Betty Dehoney, HDR Inc., NAEP President

Betty is responsible for the delivery of complex environmental documents (including NEPA, CEQA, SEPA, ESA, CWA, 106, other state and local regulatory programs, etc.) for major infrastructure programs. She is responsible for the technical accuracy of environmental documents, strategic guidance to agencies to support the navigation of the projects through the regulatory process, and mentoring staff for their professional growth. Her projects have included large scale water delivery, water resources, habitat conservation programs, wetland restorations programs, transportation, and energy development. With a master’s and bachelor’s in biology, much of Betty’s project experience has focused on creating sustainable solutions for challenges with natural resources. Although Betty has spent her professional career as a consultant working for environmental companies, she has contributed to the education of our future leaders teaching courses at the University of San Diego for over 10 years and teaching courses at University of California San Diego at their Extension program for professionals in the field.

John Esson, Director, Environmental Career Center

John Esson is the Director of the Environmental Career Center and PASE Corps founder, an advanced environmental training and staffing program. He has 30+ years of experience in natural resources, sustainability, and environmental planning with Federal, state, and local agencies, nonprofits, and private sector including 17 years as president of a national environmental firm. He led environmental career employment surveys in cooperation with professional associations including NAEP.  He operated the web’s first environmental niche job board since 1995 (EnvironmentalCareer.com), and published the Green Careers Journal.  He is a long-time NAEP member and was Chairman of their Career Development Committee and Subcommittee for seven years.  John enjoys environmental career coaching and leading Environmental Career events for universities.

Erik Neugaard, Environmental Compliance and Stewardship Program Manager,  Broward County Port Everglades

Erik Neugaard is the Environmental Compliance and Stewardship Program Manager at Broward County Port Everglades. He holds a BS degree in Natural Sciences and a MS degree in Marine Biology. He is also a certified planner, fisheries professional, wetland scientist, wildlife biologist, hazardous materials manager, GIS professional and mapping scientist, boat captain and trimix scuba instructor. In his 30-year career as an environmental professional, he has also worked at the Miami-Dade County Department of Environmental Resources Management, Florida Department of Transportation, and as a consultant. He is a former president of the Florida Chapter of NAEP and NAEP Chapter Representative, former president of the South Florida Chapter, and current chapter advisor to the South Florida Chapter. 

Tim Kendzia, Equipment Technician, US Environmental Rental Corporation

Tim is a graduate student at APU and a NAEP chapter president for the past 3 years. Through the NAEP chapter, Tim has built relationships and fostered collaborative initiatives.

Tim is studying NEPA and Environmental Planning in APU's Master of Science in Environmental Policy and Management, and works as an equipment technician at US Environmental Rental Corporation. Outside of work and school, Tim is a busy father with two daughters and passion for nature shared with his wife.

Anteneh Abiy, PhD, Hydrogeologist

Dr. Anteneh Abiy is an experienced hydrogeologist with skills in the application of statistical and numerical groundwater flow and contaminant transport modeling. Anteneh has earned a PhD in Geosystem Science from Florida International University. He has MS degree is Geosciences and a second master’s degree in Integrated Watershed Management and Hydrology received from Florida International University and Cornell University respectively. His BS degree in Applied Geology acquired from an Ethiopian University.

Anteneh has more than eight years of experience in filed investigation, research, and academic settings. His latest experience  before moving to the states in 2014, was serving a  geo-hydrologist in the former Blue Nile River Basin (Abbay Basin) Authority  in Ethiopia, where he was involved in water resources geo-database development, hydrological modeling, groundwater modeling, and groundwater contamination mapping. Some of his works in rainfall runoff modeling, effect of climate change in rainfall and runoff changes, and groundwater recharge-discharge modeling are published in book chapters and peer reviewed journals.

Currently, Dr. Anteneh is a hydrogeologist in the Everglades Foundation where his work focuses on groundwater modeling, environmental data analytics, water quality data evaluation and data visualization using a suite of modeling and programming tools. 

Piper Hodson, Student Services Coordinator and Director of NRES Online Graduate Programs for the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Piper Hodson is Student Services Coordinator and Director of NRES Online Graduate Programs for the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. With more than two decades of undergraduate and graduate student advising experience, 14 of them in NRES, and Piper will provide an overview of graduate education in the U.S., how to decide what type of program would best serve your goals, and how to prepare to be a competitive applicant.

Michael Hendrix, Chair, AEP Climate Change Committee

Michael Hendrix is one of the California's leading climate change and air quality scientists. Mr. Hendrix is the current Chairperson for the AEP Climate Change Committee. In that capacity, he provides leadership within AEP on the issue of climate change and analysis of GHG emissions. AEP specifically recognized that his commitment to balancing the need for industrial, commercial and residential development projects in California with the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution is evident through his dedication to emissions reduction that significantly reduce air pollution and GHG emissions generated by the expansion of these markets.

Will Medlin, Senior Scientist/Project Manager, Woodard & Curran

For over 12 years now, Will has worked as an environmental consultant focused on wetlands and natural resource management. Will has extensive experience with Clean Water Act Section 404/401 permitting, NPDES construction stormwater planning and permitting, Erosion, Sedimentation, & Pollution Control Plan (ESPCP) design, and ecological habitat restoration. Will graduated from the University of South Carolina in 2007 with a B.S. in Biological Sciences. In his free time, Will enjoys spending time with his family and friends, playing golf, hiking and backpacking, and watching sports.