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Board of Directors

Back row L-R: Mark Steffek, Bill Boyer, Gary Steinhardt, Anita Nein, Clark Gantzer, Cheryl Simmons, Gregory Johnson, Dan Towery, Mark Berkland

Front Row L-R: Tom Prout, Pete Nowak, Andrew Paxson, Steve Young

This picture was taken at the 2012 Annual Conference. All Board members were present.

SWCS is governed by a 13-member Board of Directors. The Directors are selected by members and serve a three-year term (except the student director who serves a one-year term). Each of the Society's nine regions are represented, along with at large directors, and one student director.

2012-2013 Officers
President: Dan Towery
Vice-President: Steve Young
Secretary: Bill Boyer
Treasurer: Mark Steffek

SWCS members may contact their Board members using the contact information in the members-only Web site: http://members.swcs.org/index.cfm?fa=committees.view&committeeID=221
Board members may also be contacted through SWCS headquarters:
945 SW Ankeny Road, Ankeny IA 50023, 515-289-2331, swcs@swcs.org

Region 1 - Northeastern
William Boyer

I have been a member of SWCS for 25 years. I have taken advantage of networking opportunities, and I have grown in experience and maturity by serving in various officer positions. I have led meetings, conferences, field tours, and I have participated in many other chapter activities.

The two most important reasons to join a professional society such as SWCS are
• Professional development and training; and
• The opportunity to work with other conservationists to address important issues

As a member of the board, I will work to create opportunities for every member to participate and have the experiences necessary to become a better conservationist.

Region 2 - Southeastern
Mark Berkland

Mark Berkland is a private Agricultural Consultant. He has been involved with soil and water conservation activities for over 30 years. After having served as Deputy State Conservationist in Illinois he was selected as State Conservationist for South Carolina. In February 2000, he received a Senior Executive appointment as Director of Conservation Operations for the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

As a private consultant, Mark has had the opportunity to complete environmental evaluations, audits and plans in Arizona, Oregon, Washington, Iowa, South Carolina, Florida, Texas, Indiana, Tennessee and Kentucky. Mark became a member of the Soil and Water Conservation Society in the 1970’s and was an Officer in the Iowa Chapter.

My prime responsibility as the Southeastern Regional Director will be to represent the interests of all members of the Society, with specific responsibilities to the members and chapters within the Southeast Region. My focus is on the Society’s mission to foster the science and art of natural resource conservation through: fostering the development of state-of-the-art conservation practices and systems; shaping local, state and federal policy; providing training and professional development for its members; and by promoting professionalism among its membership.

Region 3 - South Central
Gregory Johnson

Membership is the heart and soul of any organization. I will provide a strategy and model resulting in SWCS increasing membership at all levels, the base of which is involvement of our Chapters. Executive Leadership includes five core aspects: leading and people, drive for results, business acumen, and ability to build coalitions. I will focus on these five core leadership areas to build on past successes of SWCS and improve going forward. This will result in continued and improved use of financial resources, leveraging coalitions with partners and stakeholders, and focusing on emerging issues and initiatives. Chapter involvement is the foundation of any national organization. By benchmarking success of key SWCS chapters, and chapters of other successful organizations, we can work to develop a model for future success of all SWCS chapters. Successful involvement of partnerships and stakeholders leverages SWCS's strengths for greater conservation gains. I will work to pursue meaningful engagement with partners and stakeholders that involve our Chapters on locally led level.

Region 4 - East North Central
Gary Steinhardt

The Soil and Water Conservation Society can be highly effective due to its unique constituency. No one else does what we do and it is critical that we maintain the role we have as a promoter of sound policy. Scientists have plenty of opportunity to meet with one another, as do policy developers, conservation implementers and educators. With SWCS these groups have an opportunity to discuss mutual concerns. From these discussions ideas can be developed that are profoundly better than any one group working alone. It is also important that the discussion go beyond merely educating our members.

SWCS has a role as an advocate for conservation. Just as in extension we must work on the premise that, presented with the right information, people will make good decisions. We can not guarantee success but in the absence of our profession analysis the result in public policy is at best hazardous. I look forward as a Board Member to promoting idea sharing, policy development and advocacy that is critical to protecting our natural resources not only here in the United States but also the world.

Region 5 - West North Central
Pete Nowak

Challenges to advancing the art and science of soil conservation tomorrow need to be the agenda for the SWCS Board today. What follows are some of the issues and questions I would bring to the SWCS Board if elected by my peers. We need to think about and plan for the real possibility of significant reductions in conservation spending due to fiscal constraints. What can SWCS do to encourage the development of adaptation strategies to climate change to build the resilience of our conservation systems? Our professional Society also needs to play a leadership role in guiding how the Resource Conservation Act can be used to foster the development of innovative conservation policy. The “crown jewel” of our region, the Upper Mississippi River Basin, offers many opportunities for SWCS collaboration with the many partners working on the Mississippi River Basin Initiative. There are also internal issues associated with creating an effective and efficient professional association based on an adaptive management philosophy. How can we improve serving the needs of the many retired conservationists while better using their knowledge and experience? Finally, and perhaps most important, I pledge to continue being a subversive conservationist.

Region 6 - Northern Plains
Anita Nein

I have been an active member of SWCS for the past16 years, and have served in several chapter officer positions and on the International Professional Development Committee. I am also honored to be the recipient of the distinguished Berg Fellow Award.

I recently retired from NRCS where I spent years in six NRCS offices as Resource & Soil Conservationist, Water Management Specialists, and Soil Conservation Technician.

As Director of the Northern Plains Region I plan to devote my time and energy to the promotion of SWCS through soil and water conservation, sustainable farming systems that provide food for our people, sustainable energy production, and clean air and water. I encourage SWCS leaders to carry through with their own high values in conservation work by putting beliefs into action.

Region 7 - Southwestern
Cheryl Simmons

Land, community, experience, emerging technology and applied science; this is where I like to be and where the Society excels. From working in a county with a half million acres and less than 6,800 people to one with more than 300,000 people on 170,000 acres enables learning. Resources matter regardless the number; and numbers matter. How will the Society convey the legacy of conservation on the ground to a more diverse public? The path to reaching resources and people lies in being able to integrate new technologies and communicate the conservation message. As social networking and online learning become more integrated into the way society interacts and conducts business, the Society must continue on the path to more and better ways to communicate and virtually grow the conservation movement. The future of work and communication is now, and SWCS must engage new ways to collaborate with NGOs, government, industry, and people.

I work to promote conservation and sustainable agriculture systems and see the value of working with groups to implement new conservation strategies. As an international organization, SWCS is in a key position to help lead the conversation and the change to 21st Century use and care of natural resources.

Region 8 - Western
Mark Steffek

I plan to work closely with each of the chapter president’s in the Western Region to increase member participation in chapter and Society activities. I will enhance the awareness of the Society throughout the Western Region and make it the highest recognized organization for natural resource conservation issues. I will strengthen existing region committees to increase membership, develop leaders, encourage chapter to provide training opportunities for professional development, and recognize outstanding individuals and groups. I will fully engage with the full Board of Directors to carry out the mission of the Society and help achieve its goals. I will assist with oversight of the duties of the Executive Director. I will act responsibly in the development and implementation of the Society’s plan of operations. I will do my part to ensure that the Society functions with a strong ethical, legal, and fiscal manner.

Region 9 - Canada
Tom Prout

Building a society with an environmental conscience is key to creating a conserving society. The work of conservationists, regardless of the province, state or country, has made a positive effect on the health of the environment. However, our job is never done; we need to continue building the environmental knowledge of society. There are people with new solutions, and there is a need to transfer this knowledge to those looking for answers and to those who don’t yet understand why they need to know and to take action. I am pleased to be the Canadian Region representative on the Board of Directors. This fits well with my career in conservation, a career that started 40 years ago as a summer student and continues now as the general manager/secretary-treasurer of the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority. Conservation authorities in Ontario have been around since 1946. As watershed based organizations, we work with community groups to share knowledge, solutions, and actions. I look forward to the opportunity of working with the Canadian Region to learn what their needs are and to encourage them to take advantage of the knowledge, networking, and services provided by the SWCS. I also will work with the Board of Directors to improve the Society and its services to its membership and to the environment.

At Large Director
Clark Gantzer

Soil and water conservation faces ongoing challenges in terms of balancing economic returns from the land, and environmental impacts of using the land. The Society must continue work to reassess soil and water conservation goals. Expectations of the attainment of Tolerable levels of soil erosion (T) are becoming a reality. SWCS must help to provide better information for producing high yields without erosion and water pollution. We must insure that the tradeoff will not be decreased soil productivity, and increases water pollution? As a Board member I will work to help the Society find solutions to maintain sustainable soil and water resources.

At Large Director
Steve Young

I will bring change, enthusiasm, and interest to the SWCS through new ideas and widespread promotion of the Society’s core values. The opportunity for the SWCS to have a more prominent leadership role in conservation across the country and around the world has never been greater. With recent technological advances in the private sector and renewed interest in ecosystem function at the national level, new efforts are needed to advocate a greater awareness of the services provided by biological and biologically-related systems. Never before have the practices of conservation been so important, particularly with respect to their quantification for determining management priorities, resource allocation, and public education. There is much to do to attract new members to SWCS and this begins with leadership. SWCS should be taking the lead on many of the conservation issues, including invasive species, ecosystem goods and services, sustainable/organic farming, spatial applications of GPS/GIS and remote sensing, ecological modeling, rural economic development, and natural resource evaluation. Instead, other societies have usurped the role of SWCS on these and other issues, which has diminished the Society’s prominence in many arenas. It is time to change this unintentional outsourcing to other societies and promote the hard work of our SWCS membership and reach out to bring in individuals and other groups. Through an interactive and technology savvy Web site, the use of clever promotional schemes in select media outlets, and the lobbying of stakeholders in public and private sectors, SWCS will once again rise to become one of the most active and sought after societies.

At Large Director
Dan Towery

The Society is the organization for those working in the area of soil and water conservation. Yet many of these professionals are not members of the society. Potential members need to see the value of the networking opportunities with professionals from other states, provinces, and counties. Where else can they learn about new research, educational opportunities, and advocacy methods

The Society needs to help provide more and better information on producing high yields while reducing the environmental impact. This balance is what constitutes sustainable agriculture and as a Board member I will work to help achieve this goal. Agriculture’s role in reducing the impact of climate change by sequestering carbon and improving soil quality but will require a paradigm shift in the science and art of natural resource conservation.
The Society needs to continue with both grassroots and special projects, which are essential to who we are as a Society. In addition, I will help the Society maintain a strong voice in the conservation policy arena.

Student Director
Andrew Paxson

As student director, my first goal will be to encourage universities that do not have a student chapter of the SWCS to create one; many students in environmental science, agronomy, or other similar fields are interested in learning about conservation practices. Student chapters can allow for a melting pot of ideas and offer participation in conservation activities. As for universities with student chapters, I feel that they need to connect with other chapters to be informed of various opportunities or exchange ideas. A strong student network will benefit the student members as well as the rest of the society. Another goal of mine is to create an internship link on the SWCS’s website. The career center is great for nonstudent members but doesn’t allow to search for internships. With such a link, it would make it easy to search for one, and students would need to go to only one website. In addition, improving the SWCS Facebook page would promote further networking and raise awareness for the Society.