DRI - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- HUMAN RESOURCES GENERALIST
- Member of the Human Resources Team
Ashley provides employment and administrative services with our technologist and hourly recruitment process, candidate sourcing, position advertisements, applicant tracking, relocation, and other NNSC customer service regarding employment and recruitment. Ashley provides support to all DRI employees and HR staff. She is the point of contact for payroll related matters, hourly onboarding, volunteers, and record keeping. She continually leads special projects, as needed, to support all areas of HR.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Vice President for Information Technology and Research Computing
Dan McEvoy is a climatologist with the Western Regional Climate Center at DRI. In this interview, Dr. McEvoy answers frequently asked questions about how warmer temperatures are impacting water availability and wildfire risk in the West, and what he and other DRI scientists are doing to monitor these changes. This is the first in a new series of FAQ videos with DRI researchers.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Human Resources Team
- HUMAN RESOURCES GENERALIST & EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT Coordinator
Dana provides employment and administrative services with our faculty and postdoc recruitment process, candidate sourcing, position advertisements, applicant tracking, relocation, and other NNSC customer service regarding employment and recruitment. Dana also serves as our Bridge learning management system (LMS) subject matter expert.
Job Titles:
- Communications Manager
- MEDIA INQUIRIES
Job Titles:
- Director of Research Administration Services and Compliance
- Director of Research, Administration Services and Compliance, at
Kumud Acharya, Ph.D., serves as DRI's ninth President. Pres. Acharya leads more than 600 scientists, engineers, and research support staff who rank among the top in the world in their specialties, which include atmospheric, hydrologic, earth and ecosystem, and wildfire sciences. Dr. Acharya became interim president at DRI in September of 2019 and was named permanent president in September of 2020.
Pres. Acharya's focus as president has been fostering growth in scientific areas that matter now, including wildfires, drought, extreme weather, climate modeling, and STEM education. DRI supports graduate students from Nevada universities who work alongside DRI's world-renowned scientists, and under Pres. Acharya's leadership, DRI launched an undergraduate internship immersion program to encourage those who may not see themselves in a STEM career to learn about careers in science. He has also expanded DRI's STEM education program, which provides teacher trainings and free resources for Nevada teachers to enhance STEM education.
Under Pres. Acharya's leadership, philanthropic support for DRI has increased more than 95% and included the launch of the Innovation Research Program (IRP). Started in 2018 as an initiative of the DRI Foundation, the IRP provides seed funding for early-stage but highly promising research projects at DRI.
Pres. Acharya recognizes that collaboration is vital in scientific research, and under his leadership, collaboration has increased within DRI's three research divisions as well as with faculty at other Nevada System of Higher Education institutions. The National Science Foundation Southwest Sustainability Innovation Engine (SWSIE) is one example. DRI and UNLV are partners along with Arizona State University and the University of Utah. SWSIE is among the first proposals selected by the NSF to establish a Regional Innovation Engine, a first-of-its-kind NSF program to create focused research and technology transfer hubs. SWSIE aims to establish the Southwest as a leader in carbon capture, water security and renewable energy and bring high-wage industries to the region.
DRI is a soft-money institution characterized by the entrepreneurial spirit of the faculty at DRI's Reno and Las Vegas campuses. Maintaining this culture and support system is a critical responsibility of Pres. Acharya and DRI's leadership team. Under Pres. Acharya's leadership, DRI's research grants have grown from $31.8 million in FY2019 to more than $65 million in FY24, making DRI among the top nine percent of institutions in funding in geosciences, the top six percent for research funding in atmospheric sciences, and in the top three percent in geological and earth sciences. For every $1 that the state of Nevada provides to support DRI's facilities and administration, DRI scientists bring in nearly $5 in outside grants and contracts that have a positive economic benefit to the state.
Pres. Acharya is also leading DRI's development of the DRI Research Park, a 328-acre site adjacent to DRI's Reno campus that will bring technology companies to co-locate near DRI's Reno campus, further expanding scientific knowledge and discovery in Nevada. He serves on the boards for the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance (LVGEA) and the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada (EDAWN). LVGEA and EDAWN are committed to growing high quality jobs and improving the economy and quality of life of the people in the Las Vegas and greater Reno-Sparks regions.
Pres. Acharya rose through the ranks of DRI as a research professor in ecological engineering where he led pioneering work in Nevada and around the world to help water managers address aquatic invasive species, traditional and emerging contaminants threatening important freshwater systems. His 25-plus years of environmental study have blended traditional research on the health of rivers, lakes, and wetlands, with applied research to better understand the impact of climate change and other man-made stressors on aquatic ecosystems. He has published more than 100 peer-reviewed papers and served as first-author on many publications focused on water and ecosystem health.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director for Atmospheric Sciences
- Executive Director of the Division of Atmospheric Sciences
- Executive Director, Division of Atmospheric Sciences
Dr. Naresh Kumar is the Executive Director of the Division of Atmospheric Sciences (DAS) at Desert Research Institute (DRI) where he leads over 100 scientists, engineers, and research support staff who conduct basic and applied research in diverse areas such as air quality and associated health risks, cloud and aerosol physics, atmospheric chemistry, climate, renewable energy, fire science, and atmospheric dynamics.
Dr. Kumar has over 30 years of experience in conducting and leading research in air quality and health, environmental aspects of renewables and natural gas, climate change, wind and solar forecasting, and multimedia environmental issues. Prior to joining DRI, he served at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) in various roles, most recently being a Senior Program Manager in the Environment Division and was responsible for the strategic business and research direction in those research areas. Prior to joining EPRI, Dr. Kumar was at Sonoma Technologies, Inc. where he played a leading role in development and application of advanced air quality models in collaboration with academia to simulate emissions, meteorology and air quality in California.
Dr. Kumar is co-author of more than fifty peer-reviewed papers published in scientific journals. He has served on the Publications Committee of the Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association and its Editorial Review Board having served as a Chair for both in the past. He has held many other leadership roles with different organizations throughout his career, including co-chair of the Executive Steering Committee for the North American Research Strategy for Tropospheric Ozone (NARSTO); the Community Modeling and Analysis System External Advisory Committee; the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee Panel for Secondary SOx/NOx National Ambient Air Quality Standards; and the NYSERDA Advisory Committee on Climate Change and Adaptation. He has also organized multiple conferences and workshops on different scientific topics inviting leading scientists to develop research agendas on those topics.
Dr. Kumar received his B. Tech. degree in Mechanical Engineering from I.I.T. Kharagpur, an M.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from University of California, Santa Barbara, and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. He also holds an MBA degree from University of California Haas School of Business, Berkeley.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director for Earth and Ecosystem Sciences
Job Titles:
- Executive Director for Hydrologic Sciences
Job Titles:
- Vice President for Research
Job Titles:
- Staff Research Scientist and Environmental Economist
Erik Henzl is a Staff Research Scientist and environmental economist who joined DRI in January 2025. Based at DRI's Reno campus, he is currently focused on estimating the water and energy required to support Nevada's rapidly expanding data centers now and into the future. In the following interview, he shares his passion for learning as a vocation and how his research will help Nevada navigate its growing role in the digital world.
Job Titles:
- Director of Human Resources
- Member of the Human Resources Team
Jennifer provides leadership and oversight for human resources at the Desert Research Institute. The HR team serves to support the organization by developing strategic initiatives the distinguish people as our greatest asset. HR Strives to provide outstanding service while fostering collaboration in the development of programs and services to contribute toward and strengthen our organization's effectiveness.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Human Resources Team
- HR Coordinator II
Jimena provides employment and administrative services with our advertisements, applicant tracking, relocation, and other NNSC customer service regarding employment and recruitment. Jimena assists with onboarding training and any Workday questions as well. She continually helps all HR staff with projects, as needed, to support all areas of HR.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Human Resources Team
- HR BUSINESS PARTNER - DRI's LAS VEGAS CAMPUS
Joanne provides all HR services for DRI's Southern Nevada Science Center (SNSC) in Las Vegas. Joanne handles all recruitment functions, new hire orientation, payroll, benefits, record keeping, and facilitates resolution of employee relations matters.
Kelly Loria, Ph.D., is a Postdoctoral Researcher and stream ecologist who joined DRI in July 2025. She is working with Monica Arienzo, Brittany Kruger, and Mark Hausner to study the water quality impacts of the 2024 Davis Fire in southern Reno's Washoe Lake and surrounding streams. In the following interview, Loria shares her passion for the ecology of western mountains and increasing our knowledge of Nevada landscapes.
Job Titles:
- HR BUSINESS PARTNER
- Member of the Human Resources Team
Kelsey is our Northern Nevada benefits expert and can assist with all benefits questions including health insurance, health saving accounts, flexible spending accounts, supplement benefits, retirement questions and planning and leaves including FMLA. Kelsey is the HR Workday subject matter expert and can assist with technical guidance as it relates to the HR portion of Workday and report writing.
Job Titles:
- Chief Financial Officer
- Controller
Job Titles:
- Assistant Vice President for Real Estate & Capital Planning
Reno, Nev. (Sept 17, 2021) - DRI is pleased to announce that the 23rd annual Peter B. Wagner Memorial Award for Women in Atmospheric Sciences has been awarded to Yi Zhang, Ph.D., of Princeton University. Zhang received this honor on September 16 at an award ceremony and public lecture on her winning paper at the DRI campus in Reno.
Job Titles:
- Director of External Affairs