Hazel
Medville, ChairmanMember since 2005, Chairman since 2006
Bachelor’s degree in Statistics and Computer Science
Hazel is a retired Computer Engineer/Manager who now spends much of her time surveying caves in Hawaii and Colorado. She was the President Pro-Tem and Government Liaison for the National Speleological Society, the Technical Program Chairman for the 15th International Congress of Speleology, and is currently the Director of the West Virginia and Hawaii Speleological Surveys.
Dr. Robert Brinkmann, Vice-ChairmanMember since May 2010
Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Geology, Ph.D. in Geography
Dr. Robert Brinkmann is the Director of Sustainability Studies at Hofstra University and a Professor in Global Studies and Geography. He holds a Geology BS and MS, and a Ph.D. in Geography. He is currently developing the new Sustainability Studies undergraduate and graduate curricula.
Brinkmann's research focuses largely on urban and suburban environmental sustainability. He has published on a variety of topics including urban storm water pollution, street sweeping, climate change policy, and cave and karst science and management. Brinkmann's book (with Graham A. Tobin), Urban Sediment Removal: The Science, Policy, and Management of Street Sweeping is the only book on the topic of street sweeping science in the academic literature. He has conducted a number of community-based sustainability research projects and has received numerous research grants for his work. He is currently interested in working with communities to improve local sustainability efforts.
Richard
Cervantes, Secretary/TreasurerMember since 2005; permanent position representing New Mexico Tech
Master’s Degree in Accounting and Information Systems, and is also a CPA
Richard is the Associate Vice President of Research and Economic Development with New Mexico Tech. He is responsible for administrative affairs including budget preparation, fiscal and project management, proposal development and contract negotiation.
Dave
Steensen, National Park Service RepresentativeMember since January 2009; permanent position representing the National Park Service
Bachelor’s Degree in Geology and a Master’s Degree in Environmental Systems/Applied Geology
Dave is the Chief of the Geologic Resources Division of the National Park Service. One of his responsibilities as Chief is oversight and support of the Service-wide cave and karst resource management program.
Dr. Harry
Burgess, City of Carlsbad RepresentativeMember since 2005; permanent position appointed by the Mayor of Carlsbad, New Mexico
Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Relations, Master’s Degree in Fire and Emergency Management Administration; Master’s of Business Administration; Ph.D. in Economic Development
Harry represents the City of Carlsbad’s participation with NCKRI. He is the City Administrator but also has a caving background, having worked previously with the National Park Service and served on the Board of the National Cave Rescue Commission. He also taught caving for the National Outdoor Leadership School.
Dr.
John (Jack) Hess, Member at LargeMember since 2005; Member at Large of Executive Committee
PhD in Geology.
Jack is the Executive Director of the Geological Society of America (GSA). Prior to joining GSA in 2001, he was Executive Director of the Division of Hydrologic Sciences and Vice President for Academic Affairs at the Desert Research Institute in Nevada. Jack currently serves on the board of the Karst Waters Institute, and Longs Peak Council of the Boy Scouts of America, as well as NCKRI. Jack is a Fellow of the Geological Society of America, the National Speleological Society, and the Cave Research Foundation.
Member since 2009
Master’s Degree in Library and Information Science.
Todd is the Director of Academic Resources at the University of South Florida Tampa Library. His research agenda focuses on understanding scholarship in the sciences including the tools and processes underlying its creation, organization, discovery, communication, and preservation. Activities include building non-traditional library collections to support scientific research and publication and applying bibliometric research methodologies to document and "visualize" scholarship in the sciences. He is one of the founding partners of the Karst Information Portal.
Dr.
Ronald T. GreenMember since 2007
Bachelor’s Degrees in Engineering and Geology; Master’s in Geophysics; PhD in Hydrology.
Ron is a Hydrogeologist with the Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas and is active in the characterization, modeling, and groundwater management of karst aquifers. Recent projects include development of neutrally buoyant sensors to map karst conduits, dual conductivity modeling of groundwater flow in karst aquifers, and recharge assessment of karst aquifers in arid and semi-arid environments.
Jim
GoodbarCharter board member
Bachelor’s Degree in Park and Recreation Management; also Graduate Studies in Cave and Karst Resources, Geology, and Geomorphology
Jim works for the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) as the Senior Cave and Karst Resources Specialist with the Washington Office. His primary responsibilities are to establish national policy and provide guidance on cave and karst resources management to BLM field offices across the United States, serve as the international point of contact for all cave/karst related issues and requests for assistance, develop and conduct training courses for cave/karst resources, and develop best management practices for land use actions in karst. His duty station is located in Carlsbad, New Mexico.
Dale
PateMember from 2000-2002; 2006 to present, Vice-Chairman 2006-2011
Bachelor’s degree in Geography
Dale has been the National Park Service's Acting Cave
and Karst Program Coordinator since May 2007, and the Supervisory
Physical Scientist (Cave Specialist) at Carlsbad
Caverns National Park since July 1991.
Member since May 2010
Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Agricultural and Applied Economics from Virginia Tech; Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law
Jesse is an Associate Professor in Urban Affairs and Planning at Virginia Tech and a practicing attorney. Jesse studies karst protection and management ordinances around the country, and works to improve them.
Geary
SchindelMember since 2004
Bachelor’s Degree in Geology and a Master’s Degree in Geography
Geary is the Chief Technical Officer of the Edwards Aquifer Authority in San Antonio, Texas and directs the science research program. The Edwards Aquifer is a major karst aquifer that provides water to more than 1.7 million people in south-central Texas.
David
WearyMember since June 2009
BS degree in Geology from George Mason University and a Masters in Geology from Virginia Tech
David has worked for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in Reston, VA since 1988 and now serves on the Board as the USGS representative. He is a research geologist and Project Chief of the USGS KARST Project. The Project is involved in various activities including karst studies and geologic mapping in the Ozarks of Missouri, as well as geologic mapping, and hydrogeologic studies in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia and West Virginia. In addition, the Project is also working on a new national karst map in cooperation with the National Speleological Society and the National Cave and Karst Research Institute.
