2020 Agenda & Speakers

Brandon Alexander is a Plant Manger II responsible for Indianapolis, Portland, and Whitestown, Indiana facilities. He has held multiple roles within Coca Cola including Maintenance Manager, Quality Manager, Operations Manager, and Plant Manager. Brandon is a board member with the Hoosier Beverage Association and the White River Alliance. He is born and raised a Hoosier and enjoys everything this state has to offer. Brandon is a graduate of Indiana University Bloomington with undergrad and MBA in Business. He lives in Carmel with his wife, Michelle, and 3 boys.

Jody Arthur has worked in the Indiana Department of Environmental Management’s (IDEM's) Office of Water Quality for 20 years. She's spent most of that time working with other IDEM scientists to tell the story of water quality in the Hoosier state and is passionate about building bridges between those who collect water quality data and those that need it to make better decisions. Jody is also a founding member of the Indiana Water Monitoring Council and continues to serve on its board of directors.

Daniel Ballard grew up in Atlanta, Ga. He is a graduate of Lakeside High School, and attended Auburn University, where he obtained a BS in Zoology (Biodiversity and Conservation) in 2004 and a Master of Landscape Architecture in 2011. Ballard’s early work history has included years as a full service gas station attendant in his teens, where he learned the invaluable lessons of hard work, to a fulltime firefighter in college, where he learned the value and joy of public service, coupled with the pride of being a part of the nation’s first responder family. His post-graduate career includes two years as a Staff Scientist for a small environmental consulting firm, eight years as a Watershed Coordinator for the City of Auburn, four years as their Watershed Division Manager, and currently serves as the Division Manager of Landscape and Sustainability within the City’s Public Works Department. Ballard has been married to his wife Amy for 17 years, and they raise their two boys (11 & 16) and a girl (13) in north Auburn, fishing, kayaking, hiking, and swimming as much as life will allow.

Mark Basch is a hydrogeologist with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Water. Mark received his Undergraduate Degree in Geology from Ball State University in 1979. He then worked three years for Reynold's Supply, Inc., a well installation and service company, prior to obtaining a Master's Degree in Geology from Indiana University. Mark has been employed with the Division of Water since 1984, and currently heads up the Division's Water Rights and Use Section.

Mayor Jim Brainard is Carmel’s first seven-term mayor. Under his tenure, Carmel has experienced tremendous growth and prosperity. He has implemented numerous environmental initiatives for the City of Carmel. He has encouraged the construction of roundabouts in place of traditional signaled intersections reducing vehicle emissions. Mayor Brainard has signed executive orders mandating the use of hybrid or flex-fuel vehicles for city operations when available and recently enacted a “No Idling” policy for city employees. In addition, he encouraged the City’s Utilities Department to develop the technology to use recaptured methane gas to power its wastewater treatment facility, as well as repurpose its biosolid waste into high quality fertilizer (topsoil), eliminating the need for its transport to and disposal in a landfill. Carmel has been honored with many awards for its high quality of life and environmental initiatives. Mayor Brainard’s academic background includes a Bachelor of Arts in History from Butler University and Doctor of Jurisprudence from Ohio Northern University. He also received a diploma from the Oxford Institute on International and Comparative Law from the University of San Diego. His book, entitled Carmel, ‘round about right, shares the story of redevelopment in Carmel during his administration. He is serving as a Trustee and Co-chair of the Energy Independence and Climate Protection Task Force for the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

Kieran Fahey is the City of South Bend’s combined sewer long-term control plan Director. A native of Ireland, he previously spent a decade with the Irish EPA. He also worked with the Irish Government’s Department of Agriculture and as a consultant on a range of environmental engineering assignments throughout the European Union and Middle-East. Kieran is currently reimagining, rewriting and renegotiating the remaining 85% of South Bend’s $860 million CSO long-term control plan. He is an environmental scientist and an engineer and he lives in South Bend.

Charles Gill has worked in the wastewater and water industries for nearly fourteen years. He began his water career working with Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD) in Yorktown, Virginia after serving seven years in the United States Navy. In the nine years working for HRSD, as a plant operator he worked at a 15 MGD activate solids plant and a 40 MGD BNR plant. Charles earned his Wastewater Operator Journeyworker Certification and his Associates in Business Administration through Strayer University. Charles came home to Indiana in 2015 to take his current position as the Manager of the Greenfield Water Utility. He is the Apprenticeship Director, a WT3 Water Operator, and a Certified Public Supervisor through Ball State and is currently working to complete his Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Management.

Since 2017, Sarah Hudson has served as the Director of the Indiana Finance Authority’s Water Resources and Infrastructure Planning Program. In that position she oversaw the IFA’s Lead Sampling in Schools Program, the Water Loss Audit Program, the Regional Water Planning Initiative, and the Central Indiana Water Study. Past positions include work for the DeKalb County Soil and Water Conservation District, the Indiana Rural Community Assistance Program, the Indiana SRF Loan Programs, and Curry & Associates, an environmental engineering consulting firm. Sarah has a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Indiana University and a master’s degree in Biology from the University of Dayton.

Katie Jamriska is a Water Quality and Environmental Compliance Lead for Indiana American Water where she is responsible for the drinking water quality and environmental compliance for four districts in Central Indiana serving approximately 150,000 people. She also focuses a large portion of her time on source water protection for all 30 of Indiana American Water’s districts. She holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Chemistry, an MBA, and has over 14 years of experience in the water utility industry.

Adam Kiel is Director of Conservation and External Programs at the Iowa Soybean Association. In this role Adam works to develop value opportunities for farmers adopting on-farm conservation. Additionally, his work seeks to measure and quantify outcomes generated by conservation practices. Adam previously held positions at the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, National Park Service and Drake University. He earned a Bachelor of Science in geography from the University of Iowa in Iowa City. Adam will provide project oversight and internal coordination. Prior to joining ISA in 2013, Kiel worked eight years for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources in the watershed improvement section. In this role, he helped watershed groups across the state develop plans, apply for funding and work with farmers and landowners to implement conservation practices. He also developed computer models and tools to identify critical areas of need. Additionally, Kiel served as an adjunct professor at Drake University from 2006-2013 teaching computer mapping. Kiel grew up on a farm near Decorah, Iowa, The family was active in conservation — building ponds, contour farming and restoring prairies and wildlife habitat. His upbringing and watching neighboring farmers improve the environment while staying productive inspired Kiel to help other farmers do the same thing. He earned a Bachelor of Science in geography from the University of Iowa in Iowa City.

Mike Kuntz is currently serving as Utilities Environmental Manager for the City of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Mike has a B.A. in Biology from Coe College and several State of Iowa Operators licenses. He has a Grade 4 Voluntary Collection System, Grade 2 Wastewater Treatment and Grade 1 Water Treatment and Distribution license. Mike began his career as a Lab Analyst at Cedar Rapids Water Pollution Control Facility in 1988 and worked in the lab for 11 years. He then became Industrial Pretreatment Coordinator, responsible for writing and enforcing wastewater discharge permits for 30 Industrial Users. Mike served in this role for 7 years and then took a position with Cedar Rapids Public Works Department as Sewer Superintendent, where he led a team of 23 people responsible for cleaning, inspecting, maintaining and constructing sanitary and storm sewers. Mike held the Sewer Superintendent position for 7 years before taking on the current role of Utilities Environmental Manager in 2013. Mike currently has responsibility for maintaining compliance with NPDES Permit, Title V Air permit, Process Safety Management-Chlorine, Laboratory Certification and Watershed Partnerships. The Utilities Division consists of Wastewater Facility, 2 Water Treatment Plants and Solid Waste and Recycling division.

Robert Mace is the Interim Executive Director and Chief Water Policy Officer of The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment and a Professor of Practice in the Department of Geography at Texas State University. Robert has over 30 years of experience in hydrology, hydrogeology, stakeholder processes, and water policy. Robert has a B.S. in Geophysics and an M.S. in Hydrology from the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology and a Ph.D. in Hydrogeology from The University of Texas at Austin. His residential consumption of water is under 30 gallons per person per day (and would be lower if his wife was more cooperative!).

Todd Marty is the Senior Director of Public Affairs for Coca-Cola Consolidated. He is a third generation Coca-Cola employee. Todd most recently led Sales and Merchandising Operations as Vice President of the Indiana Market Unit and is currently leading Government Affairs in Indiana and supporting Sustainability for the company. Todd is a proud Hoosier that enjoys the outdoors and has a passion for protecting the environment in which we live. He is a graduate of Indiana State University and devoted husband and father of three that honors God in all he does.

Jill Reinhart is the Assistant State Conservationist for Partnerships at the Natural Resources Conservation Service's (NRCS) Indiana State Office. She is responsible for managing targeted landscape initiatives, building and maintaining relationships with partner agencies and organizations and reaching out to underserved audiences. Prior to this position Jill was an NRCS liaison to the Conservation Technology Information Center, a national nonprofit organization, as a water quality specialist. Before working for NRCS, she spent almost 8 years with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management's Watershed Management Section, working on watershed planning and managing the Section 319 Nonpoint Source grant program. Jill has degrees in Biology and Environmental Studies from Indiana University.

Mary Beth Stevenson serves as the Watersheds & Source Water Coordinator for the City of Cedar Rapids. She helps with the city’s engagement in watershed-based efforts to improve water quality and reduce flood risk. Mary Beth’s role with the city involves coordinating with multiple stakeholder groups to advance watershed improvement efforts. This includes grant writing and management, building relationships with upstream producers and agricultural communities, and coordinating the city’s participation in the State of Iowa’s Nutrient Reduction Exchange. She is currently the Vice Chair of the Middle Cedar Watershed Management Authority and also serves on the board of the Lower Cedar Watershed Management Authority. Mary Beth holds a master’s degree in conservation biology from the University of Michigan and a bachelor’s degree in biology from Grinnell College.

W. William Weeks is a Clinical Professor of Law Emeritus at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law. He holds the Scolnik Clinical Chair in Conservation Law. He is the Chair of the Conservation Law Center, which he founded 14 years ago, and directed through 2018. The Center provides legal counsel to conservation organizations, works to improve conservation law and policy, and offers law students clinical experience in the practice of law and the profession’s public service tradition. Earlier in his career, Professor Weeks practiced law in Indianapolis and Washington, D.C. He was also State Director, Director of the Center for Compatible Economic Development, Chief Operating Officer, and Executive Vice President of The Nature Conservancy. He graduated magna cum laude from the Indiana University Maurer School of Law in 1979. Upon graduation, he was elected a member of the Order of the Coif. He is the author of Beyond the Ark (Island Press, 1996) as well as numerous publications relating to conservation of biodiversity, water quality, and conservation easement law.

In 1980 Dr. Wittman began his water career as a surface water treatment plant operator at the City Creek Treatment Plant in Salt Lake City, Utah. Since 1990 Jack has worked with utility regulators, governor's offices, investor-owned utilities, and professional organizations on water supply planning and development. Jack grew up in the Midwest (Northern Illinois) got his BS and MS at Utah State University in Logan and became a transplanted Hoosier 30 years ago when he moved to Bloomington to get his PhD. Currently, INTERA is working on the Central Indiana Water project funded by the IFA.