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Lisa Shipek, Executive Director
Lisa Shipek is passionate about forging the connection between people and the environment. With a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science and Masters in Latin American Studies, she believes the most effective way to improve the environment is through community development. As Executive Director of Watershed Management Group, Lisa focuses on developing projects that involve collaborative learning, building community knowledge and pride, and enhancing natural resources. In Lisa’s free time, she enjoys playing and coaching Ultimate Frisbee, gardening, and traveling.
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Blue Baldwin, Schoolyard Program Coordinator
Blue is a second generation Tucson native whose childhood playground was a prickly desert landscape replete with sandy washes, an environment that cultivated her appreciation of the rich ecosystem native to the Sonoran Desert. She received a Master's degree in International Public Health from the University of Arizona in 2006 during which time the inextricable relationship between human and environmental health became her primary fixation. She proceeded to dive headlong into the wide world of sustainability and has since worked in the fields of natural building materials, socially responsible investing, and water harvesting. She lives with passive rainwater harvesting basins and a greywater system at her home. Blue envisions a world in which humans value the natural environment not for what it can provide for them, but for its own intrinsic value and would like to live to see the Santa Cruz River flow again.
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Matthew Bertrand, Co-op Coordinator
Matthew graduated from ASU with a degree in literature in 2006, and then left to travel and teach English in Ecuador. He became interested in water harvesting and sustainability issues when volunteering at the Nature Conservancy's site while visiting home from Ecuador. After he returned permanently to Tucson, he became an AmeriCorps member for the Volunteer Center of Southern Arizona's Youth Volunteer Corps. There, he leads service learning projects for youths which focus on themes of sustainability. His work with WMG currently centers on the creation of a co-op through which homeowners can help each other to expand their home water harvesting capabilities.
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Jared Buono, Senior Hydrology Scientist
Jared is a co-founder of Watershed Management Group and holds a MSc in Watershed Management and a PhD in Natural Resource Management. He has conducted ecohydrology research for the US Department of Agriculture and US Forest Service and has implemented community-based conservation programs in the US Peace Corps. He has also managed projects funded by the US Agency for International Development. Jared is currently working on international program development and establishing WMG's office in India.
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James MacAdam, Watershed Outreach Coordinator
Since earning a degree in Environmental Studies from Prescott College in 2001, James has pursued a diverse career as a naturalist, plant biologist, yoga instructor, freelance writer and sustainability advocate. The common thread throughout it all has been his love for people and nature, and a desire to bring the two together. James is certified in Permaculture Design, and is a LEED-Accredited Professional. His work with WMG currently centers on a pilot project in a Tucson neighborhood to teach and empower residents to improve water quality in their own streets, yards and local washes.
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Lincoln Perino, Co-op Instructor
As a second generation Tucsonan Lincoln has gained a deep appreciation for the beauty of the natural desert landscape. I have developed a sense for the potential that lies in the desert ecosystem and how fruitful it can be with proper management. Lincoln has a BS in Environmental Sciences with a focus on Sustainable Land and Water Studies and is currently working as a Water Harvesting Technician for Technicians for Sustainability. Outside of work he enjoys playing soccer, hiking, camping and just being active in general. Lincoln hopes to one day see Tucson become a green oasis without overburdening our delicate groundwater systems.
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Rhiwena Slack, Co-op Intern
Growing up in the countryside of Wales, UK, Rhiwena developed a strong interest in nature and sustainability. She gained a BS in environmental toxicology at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge. In 1998 she found her way to Tucson and began working as a research assistant for the Center for Biological Diversity. Coming from a land of plentiful water, she was shocked that human action could have turned the Santa Cruz, from a free flowing, life giving oasis, to a dry bed in a short period of time. Rhiwena took the basic drylands permaculture design course. This showed her that by working with nature it is possible to live a life of abundance and restore ecosystems. Wishing to pursue this optimistic path, Rhiwena returned to her studies at the Centre for Altenative technology in Wales. She is currently working on her thesis for a MSc Architecture: energy and environmental studies. Outside of this and her work at WMG, Rhiwena teaches and practises yoga, takes her dog on long walks and gets about by bike.
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Catlow Shipek, Senior Program Manager
Catlow Shipek is a founding member of WMG. Catlow and fellow co-founders based the philosophy of WMG on the watershed model using water as a link to bring stakeholders together. He received a MSc in Watershed Management from the University of Arizona. Past work at the Southwest Watershed Research Center with the USDA Agricultural Research Service has given him a depth of experience in soil erosion and sedimentation processes on southwestern rangelands.
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Sowmya Somnath, Engineer/Sanitation Specialist
Sowmya is a registered Professional Engineer with nine years of structural engineering experience working on diverse projects in the US. In 2008 she was an Indicorps fellow in Karnataka working on community empowerment through rural sanitation infrastructure development and hygiene education. She is also a professional mentor for Engineers without Borders on a multi-year water filtration project in Mafi Zongo, Ghana. Sowmya is currently working on international program development and establishing WMG's office in India.
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