2024 Water Summit Speakers

Sierra Alberts has represented the State of Indiana in environmental matters for over 24 years. Sierra’s practice is within Office of Water Quality at the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM). She represents IDEM in administrative appeals, provides legal counsel, and works with the Indiana attorney general’s office on civil litigation matters. Sierra is also the section chief of the Office of Criminal Investigations. Sierra has worked with the Indiana attorney general’s office, where she defended and prosecuted environmental matters for state agencies including IDEM, the Indiana State Department of Health, and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources in matters before administrative, state, and federal courts. Before she came to the state in 1999, Sierra was a deputy prosecuting attorney with the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office. Sierra received her Doctor of Jurisprudence from the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Spanish with a minor in Business Administration from the University of Indianapolis.

Mark Basch is Head of the Water Rights & Use Section in the Division of Water at the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Mark is a hydrogeologist with a bachelor’s degree in geology from Ball State University and a master’s degree in geology from Indiana University. He has worked for the DNR Division of Water since 1984.

State Representative Chris Campbell was first elected to the Indiana House of Representatives on Nov. 6, 2018. She represents House District 26 in Tippecanoe County. Representative Campbell is the ranking minority member of the Government and Regulatory Affairs Committee and is a member of the budget-writing Ways and Means Committee as well as the Insurance Committee. She works in Lafayette as an audiologist and serves on the Executive Board of Indiana Speech and Hearing Association. She also volunteers throughout her community, and has served on the West Lafayette Library Board. Working and the West Lafayette Redevelopment Commission.

Charles Gill has worked in the wastewater and water industries for 18 years. After serving 7 years in the United States Navy, he began his water career working with Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD) in Yorktown, Virginia in 2006. Charles earned his Wastewater Operator Journeyworker Certification and his Associates in Business Administration through Strayer University. In 2015 Charles came home to Indiana to take his current position as the Manager of the Greenfield Water Utility. He is the Apprenticeship Director, a WT3 Water Operator, Workforce Committee Chairperson, Graduate of IWEA LDI class, and a Certified Public Supervisor through Ball State University

Chris Janak is a partner at Bose McKinney & Evans LLP and chair of its Utilities Group and Governmental Services Group. He has served as special and local counsel for many for-profit and nonprofit utilities, counties, regional districts, conservancy districts, municipalities, and other governmental entities in Indiana. In recent years, Chris has represented clients in a number of precedent setting cases involving local and governmental powers, contractual matters, utility rates, territorial disputes, utility procedures, utilities’ powers and duties, public service providers’ jurisdictions, and the rights and powers of municipalities. Currently, he is general counsel to the American Water Works Association.

Dawn Keyler has been employed with Wessler Engineering as a Project Analyst since March of 2020. She serves as the Chair of the INAWWA Emergency Preparedness and Security Committee, as well as a member of the operations committee for the InWARN organization. She is a member of the Indiana Executive Council on Cyber Security for the Water Sector. She is a certified trainer for the American Water Works Association Water Sector Cybersecurity Risk Management Tool. She is an experienced Project Analyst with a demonstrated history of working in the civil engineering and non-profit industries and a strong knowledge of government and engineering procedures. She has an Associate of Science degree from the University of Indianapolis.

Dr. Sally Letsinger is a Senior Research Scientist in the Department of Geography at Indiana University-Bloomington. She has over 30 years of experience studying Indiana’s water resources. Dr. Letsinger received her Ph.D. in geological sciences from Indiana University. She was the Principal Investigator for the Southeast Central Indiana water study in 2023 and is currently a member of the leadership team coordinating the two latest regional water studies – North Central Indiana and the Wabash Headwaters region.

Dr. Garth Lindner is the manager of the Resource Assessment Section with the Indiana DNR Division of Water. He is also an adjunct faculty member at the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University. Garth holds a BA and MS, both from Indiana University and a PhD from the University of Maryland-Baltimore County in the fields of Geography and Environmental Sciences. This education and experience include a broad interdisciplinary background in water resources and natural resource conservation, with special interests in watershed hydrology, hydrogeology, and fluvial processes.

Jim McGoff is Chief Operating Officer and Director of Environmental Programs of the Indiana Finance Authority and has also served as the Finance Authority's General Counsel. Prior to joining State government, Jim was a partner in the Indianapolis law firm Bingham McHale LLP (currently, Dentons, LLP), where he was a member of the firm's public finance practice group, representing the State of Indiana and many Indiana cities and towns with their municipal borrowing needs. He is a past member of the US EPA Environmental Financial Advisory Board (2016-2021), US EPA SRF State Workshop, and the Council of Infrastructure Financing Authorities, serving as President from 2020-2022. Jim was also a member of the Great Lakes Protection Fund - Advisory Board. Mr. McGoff is a past member of the National Association of Bond Lawyers, Indiana and American Bar Associations, and is a Certified Public Accountant (Inactive). He graduated with a degree in Accounting from Indiana University's Kelley School of Business and earned a J.D. from the Indiana University Maurer School of Law.

Jason Moeckel is currently the Manager for the Inventory, Monitoring and Analysis Section of the Division of Ecological and Water Resources at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. This section is responsible for collecting and analyzing information about Minnesota’s water and biological resources to inform management decisions. Jason previously managed Minnesota’s premier trout streams in Southeastern Minnesota, and served as Statewide Fisheries Operations Supervisor. Jason has an MS in Resource Conservation from the University of Montana and a BS in Environmental Studies from San Jose State University.

Vanessa Green Sinders became President and CEO of the Indiana Chamber on January 4, 2024. She is the Chamber’s first female president. She is the founder and principal of Green Sinders Consulting, which provides leadership development and coaching services, strategic advice, project execution, and crisis management services to clients. Prior to her role at the Indiana Chamber, she was Senior Vice President and Department Head for Government Affairs at the American Hotel & Lodging Association, and Senior Vice President for Government Affairs at Charter Communications/Spectrum. She holds a bachelor’s degree in government from Dartmouth College with a minor in economics.

Jennifer Thum is the Director of the Division of Soil Conservation in the Indiana State Department of Agriculture. In that role, she is also the Secretary of the State Soil Conservation Board. The Division of Soil Conservation works with all 92 Soil and Water Conservation Districts in the state, coordinates the Indiana Conservation Partnership, and leads the State Nutrient Reduction Strategy. In her previous roles in the Division, Jennifer oversaw the Western Lake Erie Basin Regional Conservation Partnership Program and the Kankakee Regional Conservation Partnership Program. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Eastern Michigan University and a Master’s in Public Administration from Norther Michigan University.

John Trypus, P.E., P.G., is Director of Underground Engineering and Construction at Citizens Energy Group in Indianapolis. In that role, he oversees capital work associated with Citizens’ water distribution and wastewater collection systems as well as the DigIndy Tunnel Project. John has 25 years of experience in the planning, design, and construction of utility projects. He holds a bachelor’s degree in geology from the University of South Florida and an MBA from Johns Hopkins University.

Marty A. Wessler is Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Wessler Engineering in Indianapolis. He is a Professor Engineer (P.E.) with expertise in wastewater collection and treatment systems. Mr. Wessler has served on the state’s Water Infrastructure, Wastewater, and Stormwater task forces. In 2018 his contributions to the water service industry were recognized by the Indiana Section of the American Water Works Association with its George W. Fuller Award.