Bio coming soon!

Dr. Bonnie K. Baxter is a Professor of Biology and Director of Great Salt Lake Institute at Westminster University, which focuses on collaborative research and community connections. She completed her Ph.D. in Genetics and Molecular Biology at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her Post-doctoral training in Biochemistry and Biophysics at Washington State University. Her studies on DNA damage and repair led her to questions about how these cellular processes work in extreme environments. Dr. Baxter’s research focuses on the lake’s extreme microbiology, especially the foundation of the ecosystem-the algae and cyanobacteria that feed the brine shrimp and flies. She has authored more than a hundred publications, including co-authoring the first academic book on the Great Salt Lake’s biology and the first children’s book about the lake.

Dr. Alyse Bertenthal is an Assistant Professor of Law at Wake Forest University. She has a J.D. from The University of Chicago and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Irvine. Drawing from both legal and social science methods, Dr. Bertenthal's research examines the social processes and interactions through which environmental governance emerges and is made meaningful. Her current research projects include water allocation in Southern California, environmental justice policies, and criminal enforcement of wildlife conservation laws. Her work has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, the American Council of Learned Societies, and the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation.

Laura Briefer is the Director of Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities (SLCDPU). She has served as Director of SLCDPU for the last six years. Laura has worked at SLCDPU for 14 years in various areas of the organization and has devoted a 28-year career in natural resource, environmental, and public policy professions in the public, private, and non-profit sectors. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies from the University of California at Santa Barbara, and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Utah. Laura is a co-author of several peer-reviewed published papers alongside Utah’s academic institutions, focused on water resources, climate change, and watershed management. She serves on local and national boards, including the Provo River Water Users Association, Utah Lake Water Users Association, National Association of Clean Water Agencies (https://www.nacwa.org/), and the national Water Research Foundation (https://www.waterrf.org/). She also serves on the Utah Water Task Force and is very active in the Central Wasatch Commission.

Lingxi Chenyang’s research interests lie at the intersection of moral psychology, climate ethics, landscape ecology, property law, and environmental law. Originally from Chengdu, China, Chenyang comes to the Environmental Resilience Institute after receiving her J.D. from Yale Law School, where she studied environmental law and published work on the merits of reducing meat demand as a climate policy strategy. Chenyang holds a bachelor’s in philosophy from Dartmouth College and is a Ph.D. Candidate in philosophy at the University of Michigan. She is also a Global Priorities Fellow with the Forethought Foundation.

Steven E. Clyde is Chairman, shareholder and director of Clyde Snow & Sessions. He is also the Co-Chair of the firm’s Natural Resources and Water Law Group. Throughout his 47 years of practice, Mr. Clyde has focused on natural resources law, including oil and gas, public land law, and mining law, with a primary emphasis on water law. He is a member of the Utah Water Task Force, helping revise Utah's water laws and policy and also a non-voting member and the Legislature’s Water Development Commission. He has also represented many clients in the buying and selling of water rights and the conversion of water rights from agricultural irrigation use to domestic, municipal, and industrial use for development or real property, particularly in the resort areas of Summit County, Utah. He is general counsel to the Central Utah Water Conservancy District, the sponsor of the Central Utah Project, and taught water law as an adjunct professor at the S. J. Quinney College of Law for many years.

Gov. Spencer J. Cox is a husband, father, farmer, recovering attorney, and Utah’s 18th governor.

Since taking the oath of office on Jan. 4, 2021, Gov. Cox has secured funds for affordable housing, promoted suicide prevention and mental health resources and implemented water conservation and infrastructure planning. He also signed early education and workforce program funding, launched the new Utah Sustainable Health Collaborative, and expanded opportunity for women, diverse communities and those living in rural parts of the state.

His efforts have contributed to Utah’s unprecedented prosperity during the COVID-19 pandemic and a historic drought. Focused on a One Utah vision, Gov. Cox advocates for civility and respect, works across party lines to find common sense solutions, and regularly participates in service projects.

A sixth-generation Utahn, Gov. Cox was born and raised in Fairview, a town of 1,200 in the center of the state. He met First Lady Abby Palmer Cox at age 16 and they married after he returned from serving a church mission in Mexico. He attended Snow College, Utah State University, and the Washington and Lee University School of Law, then clerked for U.S. District Judge Ted Stewart and worked at a Salt Lake City law firm.

After moving back to Fairview to raise his four children – Gavin, Kaleb, Adam, and EmmaKate – Gov. Cox began his life of public service, serving as a city councilman, mayor, county commissioner, and state legislator before being appointed to serve as Utah’s lieutenant governor in 2013.

Jacob Crane is a citizen of the Tsuut'ina Nation, Alberta, Canada. He is the Community Engagement Coordinator for Indigenous Climate Action, an Indigenous women-led organization dedicated to creating a world with sovereign and thriving Indigenous Peoples and cultures leading climate justice for all. For Jacobs's tribal relief aid for tribes in Utah, he was presented with the 7 for 17 Award from the Utah Council for Citizen Diplomacy (United Nations Sustainable Development). He was also a part of the Renewing Indigenous Economies Cohort with the Hoover Institute at Stanford University in 2021. Lastly, in 2019 he received Congressional Recognition from United States Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland.

Brig Daniels is an expert in environmental and property law. His scholarship focuses on the creation and administration of environmental law, the commons, and public risk management. His work frequently relies on empirical methods ranging from field experiments to archival research. Daniels has received research grants from the U.S. National Science Foundation and the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.

Since arriving at BYU Law in 2010, he has received teaching awards from his students, BYU Law alumni, and one from the university. He is grateful to hold the Marion B. and Rulon A. Earl Professorship. He teaches courses relating to environmental law, natural resources, and property law. He has also taught seminars on environmental topics and regularly oversees BYU Law’s Environmental Policy Impact Clinic (EPIC).

Outside of the classroom, Daniels has served on the boards of several environmental nonprofits and has represented and consulted for a wide range of public and nonprofit entities. He currently serves on BYU Law’s Diversity, Equity, and Belonging Council, oversees its Law and Social Change Initiative, and is a faculty representative on the campus’ interdisciplinary Environmental Ethic Initiative.

Daniels graduated from Stanford Law School. He also earned a PhD from Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment and Masters in Public Administration from the University of Utah. He was a recipient of the Harry S Truman Scholarship and the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship.

Prior to joining BYU Law, he taught as an assistant professor at the University of Houston Law Center and as a lecturing fellow at Duke Law School.

Joel Ferry was appointed DNR executive director in June 2022 by Gov. Spencer J. Cox, and confirmed by the Utah Senate in September. He leads an agency of about 1,400 employees from eight divisions and two offices, including Forestry, Fire and State Lands; Oil, Gas and Mining; State Parks; Outdoor Recreation; Utah Geological Survey; Water Resources; Water Rights; Wildlife Resources, the Office of Energy Development and the Public Lands Policy Coordinating Office. Ferry’s passion for water policy, land conservation and agriculture will serve him well as he works to manage and protect Utah’s natural resources. He is a 5th generation farmer who operates a ranch, farm, feedlot and hunting properties in Corinne. Ferry formerly worked for Zion’s Bank. He has a track record of public service, including serving as a legislator, chairman of the Box Elder County Republican Party, Box Elder Farm Bureau Board member, chairman of the Willard Peak Chapter of Delta Waterfowl, board member of the Friends of the Bear River Bird Refuge, and member of the Northern Regional Advisory Council for the Division of Wildlife Resources. Ferry holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Finance from Utah State University. He and his wife Becca are raising their five children on their farm. They enjoy hunting, camping and traveling together.

Leslie P. Francis, Ph.D., J.D., holds joint appointments as Alfred C. Emery professor of law and professor of philosophy, and adjunct appointments in Family and Preventive Medicine (in the Division of Public Health), Internal Medicine (in the Division of Medical Ethics), and Political Science, at the University of Utah. She was appointed to the rank of Distinguished Professor in 2009 and was initial director of University of Utah Center for Law and Biomedical Sciences from 2015-2022. Professor Francis was President of the Pacific Division of the American Philosophical Association in 2015-2016. From 2015-2019 she served as the elected Secretary-General of the International Society for Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy.  She is a past member of the Ethics Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, and past co-chair of the Privacy, Confidentiality, and Security Subcommittee of the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics. Professor Francis also has been a member of the Medicare Coverage Advisory Committee and of the American Bar Association's Commission on Law and Aging.

Jim Frazer studied painting with Fairfield Porter while an undergraduate at Amherst College, after which he studied photography with John McWilliams in graduate school at Georgia State University in Atlanta. With colleagues from Georgia State, he helped found Nexus, a non-profit photography gallery that later became The Atlanta Contemporary Art Center. He was the first photographer to have a solo exhibit at Atlanta’s High Museum of Art, and his hand-colored photographs of Southern landscapes were widely collected and exhibited both regionally and nationally. In 1999, he moved with his family to Salt Lake City. After that move, he branched out from photography to a diverse practice that focuses on translating digital imagery from his photographs and research about the natural world into print or mixed media.

Lynn de Freitas, Executive Director, FRIENDS of Great Salt Lake.
Lynn began her involvement with FRIENDS of Great Salt Lake shortly after it was founded in 1994. She became president of the board in 1997 and Executive Director in 2002. She is a full-time volunteer. She especially enjoys working on developing policies that address the unique role and characteristics of the Great Salt Lake to ensure its long-term sustainability. Prior to her affiliation with FRIENDS, she was a library media coordinator for 18 years in both public and private schools in Salt Lake City. She holds a B.S. in Biology from Montclair State College and an M. Ed in Educational Systems and Learning Resources from the University of Utah. In 2007, she received the Girl Scouts of Utah Award for Courage, Confidence and Character. In 2006, she received the Calvin K. Sudweeks Award for outstanding contributions in the water quality field in the State of Utah by the Utah Water Quality Board. In 2002, she received the Utah Environmental Educator Volunteer of the Year Award from the Utah Society for Environmental Education. In 2020, Lynn served on the HCR–10 steering committee to develop recommendations in response to Great Salt Lake Resolution (HCR–10) – Concurrent Resolution to Address Declining Water Levels of the Great Salt Lake. In 2013, she served as a member of Governor Herbert’s Water Strategy Advisory Team to develop the July 2017 Recommended State Water Strategy. In her free time, she is an avid birder, enjoys travel and is learning dressage.

FRIENDS of Great Salt Lake is a membership-based nonprofit 501c3 founded in 1994. Its mission is to preserve and protect the Great Salt Lake ecosystem through education, research, advocacy, and the arts. The long-term vision of FRIENDS is to achieve comprehensive watershed-based restoration and protection for the Great Salt Lake ecosystem. www.fogsl.org

Dr. Robert R. Gillies is the Director of the Utah Climate Center at Utah State University (USU) and State Climatologist for the State of Utah. He is a full professor in meteorology in the Department of Plants, Soils and Climate (PSC), College of Agricultural Sciences at USU. Prior to the position of Director, he held a joint position in PSC and the Department of Watershed Sciences in the College of Natural Resources at USU. Dr. Gillies came to USU from The Pennsylvania State University. After completing his PhD in meteorology and remote sensing, Dr. Gillies continued his research as a research associate in the Department of Meteorology and the Earth System Science Center at Penn State. Dr. Gillies was a member of Gov. Jon Huntsman’s scientific panel that compiled a report on climate change as it pertains to Utah for the Blue Ribbon Advisory Panel.

Natalie Gochnour serves as an associate dean in the University of Utah David Eccles School of Business and director of the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute. During her years of public service, Gochnour advised Utah governors Norm Bangerter, Mike Leavitt, and Olene Walker. She served as an associate administrator at the EPA and counselor to the secretary at Health and Human Services under the George W. Bush administration. She serves as a contributor to the Deseret News and co-hosts the award-winning weekly radio program Both Sides of the Aisle on KCPW.

I am a sociologist with training in geography who works on health and environment research. I use a variety of methods to address research questions of interest. My research expertise and contributions fall into several areas • Incorporating Health Outcomes into Environmental Justice (EJ) Research • Intra-ethnic Inequalities • Advancing EJ Methods • Broadening the Scope of EJ Research • Socioenvironmental Disparities in Asthma • Undergraduate Research and Mentoring

Candice Hasenyager serves as the Utah Division of Water Resources Director. Candice has worked on water resources and planning projects since 2007. She has been involved in the Water Banking Legislation Workgroup, Great Salt Lake Strike team, House Concurrent Resolution 10 Steering Group, water resources planning, surface water modeling, hydrology studies and municipal water demand projections. Candice feels strongly about helping find balanced solutions to ensure Utah families have a reliable water supply, that agriculture and businesses can be successful, and that the environment can prosper. She graduated from the University of Utah with a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Civil Engineering.

Joe Havasi is the Vice President of Natural Resources for Compass Minerals International (CMP) of Overland Park, Kansas. Joe is responsible for managing real estate, mineral reserves, water rights, and land-use planning. Joe is a geologist by training, having completed undergraduate studies at Denison University, a small liberal arts school in Ohio, completed coursework towards a Masters in Geology at The Ohio State University, and received an MBA in Finance from Youngstown State University. Joe has worked in a variety of roles and capacities, from drill helper, Project Geologist for URS Corporation (now AECOM) before spending five years at Lafarge North America in Cleveland as a Land Manager. Joe joined Compass Minerals in 2010 to lead its Natural Resources function and resides in Salt Lake City, Utah. Joe is married to his wife Lid Marelys, and has two children, Joe (22) and Megan (20), and a step-son, Julio (17). Joe enjoys skiing, hiking, coaching and camping.

Tim Hawkes holds an undergraduate degree in Political Science from BYU and a law degree from Columbia University. He has worked in water law and policy for 18 years, first as a State Director for Trout Unlimited and, more recently, as General Counsel and Vice Chairman of the Board at the Great Salt Lake Brine Shrimp Cooperative, where he works with a variety of stakeholders to help protect and restore the Great Salt Lake. He served in the Utah House of Representatives from 2014-2022 with a heavy focus on water, Great Salt Lake, and other natural resource issues. In his not-so-free time, he enjoys a wide range of hobbies including writing, photography, cooking, canyoneering, and fly fishing.

I currently am farming/ranching with my brother Spencer and my nephews on a 1,300 acre farm/ranch with 1,100 irrigated acres in Box Elder and Cache counties, and have done so full time since 1975. I grew up on the same farm that my Great Grandfather, Grandfather and Father farmed since 1880. I graduated in 1974 from Utah State University with a BS degree in Agricultural Economics. I am a Board member and Secretary/Treasurer of the Central Canal Company and have been since 1986. I have been a Board Member of the Bear River Canal Company for the past 31 years serving as Board Secretary, President for 19 years and currently as vice president. The Bear River Canal Company serves 1,800 shareholders and provides irrigation water for 66,000 acres in Northeastern Box Elder County. I have been a committee member of the Lower Bear River Distribution System for the last 30 years. I have represented Utah’s lower division on the Bear River Commission, the for the past 25 years. I am a Trustee of the Bear River Water Conservancy District for the last 20 years and presently I serve as the financial chairman. Presently, I serve as the Board Member representing Box Elder, Cache and Rich Counties, on the Utah Board of Water Resources. I am also a Board member of the Utah Water Users Association and have been so for the last 10 years.

Professor Keiter holds a J.D. degree with honors from Northwestern University School of Law and a B.A. with honors from Washington University. He has taught at the University of Wyoming, Boston College, and Southwestern University, and served as a Senior Fulbright Scholar at Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu, Nepal. Professor Keiter's most recent books are To Conserve Unimpaired: The Evolution of the National Park Idea, (Island Press, April 2013), and the Wyoming State Constitution (Oxford University Press, 2017). His other books include Keeping Faith With Nature: Ecosystems, Democracy, and America's Public Lands (Yale Univ. Press 2003); Reclaiming the Native Home of Hope: Community, Ecology, and the West (Univ. of Utah Press 1998); Visions of the Grand Staircase-Escalante: Examining Utah's Newest National Monument (Utah Mus. of Nat. History & Wallace Stegner Center 1998); The Wyoming State Constitution: A Reference Guide (Greenwood Press 1993); and The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem: Redefining America's Wilderness Heritage (Yale Univ. Press 1991). He has also written numerous book chapters and journal articles on public lands and natural resource law, addressing such topics as national parks, ecosystem management, wildfire policy, and biodiversity conservation. He serves as a Trustee of the National Parks Conservation Association and the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation, for which he served as President from 2013-2014. Professor Keiter teaches Natural Resources Law and Constitutional Law. He has received teaching awards from the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law, the University of Wyoming College of Law, and the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation. In 2008, he was named a University Distinguished Professor by the University of Utah. His current project is an update of his previous work on the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

Director and Shareholder, Co-Chair of Natural Resources & Water Law Practice Group with Clyde Snow & Sessions Ms. Lewis assists clients in navigating complex water problems. She advises individual water right owners, water conservancy districts, municipalities, mining companies, and mutual shareholder irrigation companies. Her strategic projects practice extends to innovative policy work and specialty project management. She presently acts as the Utah Water Banking Project Manager and hosts Ripple Effect – A Podcast Putting Water in Context.

John Lin is a Professor in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences and the Associate Director of the Wilkes Center for Climate Science & Policy.  He has over 20 years of experience researching the emissions and transport of greenhouse gases and pollutants in the atmosphere.  His research group (http://lair.utah.edu/) is carrying out greenhouse gas and air quality observations in the Salt Lake area, as well as in the Uinta Basin.  John also works regularly with satellite observations from NASA to determine carbon emissions from cities around the world.  He has recently served on the Great Salt Lake Strike Team.  John received his AB, AM, and PhD degrees from Harvard University.

Prof. Lozada’s research area is the economic theory of sustainability, primarily environmental sustainability but also the financial sustainability of individuals saving for retirement. He was the lead author of an analysis of the financial burden the Lake Powell Pipeline would impose on citizens in Washington and Kane Counties, and more recently wrote a report on the future strategic interactions between the water districts burdened with paying for the proposed Bear River Development. His most recent working paper on water gave the first rigorous calculation of how much of Utah’s water goes to growing alfalfa. Because economic and environmental policy prescriptions entail making judgments about social welfare, Lozada has lent his expertise in welfare economics to legal scholars and economists in the field of antitrust, and spoke at an S.J. Quinney College of Law symposium on antitrust and merger standards in the Fall of 2022.

John Luft is the Program Manager for the Great Salt Lake Ecosystem Program (GSLEP) at the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. He, along with avian and aquatic biologists, have developed a partnership with the brine shrimp industry to monitor and manage the commercial fishery on Great Salt Lake (GSL) through research and conservation. He also supervises a dedicated group of wetland managers that oversee 11 different Waterfowl Management Areas (WMA’s) encompassing over 100,000 acres along the east shore of the GSL. After graduating from Kansas State University with degrees in Wildlife Biology and Accounting, John moved out west where he has spent the last 25+ years working on or around GSL. He is an avid outdoorsman, spending his spare time hunting and fishing with a passion for wildlife and conservation.

Erin Mendenhall was sworn in as the 36th Mayor of Salt Lake City on January 6, 2020. Prior to being elected Mayor, Erin represented District 5 on the City Council for six years, including one year as its chair. She is the first mayor in Salt Lake City history to have been publicly elected from the City Council. As Mayor, Erin is working hard to make Salt Lake City more environmentally and economically resilient, and to take advantage of the region’s historic period of economic opportunity. She is determined to ensure every Salt Laker — no matter their neighborhood, economic or housing status, faith, race, or sexual or gender identity — can access all the city has to offer. Erin’s love for the extraordinary people of Salt Lake City drives an unrelenting commitment to bringing people from different walks of life together in pursuit of results for the entire city.

Leland Myers is the Executive Director of the Wasatch Front Water Quality Council. The Council is a research entity funded by local wastewater utilities to research the Utah Lake, Jordan River, and Great Salt Lake Ecosystem. Leland has been involved in GSL research since 2002. Leland is currently a member of the Great Salt Lake Advisory Council for the State of Utah and has served on the GSLAC since its formation. Leland previously worked as the District Manager for Central Davis Sewer District and was a member of the State Water Quality Board. Leland has also been on a bunch of other Board and Councils probably of no particular interest to anyone. Leland has also received a bunch of awards, that again interest nobody. Leland is a graduate of the University of Utah with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering and a Master’s in Environmental Engineering. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in Utah and California and is a certified Wastewater Collections and Treatment operator.

Ruhan S. Nagra is Associate Professor of Law and founding director of the Environmental Justice Clinic at the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law. Prior to joining the Law School, Nagra was Director of the Environmental Justice Initiative and a Senior Clinical Supervisor at the University Network for Human Rights, which she co-founded in 2018. At the University Network, Nagra worked with frontline communities in the United States and globally to challenge environmental injustice. Nagra was previously a clinical instructor at Stanford Law School’s Human Rights Clinic. In close partnership with affected communities and grassroots organizations, Nagra brings an interdisciplinary approach to her work, which has recently included: a peer-reviewed community health study in Louisiana’s Cancer Alley; an analysis exposing racially discriminatory effects of an industrial buyout in Mossville, Louisiana; and litigation challenging the expansion of Liquefied Natural Gas infrastructure in Brooklyn, New York. Her recently published article explores the role of investor-owned utilities and regulatory agencies in perpetuating environmental injustice. Nagra’s work has been covered in major news outlets, including VICE, CBS Evening News, The Washington Post, Reuters, The Guardian, USA Today, Axios, Newsweek, and Democracy Now. She holds a J.D. from Stanford Law School and a B.A. in Human Biology from Brown University.

Trevor Nielson is the general manager of the Bear River Canal Company (BRCC) in Tremonton, UT. Trevor attended Utah State University and graduated with honors. He received a Master’s of Applied Economics specializing in econometrics, constrained optimization, and water law. He also received a double Bachelor’s in Agribusiness and Business Administration. Before coming to BRCC, Trevor professionally spent time in production agriculture across the county and academic research at Utah State University. But eventually returned to his love of working with water at the Central Utah Water Company and later BRCC. BRCC delivers irrigation water to 65,500 acres of highly productive irrigated crop ground in Box Elder County and is the largest canal company in the state. Trevor has been with the company since 2018 and is known for his lightning pace modernization program and analytical approach to managing water. The BRCC system utilized 126 miles of canals and shares its southern boarder with the northeast arm of the Great Salt Lake. In 2019 he was invited to be a member of the Utah Water Taskforce providing an operations and economic perspective to the group. Mr. Nielson enjoys spending time with his lovely wife and his 1 year old son. They enjoy camping, hunting, playing games together, and tickles before bedtime.

Dr. Sarah Null is an Associate Professor of Watershed Sciences at Utah State University. Sarah has a Ph.D. and master’s degree in Geography from UC Davis and a bachelor’s degree in International Economics from UCLA. Her expertise is environmental water management, and her research program addresses the potential to protect aquatic ecosystems while maintaining water resources benefits for people. Sarah has long loved saline lakes. She pursued graduate school after working many summers as a naturalist at Mono Lake in California. Recent Great Salt Lake research includes modeling salt balance between the north and south arms, estimating lake level without human water demands, estimating costs of water conservation, and evaluating water markets to provide environmental flows to the lake. Dr. Null also works in other saline lake systems, including the Walker Basin (Nevada) and Urmia Lake (Iran). When not working, Sarah loves skiing, eating tacos, traveling, and spending time with family.

Robert Paine III, M.D. is Professor of Internal Medicine and Chief of the Division of Respiratory, Critical Care and Occupational Pulmonary Medicine at the University of Utah School of Medicine. He is an active clinician, educator and researcher. His research laboratory has addressed questions concerning the role of alveolar epithelial cells in pulmonary innate immune and the response to lung injury. He has carried out clinical research addressing key questions concerning defense of the lung in patients with the acute respiratory distress syndrome and mechanisms determining the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The impact of air quality on human health has been an important focus of Dr. Paine’s activities since he arrived at the University of Utah in 2007. He served as a member of the State Air Quality Board for 8 years, playing an active role in educating physicians and state leaders about the important impact of air quality on health. He has also served on the American Thoracic Society Environmental Health Policy Committee. He was the founding Director of the University of Utah Program for Air Quality, Health and Society, a multidisciplinary research program that has brought together investigators from across the University to understand and address the consequences of air pollution for human health and welfare.

Darren Parry is the former Chairman of the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation. Darren serves on the Utah Humanities and the PBS Utah, Board of Directors. He attended the University of Utah and Weber State University and received his Bachelor’s Degree in Secondary Education. Darren is the author of “The Bear River Massacre; A Shoshone History” and teaches Native American History at Utah State University. He lectures around the country on Native American issues surrounding history and Indigenous views related to sustainability. He recently gave a lecture at the University of Copenhagen and spoke about Indigenous views to Climate and Environment. His passions in life are his wife Melody, 7 children and 17 grandchildren. His other passion is his Tribal family. He wants to make sure that those who have gone before him are not forgotten.

Professor Kevin Perry has been a faculty member in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Utah for the last 21 years. He holds a B.S. degree in meteorology from Iowa State University and a Ph.D. in atmospheric sciences from the University of Washington. He served as Chair of the Department of Atmospheric Sciences for 7 years and has expertise in the broad areas of air pollution and atmospheric chemistry. For the last 6 years, his research has focused on the emission of dust from the exposed portions of the Great Salt Lake. During that time, he has spent more than 200 days conducting fieldwork at the Great Salt Lake and has personally visited all 800 square miles of the exposed lakebed. He is currently serving as a member of the Great Salt Lake Strike Team whose goal is to synthesize existing scientific data and research for use by policymakers.

Marcelle Shoop serves as the Executive Director of the Great Salt Lake Watershed Enhancement Trust, which is co-managed by National Audubon Society and The Nature Conservancy. The Trust was established to help enhance and retain water flows for Great Salt Lake.

Marcelle also launched and now directs the Saline Lakes Program for Audubon. The program is part of Audubon’s Western Water initiative that strives to advance balanced solutions to water use in the arid West so birds, ecosystems, people, and economies thrive. The Audubon Saline Lakes team leads efforts to protect the health of saline lakes across the West. These habitats, including Great Salt Lake, Lake Abert in Oregon, and lakes in the Lahontan Valley in Nevada provide irreplaceable habitat for millions of birds and are important water resources for people.

In Utah, Marcelle has worked with many partners to advance water policy and solutions to benefit Great Salt Lake and its surrounding wetlands. She contributed to the 2020 Great Salt Lake HCR10 Steering Group Recommendations Report and steered a collaborative effort to secure water for Great Salt Lake through water donations from Rio Tinto Kennecott and the Central Utah Water Conservancy District.

Prior to joining Audubon, Marcelle held various legal and managerial roles within the Rio Tinto group, including roles focused on socially and environmentally responsible business practices.

Marcelle serves as a representative of the environmental conservation interests on the Utah Watersheds Council. She also is a board member for Project WET Foundation, an organization dedicated to advancing water education to understand global challenges and inspire local solutions. Marcelle holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management and a Juris Doctor degree, both from the University of Wyoming.

Heather Tanana, JD, MPH (Diné) is an Assistant Professor (Research) & Wallace Stegner Center Fellow at the S.J. Quinney College of Law. Heather is experienced in state, federal, and tribal courts and clerked at the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah. She also founded the Indian Law Section of the Utah State Bar Association. In recognition of her work related to Tribal communities, the environment, and public health, Heather has received recognition and awards from the Natural Resources & Environmental Law Section of the Utah State bar, the Utah Minority Bar Association, and the Environment, Energy, and Resources Section of the American Bar Association.

Heather is also Associate Faculty at the Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health, where she works with the Center’s Training team on developing and teaching Institute courses and collaborates on health policy related work. She holds a Master of Public Health from the Bloomberg School of Public Health - Johns Hopkins University, where she was inducted into the Delta Omega Public Health Honorary Society.

Heather’s research interests include exploring the overlay between environmental and health policy, promoting better practices in Indian child welfare, and criminal justice in Indian Country. She sits on the boards of the Urban Indian Center of Salt Lake and Western Resource Advocates. She also volunteers her time on other working groups to promote diversity in the legal field, including the Foundation for Natural Resources and Energy Law - Diversity and Inclusion Task Force, Association of American Law Schools - Section on Indian Nations and Indigenous Peoples, and ABA Native American Resources Committee.

Bishop W. Christopher Waddell was born in Los Angeles, California, on June 28, 1959. He married Carol Stansel in July 1984 and they are the proud parents of four children. He was named First Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on October 3, 2020. He was named a General Authority Seventy on April 2, 2011, and served in that capacity until his call as Second Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric in October 2015. Bishop Waddell received a bachelor’s degree in 1984 from San Diego State University and beginning in 1984 he worked with Merrill Lynch in several positions, including first vice president of investments. Bishop Waddell has served in numerous Church callings, including full-time missionary in Spain, bishop, high councilor, counselor in a mission presidency, stake president, president of the Spain Barcelona Mission, and Area Seventy.

Muskan (Moose-Con) is a third-year student at the University of Utah Honors College, studying math and philosophy. In June of 2020, Muskan launched a campaign in collaboration with the Sierra Club Utah Chapter to commit Davis School District, her local district, to a 100% clean electricity transition by 2030, and in all energy sectors by 2040. Muskan has since had the incredible honor of leading a team — ranging from middle school students to college sophomores, teachers, and community members — to help realize a 100% clean energy commitment in Davis and has assisted with the expansion of local clean energy campaigns in Utah school districts. Muskan is a leader and mentor at U-YES, Utah Youth Environmental Solutions Network, where she supports the development of a new youth-based climate curriculum aimed at providing educational resources, mentorship, and organizing tools to young people in Utah to advance climate justice. Her experiences have cultivated a passion and commitment for community building, organizing, climate education, environmental justice, and understanding what it means to be human. She also cherishes time spent bird watching, gardening, making pottery, and exploring Trader Joes.

Elizabeth Kronk Warner is Dean and Professor of Law at the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah. She was formerly Associate Dean and Professor of Law at the University of Kansas School of Law (KU), where she was also the Director of the Tribal Law and Government Center. Dean Kronk Warner is a nationally recognized expert in the intersection of Environmental and Indian law. She has taught courses in Property, Indian, Environmental and Natural Resources Law, and supervised the KU Tribal Judicial Support Clinic. She has received several teaching excellence awards, co-authored several books on environmental issues and Native Americans, and has over 40 articles and book chapters to her credit. Dean Kronk Warner, a citizen of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, served as an appellate judge for the tribe and as a district judge for the Prairie Band Potawatomi Tribe. Dean Kronk Warner previously was an active member of the Federal Bar Association, serving on its national Board of Directors. In 2014, she received the Federal Bar Association President’s Award for leadership and extraordinary service, commitment, and guidance to the Federal Bar Association and its members. She is currently active in the American Bar Association, where she is co-chaired of the Native American Resources Committee. She holds a J.D. from the University of Michigan, a B.S. from Cornell University, and also studied at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

Brad Wilson has represented Utah’s 15th House District for over a decade and currently serves as Speaker of the House, a position he has held since 2019. During his service in the Legislature, he has championed policies to make Utah one of the strongest, best managed, and most business-friendly states in the nation. As Utah has faced prolonged drought, Speaker Wilson has championed the effort to protect Utah’s natural infrastructure by preserving and restoring the Great Salt Lake. Under his leadership, the House has advanced policies to conserve, preserve and optimize Utah’s water supply. When taking time away from work, you’ll probably find Speaker Wilson hiking in the mountains or with his family in their boat on one of Utah’s amazing lakes. Speaker Wilson, his wife Jeni, and their three children (and dog) live in Kaysville.