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Jerry Kenny, Ph.D., PEDr. Kenny is the CEO & President of Headwaters Corporation and the Executive Director of the Platte River Recovery Implementation Program. He is a licensed Professional Civil Engineer specializing in water and natural resources related disciplines. Jerry has worked primarily in the consulting arena on projects located throughout the United States and internationally, with the focus of his career on water related projects in the western United States. His technical expertise includes the disciplines of surface water, groundwater, and vadose zone hydrology; open channel, fluvial, and closed conduit hydraulics; and the planning, permitting, and implementing of water resources projects serving multiple purposes. Over the past twenty years, he has specialized in leading multi-disciplinary teams working to develop robust solutions for water allocation and use issues on a large-basin scale.
Education: Ph.D. in Engineering Science, Washington State University, 1990; M.S. in Engineering, Washington State University, 1985; B.S. in Civil Engineering with High Distinction, University of Nebraska- Lincoln, 1977 Certification: Professional Engineer – Civil, 1985 (WA) |
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David Baasch, Ph.D.Dr. Baasch is the Director of Biological and Ecological Services at Headwaters Corporation. He is a biologist with experience on designing a variety of monitoring and research experiments including design and implementation of large-scale adaptive management investigations. Dave has special expertise in the integration of monitoring and research into ecological and statistical modeling efforts to assess species response to natural resources management activities. Much of his recent work has focused on implementation of large-scale adaptive management research, including habitat selection studies that link species behavior to habitat change within a complex riverine system.
Education: Ph.D. Natural Resource Sciences (Statistics Minor), University of Nebraska–Lincoln, 2008; M.S. Biological-Environmental Sciences, University of Nebraska–Kearney, 2003; B.S. Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska–Kearney, 1996 |
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Bridget Barron, Ph.D.Dr. Barron is the Chief Operating Officer of Headwaters Corporation and the Director of Operations, Administration and Human Dimensions. Bridget is a licensed clinical psychologist who has a remarkable combination of clinical skills, business administration skills, and expert knowledge of motivating and influencing others. She plans, directs and oversees Headwaters Corporation day to day business operations in human relations, finance and accounting, information technology, and office management. She has experience in leading large teams from diverse backgrounds and effectively managing relationships with partners and the public. She creates media and promotional materials for Headwaters Corporation and serves as the subject matter expert for public affairs and media relations.
Education: MBA/M.S. in Health Administration, University of Colorado Denver, 1996; Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, Washington State University, 1989; M.S. in Clinical Psychology, Washington State University, 1985; B.A. in Psychology, University of Denver, 1981 Certification: Licensed Clinical Psychologist, 1991, (CO); Licensed Clinical Psychologist, 2008, (NE) |
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Darren Beck, PH, CFMDarren is a Senior Hydrologist at Headwaters Corporation. His professional experience includes water resources engineering, planning and management of municipal water supplies, hydrologic analysis, river surveying, GIS mapping, and project management. Darren’s background with the Colorado Water Court process and water resources engineering includes the determination of historical use of water rights as well as engineering in support of new water right appropriations, preparation of technical reports including Augmentation Plans, Substitute Water Supply Plans, Engineering Reports in support of new water rights applications, and the development and maintenance of municipal water accounting models. Currently, his focus includes the hydrologic analysis of groundwater response to high flow events and tracking acquired water resources to determine project effectiveness and operations.
Education: M.S. Watershed Science, Colorado State University, 2009; B.S. Natural Resources Mgmt., minor Spatial Information Mgmt., Colorado State University, 1999 Certification: Professional Hydrologist, American Institute of Hydrology, 2012; Certified Floodplain Manager, Association of State Floodplain Managers, 2016; Applied Fluvial Geomorphology training, Wildland Hydrology Inc., 2016 |
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Courtney Black, PECourtney is a Senior Water Resources Engineer at Headwaters Corporation. She has a diverse portfolio of technical, management and planning experience in water resources. This encompasses the management of local-driven interdisciplinary drought early warning systems throughout the country, western water rights litigation support, environmental assessments, wetland design and treatment, and stakeholder engagement. Her water resources planning expertise focuses on municipal water supply and demand projections, conservation planning, and drought planning.
Education: M.S. Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Florida, 2001; B.S. Civil Engineering, Lehigh University, 1999 Certification: Professional Engineer, 2003 (CA), 2005 (CO) |
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Justin Brei, PEJustin is a Senior Biosystems Engineer for Headwaters Corporation. He is a licensed Professional Civil Engineer in Nebraska with experience in design, permitting, bidding, and construction administration for wetland restoration and creation and riverine endangered species habitat creation and maintenance. Justin has working knowledge of several spatial and civil design software packages such as ArcGIS, AutoCAD Civil 3D, and Global Mapper. He also has experience managing large spatial datasets including specifications and acquisitions for aerial imagery and LiDAR elevation data.
Education: B.S. Biological Systems Engineering, University of Nebraska – Lincoln, 2005 Certification: Professional Engineer – Civil, 2012 (NE) |
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Jason Farnsworth, BCESJason Farnsworth is the Director of Habitat Management and Rehabilitation Services at Headwaters Corporation. He is a biologist with experience on a variety of resource planning, management and restoration projects including design and implementation of large-scale adaptive management experiments. Jason has special expertise in the integration of ecological and physical process modeling, monitoring and research to assess the effectiveness of natural resources management activities. Much of his recent work has focused on restoration and management of braided rivers in semi-arid environments, including the complex relationships between hydrology, sediment, and riparian vegetation that control channel morphology in these systems.
Education: B.S. Comprehensive Biology with Highest Distinction, Chadron State College, 2000 Certification: Board Certified Environmental Scientist (AAEES), 2016 |
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Patrick FarrellPatrick is a Statistical Ecologist at Headwaters Corporation who develops and conducts a variety of statistical analyses for water resource and biological projects. He also provides statistical consulting for experimental design and implementation and has experience coding within statistical software programs, evaluating wildlife habitat selection, and analyzing wildlife population dynamics. Recent projects have included identification and prediction of channel form and function of a braided river system and ecological resource selection for federally listed avian species. Patrick also has experience with Structured Decision Making (SDM), Bayesian modeling, and GPS/GIS spatial modeling.
Education: M.S. Wildlife Sciences, Auburn University, 2015; B.S. Biology: Natural Resources, Central Michigan University, 2012 |
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Scott Griebling, PE
Scott is a Senior Water Resources Engineer at Headwaters Corporation with experience in integrated hydrologic modeling, groundwater modeling, data analysis, GIS, and hydrologic systems monitoring. Scott has developed expertise in the collection and analysis of hydrologic data to support water resources planning and the implementation and evaluation of natural resources management activities. Much of his recent work focuses on the hydrologic connection between surface water and groundwater in riparian corridors.
Education: M.S. Civil/Water Resources Engineering, University of Colorado at Boulder, 2012; B.S. Civil Engineering, University of Colorado at Boulder, 2005 Certification: Professional Engineer, 2015 (CO) |
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Kaley Keldsen
Kaley is a wildlife biologist at Headwaters Corporation. She has experience implementing biological studies and specializes in photographic data collection research. She is very proficient at threatened and endangered species productivity and abundance monitoring, predator identification and control, and database management.
Education: M.S. Wildlife Biology, University of Nebraska, Kearney (pending); B.S. Park and Recreation Management - Natural Resources Emphasis, University of Nebraska-Kearney, 2016 |
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Julie LiakosJulie is the Administrative Assistant at Headwaters Corporation. She has experience in office management and clerical support. Her primary responsibilities include: coordinating meeting logistics; document and file handling; payroll processing; client payment processing; marketing material production and various other tasks. Her primary focus is to organize and operate the office to provide seamless service to both staff and clients.
Education: B.S. Business Administration, University of Nebraska-Kearney, 1990 |
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George Oamek, Ph.D
Dr. Oamek is an Economist for Headwaters Corporation. His areas of expertise include Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics, Public Finance, and Mathematical Statistics. His most recent efforts include the development of an irrigation water leasing program to enhance Platte River flows, long-term municipal water demands, and the incorporation of risk and uncertainty in water supply planning. George is also a staff member of the Platte River Recovery Implementation Program’s Executive Director’s Office. In this capacity, his responsibilities include devaluating potential water acquisitions, developing water leases, and planning assistance for meeting the Program’s long-term water goals.
Education: Ph.D. Agricultural Economics, Iowa State University, 1988; M.S. Agricultural Economics, Colorado State University, 1980; B.S. Agricultural Economics, Colorado State University, 1979 |
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Bruce SackettBruce is the Director of Acquisitions for Headwaters Corporation. His specialty is negotiations with an emphasis in land or water rights with willing sellers both private and public. His over 40 years of assignments have included acquisitions across Nebraska, working with state, federal and private landowners. He specializes in finding solutions to sellers needs by using various tools for property right transfers. These resolutions bring an ability to transfer rights for our client’s needs.
Education: B.S. in Agricultural Economics, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 1983; Associate Degree in Land Use Economics, University of Nebraska at Omaha, 1977 Certification: Licensed Nebraska Real Estate Broker, 1978; Certified General Real Estate Appraiser in Nebraska, 1981 |
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Chadwin Smith, MPAChad is the Director of Natural Resources Decision Support for Headwaters Corporation. He has experience in river management, science, and policy, particularly with large, complex resource management programs. He has worked primarily as a consultant on large-scale endangered species recovery and ecosystem restoration programs throughout the United States, with the focus of his career on implementation and evaluation of aquatic-based adaptive management programs involving the Bureau of Reclamation and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. His technical expertise includes adaptive management, program governance, decision analysis, data analysis and synthesis, and use and management of independent science panels and peer review processes. Chad specializes in engaging multiple stakeholders in implementation of adaptive management at a large scale and evaluating governance structures in large restoration programs to improve the effectiveness of adaptive management.
Education: In Progress: Ph.D. in Natural Resource Science/Adaptive Management, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; M.P.A. in Environmental Policy/Natural Resources Management, Indiana University- Bloomington, 1996; B.S. in Fisheries & Wildlife with Highest Distinction, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 1994 |
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Tom Smrdel
Tom is a Fluvial Geomorphologist at Headwaters Corporation. He has experience working in and rehabilitating rivers in all corners of the west. His main areas of expertise include 1d and 2d hydraulic modeling, river restoration design, hydrographic surveying and long-term monitoring of fluvial systems under adaptive management. Tom ‘s experience has been focused on integrating physical processes of habitat restoration with robust ecological design criteria for the recovery and preservation of salmonids, migratory birds and other sensitive species that rely on river corridors. His recent work includes a physical experiment to test the feasibility of sediment augmentation to restore a braided planform in the central Platte River, as well as testing and development of hydrodynamic models which couple the interactions of river hydraulics, sediment transport and vegetation dynamics for the application in riverine management.
Education: M.S. Watershed Science, Colorado State University (pending); B.S. Physical Geography & GIS, University of Oregon (2006) Certification: Whitewater Rescue Technician, 2013; River Restoration Professional Certificate, Portland State University, 2011; 40 hour OSHA HAZWOPER, 2006 |
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Tim Tunnell
Tim Tunnell is a Senior Land Manager at Headwaters Corporation. He has experience with a variety of native grassland/rangeland resource planning, management and restoration strategies including prescribed fire planning & implementation, ecological grazing, herbicide & mechanical control of invasive /noxious vegetation, and grassland restoration design and implementation. Tim has special expertise in the integration of prescribed fire and grazing to enhance heterogeneity of native grassland species composition and vegetative structure for the benefit of grassland wildlife and livestock production. Much of his recent work has focused on the planning, coordinating, and implementation of the restoration and management projects on ~12,500 acres of habitat lands acquired through the Platte River Recovery Implementation Program (PRRIP) located within an 80- mile stretch of the Big-bend Reach of the Platte River in South-central Nebraska.
Education: M.S. Rangeland Ecology & Management, Oklahoma State University, 2002; B.S. Wildlife Management, Texas Tech University, 1994 |
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Seth Turner, PE
Seth is a Senior Water Resources Engineer at Headwaters Corporation specializing in water resources planning and management. He has extensive experience with the hydrologic modeling of river systems; water supply needs assessments from local to statewide levels; evaluation of alternative agricultural water transfer methods; and the alternatives, operations, and surface water effects analyses required for NEPA compliance of regional water supply projects. The primary focus of Seth’s recent work for Headwaters is the development of water projects for the benefit of threatened and endangered species in a highly-managed river system.
Education: M.S. Civil Engineering, University of Colorado at Boulder, 2003; B.S. Agricultural Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2001 Certification: Professional Engineer, 2007, (CO) |
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Kevin Werbylo, EITKevin is a Water Resources Engineer at Headwaters Corporation. He has experience on a variety of water resources and habitat rehabilitation projects, as well as experience with water rights investigations and water conservation projects. The majority of Kevin’s experience has been in semi-arid environments and braided river systems where he has performed hydrology and hydraulics calculations and analyses for numerous types of water resources projects. Most recently, Kevin has worked on wetland rehabilitation projects aimed at enhancing migratory waterfowl habitat, assisted with the design and layout of flow augmentation project concepts, assisted with the management and coordination efforts to get flow augmentation projects permitted and constructed, and assisted with the design and modeling of channel restoration projects in a braided river system.
Education: M.S. in Civil Engineering, Colorado State University, 2013; B.S. in Environmental Engineering, Northern Arizona University, 2011 Certifications: Engineering Intern, 2013 (CO) |
