that defines the City. Peter sees Santa Fe as a community that lives intentionally, in which real efforts are made to respect each other and the community.

Peter has practiced law in Santa Fe, New Mexico for 33 years and for the last 18 of those as Senior Counsel at The Trust for Public Land. Working in TPL’s Santa Fe Office, Peter works primarily in New Mexico, Colorado and Arizona, as well as work for TPL’s Geographic Information Systems division. During his tenure with TPL, Peter has worked on and facilitated the closing of hundreds of conservation transactions. The work has involved extensive work with private land owners to accomplish their financial and conservation goals, private, federal, state and local agencies and funding and work with conservation buyers, dealing with fee and less than fee (conservation easements) interests.

As BAWSCA’s CEO, Art:

·        Pursued six pieces of state legislation that were approved by the legislature and signed by the governor

·        Ensured San Francisco adopted and implemented a $4.6 billion program to rebuild the San Francisco Regional Water System

·        Initiated and negotiated a 25-year water supply agreement with San Francisco with, and on behalf of the 26 cities, water districts and investor-owned water companies that serve people outside San Francisco

·        Issued $313 million in revenue bonds to prepay debt owed to San Francisco, saving water customers $62 million

·        Oversaw regional water conservation programs including rebate, efficient and native landscaping, and educational programs

Art served for six years as the deputy and acting general manager of the San Francisco Water Department. Prior to working for San Francisco, Art worked with a consulting firm on the San Francisco water system and other water and wastewater systems. Art taught hydrology and hydraulics courses at Stanford and the UC Berkeley. He earned his Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering Science at the California Institute of Technology.

Aaron completed his undergraduate degree in Ecological Studies at Seattle University and a received a Master of Science in Watershed Hydrology and Management from the University of Arizona.

Established in 2000, SIP is a design and installation company focused on water catchment, grey water systems, native and edible plant landscapes, erosion control, and land restoration. Prior to establishing SIP, Jeremiah was a partner at Living Structures, Inc., a permaculture-based design/installation green building firm in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

He began his career working in Santa Barbara, CA where he gained valuable experience in site civil engineering, land development, surveying and environmental planning. The first at this firm to obtain both Professional Licensure and LEED accreditation, Mr. Lyon designed water, sewer, storm drain, grading and drainage, erosion control and tentative map plans in addition to environmental permitting and impact assessments.

To focus on more progressive and sustainable projects, specifically in an international setting, Mr. Lyon established his own consulting firm in Nicaragua, where he specialized in environmentally conscious projects such as off-grid housing, sustainable site development, recycled material retaining walls, eco-lodges, decommissioned shipping container hostels, and organic farm site management.

Now an Associate Civil and Environmental Engineer with Biohabitats, Mr. Lyon has worked on integrated water strategies and site civil projects at both a master plan level through detailed construction documents, which serve as leading examples of both engineering and environmental stewardship.  These projects often involve wastewater reuse, greywater recycling, rainwater harvesting, and other methods of efficiently, and often naturally, collecting, treating and reusing our most precious resource. His project experience ranges from small affordable housing complexes to Embassies and technology campuses in Silicon Valley.

Mazria issued the 2030 Challenge and introduced the 2030 Palette, a revolutionary new platform that puts the principles behind low-carbon/zero carbon and resilient built environments at the fingertips of architects, planners, and designers worldwide. In 2014, he presented the Roadmap to Zero Emissions at the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development and UN Framework Convention on Climate Change calling for zero emissions in the built environment by 2050, and drafted the 2050 Imperative, endorsed by professional organizations representing over 1.3 million architects in 124 countries worldwide.

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In July 2016, Melissa submitted a report to the City Council and the Mayor titled, “An Infiltration Model for Enhanced Stormwater Management.” Upon the governing body’s approval of that report, she began the process of updating the City’s 20-year-old Stormwater Management Plan. By October, the City was chosen to be one of only five cities in the nation to work with the EPA on a new web-based tool designed to assist communities as they update their stormwater management plans.

She holds a degree with honors in Landscape Architecture from Virginia Tech and is a licensed Landscape Architect who spent much of her career in the private sector with Santa Fe Permaculture and PermaDesign. In 2003, Melissa worked with the New Mexico legislature and numerous state officials to pass New Mexico’s groundbreaking greywater-recycling law. For over a decade, she also served as the vice chair of the City of Santa Fe’s Water Conservation Committee, and she is currently the staff liaison for the Santa Fe River Commission.

She has a bachelor of architecture from the California College of the Arts, with honors, and a Masters in Landscape Architecture – Environmental Planning from the University of California at Berkeley.

Charlee is a graduate of Columbia University and has served on the Board of Directors of the American Rainwater Catchment Systems Association (ARCSA) for the past four years. He is also an ARCSA Accredited Rainwater Professional and is co-author of the Rainwater Harvesting Manual, which is used in training professionals across the United States and Canada.

In 2001, he created the Recommended Woody Plant List for the City of Santa Fe, which he has since updated to take into account the effects of climate change. In 2012, Tracy created a list of Recommended Fruit Trees for Santa Fe, and in 2015 he worked with other professional gardeners to create the lists of Low Water Use Plants for Santa Fe and Shade Tolerant Plants for Santa Fe. He has been a Certified Arborist since 2000 and is a member of the Municipal Tree Advisory Board for the City of Santa Fe.

Doug is an EPA WaterSense Partner with Certification in Irrigation Auditing. He is an active member of the City of Santa Fe Water Conservation Committee. He is currently a member of the International Code Committee (ICC) working group that is drafting the ICC Rainwater Harvesting Building Codes. Doug is also a certified Permaculture Designer. Doug designs and consults on rainwater and water reuse systems locally and around the country.

Presently, he is the State Water Conservation Technical Specialist at the Colorado Water Conservation Board and has worked in this position since 2009. He provides technical & financial assistance to water providers across Colorado for water efficiency planning & implementation, works on long range statewide water supply & demand forecasting and develops statewide water conservation policy through research & projects. He was the lead author for the water conservation, water reuse and land use sections of Colorado’s Water Plan.

Kim helped the City of Santa Fe draft and adopt one of the country’s first comprehensive residential green construction codes, based on the 2008 National Green Building Standard. As an Executive Officer, he serves on the Executive Officers Council Board of Directors representing Region E, which encompasses most of the western United States. He also serves as the EOC Liaison to NAHB’s Construction Codes & Standards Committee. Finally, he is the Board Chair of the Green Builder® Coalition.

He worked previously with The Jacques Cousteau Society, researching global water issues for films, books, policies, and expeditions.

Neal attended the University of Delaware, receiving a Master’s in Marine Policy, and the University of California at Santa Barbara, receiving a Bachelor’s in Aquatic Biology.

Prior to joining EPA in 2008, Mr. Schein served as the Director of Outreach for Earth Day Network (EDN) where he was responsible for a number of initiatives to promote water efficiency through green building strategies in the United States and Middle East. Mr. Schein holds Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees from Indiana University as well as a Master of Science in Environmental Science from the Johns Hopkins University.

Glenn serves on the Sustainable Santa Fe Commission, Mayor Gonzales’ Climate Action Task Force and the Santa Fe Green Lodging Initiative.

Yvette came to an understanding about the water crisis facing our state through her work in the field of landscape architecture. In this field, she came to understand that there was a need to focus on solutions to our water challenges in New Mexico with a focus on green technologies, underserved communities, and education.

In addition to his leadership role in the Senate, Senator Wirth, serves on the Judiciary and Senate Conservation Committees. He is also a member of the interim Water and Natural Resources Committee and the Revenue Stabilization and Tax Policy Committee.

During his twelve years in the Legislature, 53 of the bills Senator Wirth sponsored are now law. During the 2017 legislative session, 7 bills he carried passed both chambers. He also sponsored a joint resolution for the Courts, which will be on the 2018 ballot.

Common Cause named Senator Wirth as the 2011 recipient of the “Jack Taylor Best in Government” award.

When he is not working at the Legislature, Senator Wirth is a lawyer and mediator in Santa Fe.