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Executive Council Leadership

Executive Council

The National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) Executive Council provides the NIDIS Program Office with an opportunity to engage in individual consultation with senior resource officials from NIDIS’s leading federal partners (such as USDA, DOI, and others) as well as leaders from state and local government, academia, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector.

Executive Council Members

Name
Lynn Knight
Affiliation / Title
USDA Climate Hubs
Name
Mark Brusberg
Affiliation / Title
USDA Office of the Chief Economist
Name
Dr. David Raff
Affiliation / Title
DOI Bureau of Reclamation
Name
Doug Hilderbrand
Affiliation / Title
NOAA National Weather Service
Name
Robyn Colosimo
Affiliation / Title
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Name
Mindi Dalton
Affiliation / Title
DOI U.S. Geological Survey
Name
Dr. Mark Svoboda
Affiliation / Title
National Drought Mitigation Center
Name
Matthew Chase
Affiliation / Title
National Association of Counties
Name
David LaFrance
Affiliation / Title
American Water Works Association
Name
Will Sarni
Affiliation / Title
Water Foundry
Name
Beth Callaway
Affiliation / Title
Interstate Council on Water Policy
Name
Dr. Erin Urquhart
Affiliation / Title
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Name
Dr. Thomas Graziano
Affiliation / Title
NOAA Office of Water Prediction
Name
Dr. Gerald J. Kauffman
Affiliation / Title
University Council on Water Resources
Name
Edgar Ruiz
Affiliation / Title
Council of State Governments
Name
Hon. Bob Gallagher
Affiliation / Title
Mayor of Bettandorf, IA, Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative
Name
Tom Iseman
Affiliation / Title
The Nature Conservancy
Name
Chuck Chaitovitz
Affiliation / Title
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Name
Gerald Geernaert
Affiliation / Title
U.S. Department of Energy

NIDIS Program Office Staff

The NIDIS Program Office resides within the NOAA Climate Program Office, which is part of NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research. Located in Boulder, Colorado, the NIDIS Program Office is hosted by the Physical Sciences Laboratory in NOAA’s Earth System Research Laboratory.

Regional Drought Information Coordinators

A Drought Early Warning System (DEWS) is a network of regional and national partners that share information and coordinate actions to help communities in the region cope with drought. The Regional Drought Information Coordinators support these regional networks, working with partners across all levels of government, academic institutions, and the private sector to improve capacity to monitor, forecast, plan for, and cope with the impacts of drought.

Communications Staff

In Memoriam

* Denotes an employee of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at the University of Colorado Boulder. 

Drought.gov Staff

NIDIS partners with the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) for technical support, operational support, and continued development of the U.S. Drought Portal (Drought.gov). The hosting requires a mix of IT administration, data management, web development, content management support, research, and external collaboration.

Working Groups

NIDIS has six Working Groups, which are vital to its mission. Each group is focused on a different component of NIDIS activities within and across agencies and throughout the country. 

The Working Groups include members from multiple federal, tribal, state, and local government agencies, and from diverse areas of expertise spread across the country.

Working Group Members

Observations and Monitoring

Name
Dennis Todey (Chair)
Affiliation / Title
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Name
Martha Anderson
Affiliation / Title
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Name
Roger Gorke
Affiliation / Title
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Name
Brad Rippey
Affiliation / Title
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Name
Stephanie Granger
Affiliation / Title
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Name
Patrick Erger
Affiliation / Title
U.S. Department of the Interior
Name
Deke Arndt
Affiliation / Title
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Name
Brenan Tarrier
Affiliation / Title
State of New York
Name
Timothy Kearns
Affiliation / Title
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Education and Public Awareness

Name
Doug Kluck (Chair)
Affiliation / Title
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Name
Dan Wildcat
Affiliation / Title
U.S. Department of the Interior
Name
Brian Domonkos
Affiliation / Title
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Name
Verlon Barnes
Affiliation / Title
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Name
Megan Syner
Affiliation / Title
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Name
Cal Van Zee
Affiliation / Title
City of Laramie, Wyoming
Name
Andy Hoell
Affiliation / Title
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Name
Caitlin Simpson
Affiliation / Title
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Planning and Preparedness

Name
Darion Mayhorn (Chair)
Affiliation / Title
U.S. Department of the Interior
Name
Nicole Aimone
Affiliation / Title
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Name
Tim Gelston
Affiliation / Title
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Name
Neal Fujii
Affiliation / Title
State of Hawaii

Predictions and Forecasting

Name
Hailan Wang (Chair)
Affiliation / Title
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Name
Andy Hoell
Affiliation / Title
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Name
David Miskus
Affiliation / Title
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Name
Duane Waliser
Affiliation / Title
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Name
Wanru Wu
Affiliation / Title
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Name
Christa Peters-Lidard
Affiliation / Title
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Name
Randy Koster
Affiliation / Title
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Name
David Mocko
Affiliation / Title
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Name
Ward Sanford
Affiliation / Title
U.S. Geological Survey
Name
Yun Fan
Affiliation / Title
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Name
Muthu Chelliah
Affiliation / Title
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Interdisciplinary Research and Applications

Name
Greg McCabe
Affiliation / Title
U.S. Department of the Interior
Name
Nelun Fernando
Affiliation / Title
State of Texas
Name
Mike Strobel
Affiliation / Title
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Name
Mike Anderson
Affiliation / Title
State of California
Name
Forrest Melton
Affiliation / Title
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Name
Danielle Wood
Affiliation / Title
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Name
Mike Cosh
Affiliation / Title
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Name
Teferi Tsegaye
Affiliation / Title
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Name
Pat Lambert
Affiliation / Title
U.S. Department of the Interior
Name
Annarita Mariotti
Affiliation / Title
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

U.S. Drought Portal

Name
Steve Ansari (Chair)
Affiliation / Title
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Name
Steven Harkey
Affiliation / Title
State of Connecticut
Name
Justin Fritscher
Affiliation / Title
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Name
David Herring
Affiliation / Title
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Name
David Thoma
Affiliation / Title
U.S. Department of the Interior
Name
Katy Vincent
Affiliation / Title
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Name
Chris Cloyd
Affiliation / Title
State of Missouri
Name
Joey Owle
Affiliation / Title
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
Name
Lisa Nelson
Affiliation / Title
U.S. Department of the Interior