WATERSHED MANAGEMENT GROUP - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Amy became familiar with Watershed Management's impact through her work with Recharge the Rain, a project in partnership with WMG and AZ Project WET. From 2017-2021 the group worked with over 40 schools in Tucson installing and developing curriculum for rain gardens and climate literacy. In conjunction with her work in Green Academy, a teacher training program for garden-based curriculum integration, Amy has helped support over 70+ school gardens in Tucson. Now, in her position as program manager for ASU's Sustainability Teachers' Academies, Amy continues to support, design, and maintain school gardens that serve as learning labs for rainwater harvesting, food production and pollinator attraction across the nation. She joins the WMG Board of Directors with hopes to promote the health of our watersheds, expand Hydro-Local education, and to serve the Tucson community.
Job Titles:
- Development & Events Manager
Andrea Buttrick grew up hiking the mountains of New Hampshire, now hikes the deserts and mountains of Arizona; and runs wherever she is. She is excited to lend her skills and experience to building a vibrant and engaged stewardship community for WMG; one that both serves and is served by the regeneration of our shared desert watershed. Andrea graduated from Earlham College in Indiana with a degree in Human Development and Social Relations. She moved to the Southwest in 2002, embarking on a path of seemingly disparate careers including Early Childhood Education, bike mechanics, cabinetry; and most recently, Communications at Food Conspiracy Co-op. Each of these, however engaged her gifts for reflective storytelling, and curating vibrant and just community culture. Outside of work, Andrea is the Manager for several music projects. She thoroughly enjoys a good repair, organizational, or archival project; the antics of her husky; hiking and running and reading and swinging in hammocks; exploring gin and gin cocktails; and soaking in time alone and with family.
Catlow Shipek is a founding member of Watershed Management Group. He received a MSc in Watershed Management from the University of Arizona. Catlow has over 15 years of experience in applied watershed management, planning and policy specializing in urban applications like water harvesting, green infrastructure, stream restoration, and eco-sanitation. Catlow has worked on several successful local policy initiatives including Tucson's Green Streets Active Practice Guidelines, Tucson Water's residential rainwater rebate program, Tucson's residential greywater ordinance revision process, and through the Complete Streets Taskforce the adoption of Tucson's Complete Streets Policy. Catlow has served on the Citizens' Water Advisory Committee for Tucson Water including Chair of the Conservation & Education subcommittee, Tucson's Complete Streets Coordinating Council, and on the University of Arizona's School of Natural Resource and the Environment's advisory board. Catlow enjoys growing and foraging for food, long mountain trail runs, and finding swimming holes.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- President of the Board
Ceanne Alvine, PhD, MBA, RN, is serving her third two-year term on the WMG Board of Directors after beginning her work at WMG as a docent in 2016. Dr. Alvine had an extensive career in Nursing and Healthcare Administration, having taught Nursing at Pima Community College where she served on the Faculty Senate. Previously Dr. Alvine served on both the Arizona Healthcare Association and National Centers for Assisted Living Boards of Directors. She has also been a lifelong environmental advocate in the areas of water conservation-seeking the promotion of sustainable water practices to enhance human health. Dr. Alvine volunteers with WMG through the River Run Network program and previously collected stream flow data as a 365 Flow Monitor.
Job Titles:
- Program Manager and Educator
Charlie graduated from Dickinson College in 2012 with a B.S. in Physics and has worked in environmental education and non-profit communications. He ventured from Pennsylvania to Tucson in early 2016 and has become enchanted by the Sonoran Desert and Tucson community. Charlie is passionate about using community education to help drive sustainable decision-making on an individual basis and in city decision-making. In his role at WMG he designs and installs community green infrasturcture projects and oversees WMG's Phoenix Valley based programs. When he isn't talking about water harvesting Charlie likes playing soccer, cooking, and dancing with his two left feet.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Eva has been a Tucson resident since 2015. As an enthusiastic environmentalist concerned with water conservation, Eva immediately modified her Tucson property to capture rainwater by creating passive earthworks and installing a cistern. She continued to meet people in the community involved with WMG, joined the Green Living Co-op, and has already done one round of board service. She's enthusiastic about the organization's mission of growing awareness of and helping the community implement best water conservation practices. Eva works in communications.
If you are interested in actively serving on the Board of Directors, please contact us.
We are seeking technical advisers, enthusiastic fundraisers, community organizers, or, most importantly, motivated individuals committed to our mission.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Vice President of the Board of Directors
Jennifer Mills is a native Arizonan who has a great appreciation for the vibrant and diverse place where she grew up. As a Financial Advisor, she has been assisting clients with their financial and investment decisions since 1994. Jennifer is excited to work with Baird, an employee-owned, international financial services firm with $203 billion in client assets.
Jennifer was introduced to Watershed Management Group by a like-minded client and friend, Marguerite Fisher. She is as excited as ever to be a part of an organization that embodies so many of the values that are near and dear to her heart. In her spare time, she is an enthusiastic rather than accomplished gardener who also enjoys hiking, camping, yoga, walks with her two Jack Russell Terriers, and watching sunsets with friends and family.
Job Titles:
- Cultural Ecologist Director
Joaquin specializes in building resilience in diverse communities by enhancing the connections between people, culture, and natural resources. Joaquin brings vast experience on the multicultural border region between the US and Mexico, where he has implemented community-based approaches to watershed management, river restoration, geo-tourism, conservation of native peoples, and best practices for the ranching community. His past work has been with the Sonoran Institute and as a consultant for National Geographic Society and other organizations. Joaquin is a graduate of the University of Arizona with MSc in Natural Resources and Agricultural Economics and a PhD in Renewable Natural Resources Studies with an emphasis on management, policy and economics of natural resources. A native of Sonora, Mexico and resident of Arizona, Joaquin is fluent in both Spanish and English.
Job Titles:
- Education Program Director
Julie has over 30 years of experience teaching in experiential, place-based, embodied education both in the US and in Australia, where she lived for fifteen years. Julie made her way to Tucson in 2023, reconnecting to the Sonoran Desert near where she grew up (in San Bernardino, Ca), and the land of her father's family across the border in Sonora and Chihuahua. Early university studies in the sciences and work in a soils science lab evolved into a performing arts focus and Regalado was active in California in the modern dance world. Often working in non-formal settings, Julie brings a perspective encompassing a social-ecological and relational approach towards building more constructive relationships - human and more-than-human. She holds a BA in Liberal Studies from UC Riverside, a MFA in Dance from Mills College, and a MEd in Social Ecology from Western Sydney University, where she also recently completed a M.Res researching how a place-based embodied awareness practice might foster ecological consciousness. In her free time, she explores her new town of Tucson on foot and scrambles over boulders in the Dragoon Mountains. She loves cooking, eating, reading, gardening and speaks passable French and Spanish.
Job Titles:
- River Run Network Program Manager
Lauren has a B.S. in Watershed Hydrology and Management from the University of Arizona. As a Tucson native, Lauren has a passion for the environment and the community in this area and wants to continue spreading this excitement for nature, water and people through her work with the River Run Network. Lauren enjoys hiking, drinking coffee, and reading in her spare time.
Born and raised in Arizona, Lindsey's passion for the diverse ecosystems this state has to offer started small with nature walks during a middle school science class and has now developed into studying natural resource science with an emphasis in ecohydrology and watershed management at the University of Arizona. Having come to the Watershed Management Group from working in mushroom, tree-ring, and climate labs and for the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Lindsey is passionate about gaining a community-based perspective on the amazing natural environments around the Tucson area in order to better address the water and climate issues we face. In her free time Lindsey enjoys the natural world by hiking, pinning insects, pressing flowers, and propagating plants.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director
- Founding Member
Lisa Shipek is a founding member of Watershed Management Group and has served as the Executive Director since 2006. Lisa directs fundraising, strategic development, financial planning, community engagement, and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion activities for WMG. She co-directs the River Run Network program and manages the development of the Living Lab & Learning Center. Her specialized skills include developing experiential education programs; building community coalitions; and adapting technical information for public consumption. She holds a B.S. in Environmental Science and an M.A. in Latin American Studies. Lisa gives back to the community through serving on advisory boards, which has included: Tucson's Environmental Services Advisory Committee, Tucson's Transit Task Force, Tucson Conserve to Enhance, and the Santa Cruz Watershed Collaborative. Lisa was honored to be invited to join Women at the Top in 2020, a Tucson-based business networking group. She fills her free time with playing ultimate frisbee and dancing and enjoys gardening, bike touring, and camping with her husband Catlow.
Job Titles:
- Green Infrastructure Project Manager
Born and raised in the Colorado River Delta region, Luis always wondered why his native hometown of San Luis Río Colorado was named after a river that seldom flowed through there. As a result, Luis completed a B.S. degree in Environmental Hydrology and Water Resources at the University of Arizona in 2017. During his time at the university, Luis began to understand the complex relationship between rivers and their users, and decided to pursue a career that emphasizes community-centric, ecological approaches to educating the public about environmental issues of the Southwest and natural resource conservation. Luis is fluent in both Spanish and English, and you can find him reading, writing, cooking, or playing drums at home when he's not digging through crates at record stores or looking for a good place to set up a hammock on top of a nearby mountain.
My name is Matt Webb, and I am a senior majoring in hydrology and watershed management in the school of natural resources at the University of Arizona. I was born and raised in the small town of Clifton, Arizona, and grew up swimming and visiting the local rivers constantly. The community of Clifton shares a very close bond with the surrounding rivers/nature, and I would love to contribute to bringing that same sense of connection to Tucson. In the future, I aspire to work in water supply management and help raise awareness about the water crisis affecting underserved communities, such as the many reservations in Arizona. During my free time, I enjoy distance running, walking dogs, and caring for my plants.
Max Wingert was born in Texas but grew up in Tokyo. He spent the formative years thereafter right here in Arizona, however, and graduated with a degree in Communication from the U of A. And that, ultimately, is his greatest strength - communication, in all of its myriad forms. Reading, writing, speaking, acting, interacting… ultimately it all comes down to storytelling. Max joined WMG in the hopes of shaping and sharing a better story - one of hope and triumph, of overcoming obstacles and surmounting odds, of connection and community. When not endeavoring to change the world for the better, Max also crafts cocktails, makes mocktails, plays music, practices yoga, and wanders the wilderness with his incorrigible pup Dani.
Job Titles:
- Admin
- Operations Assistant
Melanie Cooley arrived in Tucson from the Midwest over 30 years ago and fell immediately in love with the Sonoran Desert. Their passions are desert-friendly gardening, habitat restoration, water harvesting, critters, and dance. When not at WMG, she can most likely be found with hands in dirt, tending plants, tracing the path of water across her yard, dancing, or hanging out with her three dogs, five chickens, and desert tortoise named Mr. T. Melanie has an MFA in Poetry from the University of Michigan and is a certified 5Rhythms (movement/dance meditation) teacher. She is deeply interested in the connections between the body of earth and human bodies. She speaks English, basic French and Spanish--and just enough Arabic to have a conversation with a four-year-old.
Mireya is majoring in Landscape Architecture with minors in Environmental Science and Spanish at the University of Arizona. Born in Tucson yet raised in Maricopa County, she has family ties in Tucson dating back to the early 1920's, specifically in the city of South Tucson. Mireya's passions include sustainability, environmental justice, and design. In the future she hopes to assist marginalized communities faced with environmental hardships through landscape architectural design, and urban planning. In her free time, Mireya enjoys going to concerts, trying new foods, spending time with loved ones, and exploring the outdoors.
Job Titles:
- Living Lab Operations Manager
Paul and his wife Michelle have recently moved to the Tucson area from Cleveland, Ohio. Paul just wrapped up a 32-year career with a fortune 500 company where he had worked in Sales, Marketing, Operations, and Human Resources. He spent part of this career living and working in Europe, and in Asia. As part of what he calls his "retirement plan", Paul started attending The University of Arizona seeking a degree in Sustainable Build Environments. He is passionate about water reclamation and helping to find ways for people living in the Southwest to better utilize this valuable resource. He began in 2022 as a Docent for WMG and then became part of the staff as Operation Manager at the Living Lab and Learning Center. Paul enjoys traveling, hiking and is a certified rescue SCUBA Diver.
Paul Strong is a Masters student in Water, Society, and Policy at the University of Arizona. Paul is passionate about using creative problem solving and local partnerships to address global issues. His professional interests include water, sustainable development, climate resilience, and community organization. He is a co-founder and past director of 33 Buckets, a nonprofit implementing rural water projects in Peru. 33 Buckets uses human-centered design to partner with communities and co-create sustainable water treatment solutions. Outside of work and school, Paul likes sports, travel, hiking, rock climbing, volunteering, and learning guitar.
Job Titles:
- Restoration Ecologist Project Manager
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Scott has a long history of working on issues related to water. In his native California, he served on the Lompico Water District's Board of Directors and on the Santa Cruz City Water Commission. He moved to Arizona in 2012 to work at ASU, where his last position was as the Assistant Director of Future H2O, an initiative to integrate water-related research across multiple disciplines. After moving to Tucson in 2018, he served for two years on the Metro Water District's Financial Advisory Committee.
Scott has managed large programs at non-profit organizations, and supported university faculty in applying for and managing grants from a variety of public and private institutions. He was a community activist for many years, championing environmental and social justice causes.
Job Titles:
- IT Manager
- Senior Administrator
Sky is a southwest native who loves our region's diverse biology, culture, and landscapes. He has worked primarily as a nonprofit administrator, naturalist/biologist, IT specialist, and website developer for organizations including Sky Island Alliance, The University of Arizona, SWCA Biological Consultants, National Park Service, among others. Sky is dedicated to protecting the region's biodiversity through conservation action and lifestyle choices. In his free time, Sky enjoys exploring remote and wild parts of Arizona, Sonora and the greater Southwest, attempting photography, studying birds and plants, and growing native plants in his yard.