NALMS Board of Directors
Jeremy Deeds (Region 1 – CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT)
Jeremy Deeds has been an aquatic ecologist with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection since 2014. Prior to that, he worked with the Lakes and Ponds Section of the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation. He has worked on many aspects of water quality and ecological condition, including lake condition assessments, biological community classification, data modeling, and littoral habitat evaluations. He holds an M.S. in Aquatic Ecology from Kent State University and a Ph.D. in Ecology and Environmental Science from the University of Maine.
Emily Mayer (Region 2 – NJ, NY, PR)
Emily Mayer is a Research Scientist at the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, specializing in phytoplankton identification, algal toxin analysis, and data management. With over a decade in lake management, she has conducted macrophyte mapping, water quality analysis, and project management. Emily holds a B.S. in Biology from Centenary University and an M.S. in Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences from the University of Florida. A long-time NALMS member, she has helped run aquatic plant workshops and presented at NALMS conferences. She serves as Editor for NEAPMS (Northeast Aquatic Plant Management Society) and as an aquatic technical advisor for several workgroups.
Ben Rhoades (Region 3 – DE, DC, MD, PA, VA, WV)
Ben Rhoades is the watershed manager for the Reston Association, a large civic organization in northern Virginia, overseeing the monitoring and maintenance of four lakes and their earthen dams. In Reston, Ben works to educate residents about the importance of watershed management in protecting their lakes through citizen science monitoring programs, drainage and erosion site visits, and education programs. An early-career professional, Ben received his B.A. in Environmental and Sustainability Studies from George Mason University in 2020 where he got his start with watershed outreach interning for the local Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District. Ben joined NALMS in 2022 on the Enhanced Clean Lakes Program/Clean Water Act Section 314 Working Group and has been an advocate for protection and restoration of lakes since!
Perry Thomas (Region 4 – AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN)
As Region 4 Director, Perry Thomas works to connect new and returning NALMS members and enhance NALMS’ professional development activities to meet unique needs and interests of lake, pond, and reservoir managers across the Southeast. Perry returns to the NALMS Board after a four-year hiatus. Previously, she served as Region 1 Director, Burlington VT 2019 Symposium Host Committee Co-chair, and President. She continues to serve as a founding member of the JEDI Program, with a focus on creating and disseminating lake watershed education experiences that actively engage disadvantaged communities in connecting with waterways, assessing needs, and planning action steps. Since moving to Kentucky in 2019, she worked with the Watershed Management Branch of the Division of Water, advised the Kentucky Volunteer Lakes Monitoring Program, trained Kentucky Watershed Watch samplers, and managed outreach programs for a county-based Soil & Water Conservation District. Currently she serves as Program Director with the Kentucky Association for Environmental Education and is a member of the inaugural class of the Soil and Water Conservation Society’s Emerging Leaders Program. Before transferring to Kentucky, Perry managed the Lakes and Ponds Program with the Vermont Watershed Management Division (2015 – 2019), chaired the Memphremagog Watershed Association’s Education Committee (2011 – 2015), and served as president of the Federation of Vermont Lakes and Ponds (2008 – 2012). As a faculty member with Sterling College (1998 – 2010) and the Community College of Vermont (2011 – 2015), she advised senior research projects and taught courses in Environmental Science, Elements of Microbiology, and Freshwater Ecology. Perry holds a B.A. in Biology from Dartmouth College, and an M.A.T. and Ph.D. in Biology from Northern Arizona University.
Ralph Bednarz (Region 5 – IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI)
Ralph Bednarz is a retired Limnologist after a 35 year career in environmental protection and water resources management with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. Ralph managed Michigan’s inland lakes water quality monitoring and assessment programs. He was responsible for the implementation of the 2007 and 2012 National Lakes Assessment (NLA) in Michigan and he served as a national trainer for the 2012 NLA. Ralph coordinated the development and implementation of the Michigan Clean Water Corps (MiCorps) volunteer water monitoring network, including the Cooperative Lakes Monitoring Program (CLMP).
Ralph currently is working to advance protective lakes management programs in Michigan by serving on the Boards and committees of Michigan-NALMS; Michigan Waterfront Alliance; Michigan Inland Lakes Partnership; and Michigan Natural Shoreline Partnership, including the Certified Natural Shoreline Professions program. Ralph is also working to protect high quality lakes and healthy watersheds in northwest Michigan, one lake one shoreline at a time, by assisting and educating local units of government and lake associations on protective lakes management strategies. Ralph facilitated the formation of the Rennie Lake Association and he serves as its current president. Ralph has a M.S. in Limnology from Michigan State University.
Dendy Lofton (Region 6 – AR, LA, NM, OK, TX, Mexico and beyond)
Dendy Lofton is a senior limnologist with Stantec based currently in Houston, TX. Dendy has over 17 years of experience in water resource monitoring, assessment and management with specialized expertise in biogeochemical nutrient cycling and limnology. She holds a PhD from the University of North Carolina where she researched carbon and nutrient cycling in shallow Arctic Alaskan Lakes. Currently, Dendy’s work focuses on nutrient reduction in impaired lakes and ponds, diagnostic assessment of water quality in drinking water reservoirs and water quality management in urban stormwater ponds across the United States. Dendy is a Certified Lake Manager and serves as Stantec’s National Water Quality Technical Lead.
Tony Thorpe (Region 7 – IA, KS, MO, NE)
Tony Thorpe has been the coordinator/program manager of the Lakes of Missouri Volunteer Program (LMVP) since 2001. The LMVP is a community science endeavor housed in the Aquatic Ecology laboratory at the University of Missouri that has collected over 19,000 water samples across the state of Missouri. Tony has been on the Board of Directors for the Lake of the Ozarks Watershed Alliance since its creation in 2006 and was active in the development of Missouri’s lake nutrient criteria. Tony earned his MS at the University of Missouri by examining the relationship between heterotrophic bacteria and measures of lake trophic state.
Caleb Owen (Region 8 – CO, MT, ND, SD, UT, WY)
Caleb Owen is the Water Quality Administrator for the City of Thornton, Colorado where he leads the source water monitoring, management, and protection of more than 40,000 acft of water across 16 lakes and three watersheds. He also leads Thornton’s regulatory affairs and compliance program. He has worked for Thornton since 2015, initially performing water sampling and lab analysis. Caleb has served on the board of directors for the Colorado Lake and Reservoir Management Association since 2020, currently serving as President. He holds a B.S. in Chemistry and an Area of Special Interest in Environmental Science and Engineering from Colorado School of Mines.
Deena Hannoun (Region 9 – AZ, CA, HI, NV)
Deena Hannoun is a Past President of the California Lake Management Society (CALMS). She has worked at the Southern Nevada Water Authority since 2016, where her primary focus is managing the three-dimensional hydrodynamic and water quality model for Lake Mead. Deena also performs statistical analysis and constructs statistical models for water quality data in the Lower Colorado River Basin. Deena earned her PhD in Applied Mathematics from North Carolina State University, focusing on numerical simulation of brine intrusion in the subsurface.
Sarah Burnet (Region 10 – AK, ID, OR, WA)
Sarah Burnet is a Limnologist at the Portland District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and is currently pursuing her PhD at the University of Idaho, where she also earned her MS in 2016. She received a BS from Western Washington University. Her current work and studies are centered on the Columbia, Willamette, and Rogue River Basins, with a particular interest in the relationships between sediment particle size distribution, the internal phosphorus release, and the factors driving cyanobacteria blooms and toxin production. A dedicated member of NALMS since 2014, Sarah served as Student Director from 2016 to 2019, was Co-Chair of the Ethics Committee from 2019 to 2023, and contributed to implementing the NALMS Code of Conduct.
Liz Favot (Region 11 – Canada – NB, NL, NS, ON, PE, QC)
Liz Favot is an aquatic scientist in Sudbury, Ontario, who has worked for the provincial and federal government in various roles over the last three years, ranging from freshwater monitoring programs, to research, to fisheries policy, to industrial compliance assessment. Liz received her PhD from Queen’s University in 2021, where her research utilized paleolimnology (environmental indicators stored in lake sediments) to reconstruct multi-century trends in nutrients, oxygen, and primary production, and investigate the environmental triggers for recent cyanobacterial blooms in oligotrophic and minimally disturbed lakes.
Vacant (Region 12 – Canada – AB, BC, MB, NU, NT, SK, YT)
Mikala L’Hote (Student Director)
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Mikala L’Hote is a current master’s student at Paul Smith’s College studying Natural Resource Conservation. In conjunction, she serves as a Graduate Research Assistant with the Adirondack Watershed Institute, where she has had the opportunity to work on a variety of lake assessment and management projects touching upon complex water related questions and concerns throughout the Adirondack Park. Her graduate research specifically addresses the impacts of road salt use on lakes within the Lake Champlain Basin, with the aim to provide the public and key stakeholders with information needed to understand and address the impacts of road salt application in the basin. Over the last year, Mikala has served as Student Director of NALMS, dedicating herself to representing and progressing the role of student membership within the society.
Brian Ginn (At-Large Director)
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Brian Ginn is the limnologist with the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority, heads their lake monitoring program, and is one of three Canadian NALMS Certified Lake Managers. Focusing on nearshore zone management, Brian’s work addresses the questions and concerns of local residents; supports the implementation of the Lake Simcoe Protection Plan; and investigates macrophytes, benthos, water quality, and the impacts of nutrients, climate change, and invasive species. Brian has a BSc and MSc from the University of New Brunswick and a PhD from Queen’s University. Originally from the Maritime Provinces, Brian is a lifelong resident of Region 11, has lived in four of the provinces, and is very familiar with the diversity of lakes, and lake issues, in this region.
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