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Meet our team

The Texas Living Waters Project is a collaboration of conservation groups working together to ensure fresh water will always reach its natural destinations. For our wildlife, our economy and our kids.

Want to talk fresh water? Contact us individually using the email buttons below or reach out through our Contact and Directions page.

Jennifer Walker
Director, Texas Coast and Water Program, National Wildlife Federation

Jennifer has nearly two decades of experience focusing on water policy/resources issues in Texas with an emphasis on water planning, water conservation and bay and estuary protection issues. Jennifer strives to work collaboratively and approach resource management challenges with a solution-oriented perspective. She serves on the Water Conservation Advisory Council of Texas and is Chair of Austin's Water Forward Task Force. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Alliance for Water Efficiency and the Colorado River Alliance. Jennifer has a BS in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology from the University of Texas at Austin. Jennifer and her family like to camp near rivers where they can listen to the frogs sing at night.

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Amanda Fuller
Regional Executive Director, South Central Regional Center, National Wildlife Federation

Amanda has 10 years of experience advancing water and coastal policies for the benefit of people and wildlife. Since joining NWF in 2013, she has worked to identify and advance water and coastal policies and ecosystem restoration priorities in Texas and the Gulf region for federal, state, and local decision-making venues. Amanda works to improve the health of Texas bays and estuaries while advancing the use of nature-based solutions to natural hazards exacerbated by our changing climate. Amanda holds a law degree from Texas Tech University School of Law, where she focused on environmental and water law, and an undergraduate degree in Political Science from Texas Christian University. As a mom of two young boys, Amanda is passionate about preserving Texas’ treasured natural resources for future generations.

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Marisa Bruno
Water Program Manager, Hill Country Alliance

Marisa is the Water Program Manager at the Hill Country Alliance. She recently completed her Master of Environmental Management at the Yale School of the Environment, where she specialized in water resource management and policy. Her graduate research focused on Texas groundwater management and community water planning. She became passionate about Texas water while working for the Texas Water Foundation as a program strategist. She later supported Texas A&M's "Water and Equity in the Hill Country" report as a researcher. Prior to working in Texas, Marisa worked as a Venture for America Fellow, helping small businesses scale and create jobs in their communities. In her spare time, Marisa enjoys kayaking, exploring new swimming holes, and cooking with friends.

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Danielle Goshen
Policy Specialist/Counsel, Texas Coast and Water Program, National Wildlife Federation

Danielle became a member of the Texas Living Waters Project in August 2019. Her interest in environmentalism and curiosity on how natural systems function inspired her to attend the University of Toronto for her undergraduate degrees in environmental geography and environmental studies. Later, she continued her studies at the University of Georgia School of Law. During her time at Georgia Law, Danielle interned at the Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 4 office and served as a Georgia Sea Grant Legal Fellow working on coastal resiliency projects. Danielle enjoys playing competitive sports with friends and going on outdoor adventures with her dog, Bozeman.

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Myron Hess
Principal, Law Office of Myron Hess PLLC; Tributary Consulting

When not working on legal and policy issues related to water quantity and quality, Myron likes to head outdoors in search of a bird, whale, crayfish, praying mantis, or just a cool plant. He also enjoys exploring Texas streams and springs, listening to singer-songwriters, traveling, and learning about new developments in science. Myron traces his love of the outdoors to his childhood days on a farm in north Texas. His fascination with nature led him to major in wildlife and fisheries sciences at Texas A&M University and his time as a teacher and school administrator with responsibility for middle-school boarding students redirected him to law school at the University of Texas.

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Ken Kramer
(Volunteer) Water Resources Chair, Sierra Club - Lone Star Chapter

Ken provides an historical perspective on water issues in Texas with over 40 years of experience as a volunteer or professional working to protect and conserve the water resources and environment of the state. He is actively involved in regional and state water planning, environmental flows protection efforts, and the advancement of water conservation, among other water initiatives. Ken serves as the environmental representative on the state's Water Conservation Advisory Council and numerous other water advisory groups. In his spare time Ken has backpacked in most of the states in the western United States and now spends much of his time managing his rural property in Austin County, which has been in his family for almost 100 years.

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Alex Ortiz
Water Resources Specialist, Sierra Club - Lone Star Chapter

Alex Ortiz serves as the Lone Star Chapter’s lead coordinator on the Texas Living Waters project. His work as a Water Resources Specialist with the Sierra Club includes the Lone Star Chapter's Sustainable Management and Resilient Texas Waters project—an initiative focused on water quality standards, discharge permits and the impacts of oil and gas development on water supply and quality.  Alex has a BA in Linguistics from New York University and a JD from Tulane University Law School where he also received a Certificate in Environmental Law. His studies at Tulane focused heavily on the intersection of the Clean Water Act and Endangered Species Act.

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Mikayla Panariello
Governmental Affairs Manager, Galveston Bay Foundation

Growing up sandwiched between the beaches of South Florida and the vast Everglades Mikayla’s love for natural ecosystems quickly bloomed, as did her interest in the intersection of nature and humanity. This mix of love and curiosity led her to Florida State University where she earned a dual B.S. in Environmental Science and Political Science with a minor in Anthropology. She has worked internationally, focusing on sustainable development, as a Research Assistant and Consulting Aid in Costa Rica, as well as the Environmental Policy Analyst for the Florida House of Representatives, and as a Government Operations Consultant for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. When not working on environmental policy issues Mikayla loves being out on the water or exploring the great outdoors.

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Arsum Pathak, PhD
Adaptation and Coastal Resilience Specialist, Texas Coast and Water Program National Wildlife Federation

Arsum has 5 years of research experience in climate change impacts, adaptation and coastal resilience. At NWF, she strives to advance climate adaptation efforts, particularly nature-based approaches, to deal with the potential impacts of climate change and associated extreme events across the Gulf region. Prior to joining NWF, Arsum received her PhD in Environmental Science and Policy at the University of South Florida where she spent her time analyzing, writing, and publishing on climate impacts and adaptation decision-making in small islands using a systems approach. She also holds a Master of Science degree in Environmental Science from Panjab University, India. Through her work, Arsum aims to address the challenges posed by climate change to our social and ecological systems across the Gulf using a science-policy interface.

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Cyrus Reed, PhD
Conservation Director, Sierra Club - Lone Star Chapter

Cyrus has a PhD in Geography from the University of Texas at Austin, with a focus on water policy and the dispute over the Rio Grande water with Mexico. Prior to becoming conservation director, he served as Sierra Club's lobbyist on energy and air quality issues during the 2005, 2007 legislative sessions, and directed the Texas Center for Policy Studies, an environmental policy and advocacy organization based in Austin, for five years. He is presently working on energy issues and their impacts. Cyrus has also worked as a journalist and has spent considerable time in Mexico, Costa Rica and Nicaragua.

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Katherine Romans
Executive Director, Hill Country Alliance

Katherine brings a decade of nonprofit and legislative experience to Texas Living Waters and the Hill Country Alliance. She worked for several years as a legislative aide for the Committee on Natural Resources within the US House of Representatives, and has experience with both local and national nonprofits. More recently, Katherine served as the interim executive director for the Hill Country Alliance, and led the organization’s landowner outreach program for more than 2 years. In that role, she connected landowners within the Pedernales River Basin to technical and financial resources within the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Katherine holds a Master in Environmental Management from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. She also serves on the board of the Hill Country Land Trust.

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Jonathan Seefeldt, PhD
Senior Communications Manager, Texas Coast and Water Program, National Wildlife Federation

Jonathan has over a decade of experience in environmental and educational communications. He has researched and published on the history of large-scale water infrastructure in semi-arid environments with a particular focus on the long-term impact of climate infrastructure projects. Jonathan has an Ph.D. in Environmental History from the University of Texas at Austin. He also spent a season as the head of an international high school in the Indian Himalayas, a place that occasionally rivals Austin as his one true home.

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