Franklin Wolfe received a bachelor's degree in Geology from Washington and Lee University in 2016. His undergraduate thesis focused on using zircon (U-Th)/He dating to better constrain the exhumation history of the Ruby Mountains-East Humboldt Range metamorphic core complex in northeastern Nevada. Inspired by a coal ash spill in his home state of North Carolina, Franklin studied the potential to extract critical rare earth metals from coal ash disposal sites during his time at AGI. This fall, he will begin a Ph.D. program in structural geology through Harvard University's Earth and Planetary Sciences Program.

Meg Freiberger graduated from Bowdoin College in 2016 with degrees in Chemistry and Earth and Oceanographic Science. Her undergraduate honors project investigated trace metal proxies in bamboo coral calcite as part of her lab’s broader effort to reconstruct intermediate water conditions in the California Margin over the past century or more. As a policy intern, Meg enjoyed following the Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations Subcommittee and writing about the environmental challenges associated with Arctic offshore drilling. This fall, Meg will begin her pursuit of a Ph.D. in Earth and Environmental Sciences from Columbia University, with a focus on paleoclimate and marine geochemistry.

Liana Agrios received a Bachelor of Science in Geology and Environmental Geosciences with a minor in Environmental Science from Lafayette College in 2014. Her undergraduate thesis focused on the origin and composition of cobbles in portions of the Newark Basin in New Jersey and New York. She is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Geology at Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) to better understand ice streams in the Weddell Sea Embayment in Antarctica. At AGI, she enjoyed exploring permafrost hazards and the adaptation strategies of coastal cities to address sea level rise and other climate change hazards. After graduate school, she hopes to work in a job that applies geology to address real world environmental problems facing society. 

General Manager, North Plains Groundwater Conservation District, Texas

Steve Walthour is the General Manager of the North Plains Groundwater Conservation District. He has 28 years experience in subsurface geology and groundwater management. Steve holds a Master’s Degree from the University of Arkansas and is a licensed professional geoscientist in the State of Texas (License No. 1582).

Outreach Manager, Kansas Geological Survey, University of Kansas

Susan Stover, P.G., is Outreach Manager at the Kansas Geological Survey. She worked in water policy, water resource planning and environmental remediation for the State of Kansas for 20 years, before joining the Survey in 2014. Her experience includes working with stakeholders on programs and policies to conserve the High Plains aquifer; organizing conferences on water and on teaching evolution; and hosting field trips for state legislators. She holds an M.S. in geology, University of Kansas, and a B.A. in geology, University of Nebraska. Stover is a Geological Society of America Fellow and vice-chair of GSA’s Geology & Society Division.

Hydrogeologist, Oklahoma Geological Survey, University of Oklahoma

Dr. Kyle E. Murray is a Hydrogeologist for the Oklahoma Geological Survey (OGS) at the University of Oklahoma (OU).  His research covers a broad spectrum of topics in Oklahoma & the mid-Continent including water issues in the energy sector, regional water supply, contaminants of emerging concern (CEC), and wastewater reuse in the municipal and industrial sector.  He is a member of the Oklahoma City Geological Society (OCGS), Geological Society of America (GSA), National Ground Water Association (NGWA), American Geophysical Union (AGU), and the International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH) where he serves as an Associate Editor for Hydrogeology Journal.

Professor and Head, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Colorado School of Mines

John McCray is Professor and Head of the Civil & Environmental Engineering Department at Colorado School of Mines, specializing in hydrology, water resources, and water quality. He is currently Mines PI of the NSF Engineering Research Center for urban water, ReNUWIt, the first ERC for water. He is a member of the U.S. EPA Science Advisory Board, a Fellow of the ASCE Environmental and Water Resources Institute, and was a Fulbright Fellow to Chile for water resources. He earned his PhD in hydrology and water resources from the University of Arizona, and a BS in engineering from West Virginia University.

Professor, Geology and Geological Engineering, Colorado School of Mines

Wendy J. Harrison is a tenured Professor of Geology and Geological Engineering at Colorado School of Mines.  Her fields of scholarly expertise are in geochemistry and hydrology as well as geoscience education and she has published papers in topics that range from impact shock metamorphism in lunar materials, the formation of gas hydrates and their role in CO2 sequestration, metals uptake by trees in mined lands, and mitigating respiratory quartz dust hazard.  Dr. Harrison recently completed an appointment at the National Science Foundation as Division Director for Earth Sciences in the Geosciences Directorate. She currently serves as an academic advisor to the Petroleum Institute, Abu Dhabi and Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan.  Her work experience includes 8 years as a senior research geologist for Exxon Production Research Company in Houston, Texas.

Director, Colorado Water Conservation Board

James Eklund is the director of the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) and serves as Colorado’s interstate representative on the Colorado River. As a lawyer and a government official, Eklund is already a disappointment to much of his family on the Western Slope. He is redeemed in their eyes, however, because he drinks whiskey and fights over water (but never at the same time). As the Director of the CWCB, Eklund leads the state’s water policy, financing, and planning efforts. Eklund is a graduate of Stanford University and the University of Denver College of Law (neither of which, his father is quick to note, made him any better at cleaning ditches or irrigating pasture). The Upper Colorado River endangered fish he most identifies with is the Razorback Sucker because he thinks of himself as sharp but also somewhat gullible.