Jenny is originally from Big Piney, Wyoming where she grew up helping run her family's large scale cow-calf operation and veterinary practice. After receiving her B.S. and M.S. in Agricultural and Applied economics at the University of Wyoming, she joined CSU Extension in 2016 as the agriculture and business management specialist for the western slope of Colorado. Her primary role with CSU is to develop, market, deliver, and evaluate non-credit educational programming and resources relative to risk and risk management for agricultural producers and managers in operations of all sizes. These programs’ main goal is to assist producers in making comparative, profitable decisions among strategic financial, production, marketing, legal, and human resources alternatives.

Blake Osborn is the principal of Corriente Solutions, a hydrologic consulting firm working with partners to achieve their water resource goals on wild and working lands. Blake is a Colorado native, having grown up using water in every way imaginable and he has dedicated the past 10+ years to developing innovative water management solutions for farms, cities, wildlife, and recreation interests. He specializes in drought resiliency, source-water hydrology, irrigation water management, water rights and hydrologic modeling.

Mark Uchanski was born and raised in the far western suburbs of Chicago, Illinois - where the suburbs meet rural America, corn, and soybeans. He fell in love with vegetable farming systems and food systems in his backyard and grandfather's garden in Chicago. He attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) for his undergraduate degree in horticulture. He later went on to pursue his Ph.D., also at UIUC. His graduate project involved testing and removing pathogens from horseradish propagation stock to provide pathogen-free planting materials to growers. Shortly after graduation in 2008, Uchanski moved to New Mexico to serve the commercial chile pepper and onion industries as Assistant Professor of Horticulture at New Mexico State University. That work soon expanded to include small farm, diversified, and organic operations. In 2015, Uchanski moved to Fort Collins to serve as the Colorado State University Specialty Crops Program Coordinator. There he continues his work with vegetable and other specialty crop producers, including conducting research on sustainable and organic practices and inputs that are applicable to Colorado agriculture. As an Associate Professor at CSU, he continues to blend his research and teaching interests in horticulture, ecology, and inputs in sustainable vegetable cropping systems.

A.J. Brown is the Data Specialist & Agronomist for the Colorado State University (CSU) Agriculture Water Quality Program. He grew up on a small alfalfa farm and worked at a local CSU research farm in Rocky Ford, Colorado, where he learned the importance of agricultural research and outreach. A.J. uses his experience with statistics, low-cost sensor development, modeling, and agronomy to monitor and protect the agricultural waters of Colorado. He received his M.Sc. degree in soil and crop science at CSU in 2021, with a project focusing on irrigation and soil salinity management in the CO Arkansas valley and the Indus River Valley in Sindh, Pakistan. He has extensive experience with using environmental data collected from commercial, or self-developed sensors to answer larger questions about a given environment. He also has expertise in using coding languages like python or R to apply advanced statistical methods to gain the most insight per data point. Outside of his research, A.J. enjoys gardening, playing piano, and spending time with his wife at local breweries.

Retta Bruegger is the regional specialist in range management for CSU Extension in Western Colorado, and one of the founding members of Drought Advisors. Prior to working for CSU Extension, she worked for CSU’s Forest and Rangeland Stewardship Department in western Colorado, and in Mongolia on researching community-based adaptation to climate change. She received a MS in Rangeland Ecology and Management from the University of Arizona in 2012, and a BA from Colorado College in 2005. She is originally from the Roaring Fork Valley in the central mountains of Colorado. Since 2018, she has organized and spoken at drought workshops, reaching over 2,500 people.

Julie Elliott grew up in central Eastern Colorado NW of Limon. She has always loved the outdoors and spent many hours on horseback exploring the hills of the Palmer Divide/Breaks area. She was active in the Ellis Hall Natural Resources Club, Wildlife Society and Range Club student organizations at CSU and graduated with a B.S. in Wildlife Biology and Minor in Range Ecology. She joined the Soil Conservation Service (SCS) in 1991 (now the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)) as a Range Management Specialist in Eastern Colorado. Organizing workshops for ranchers and farmers is her niche and she has hosted over 4600 people in her 30 year career. Julie continues to be involved with Drought Advisors since her retirement in January 2023. She is passionate about agriculture and rangelands in particular along with the people who are entrusted with them.

Greg’s work focuses on food systems, community and economic development, and capacity building in drought advisors. Greg collaborates with Drought Advisor because he believes farmers and ranchers can lead our communities in finding solutions to the impacts of drought. Lately, his work has been focused on educational programs identifying native plants, gardening and inclusive community engagement. Personally, he enjoys simple living, gardening, and the great outdoors.

Nora is the Senior Agriculture Water Specialist at the Colorado Water Conservation Board where she works on a variety of projects and strategies for increasing the drought resilience of agriculture and Colorado. She holds a Ph.D. in Soil and Crop Science from Colorado State University, with specialization in deficit irrigation of row crops and soil health. When she’s not on the road visiting farms and ranches she can be found at home in Fort Collins, Colorado enjoying the local biking and hiking trails.

Tori Kauffman began her career in the food service industry, where six years of working in kitchens with small teams taught her a love of serving and connecting with people. In 2021, she received her masters degree in Sustainable Food Systems from the University of Colorado in Boulder. During her graduate work, Tori discovered a love for engaging with and learning from agricultural producers. She loves hearing peoples’ stories and learning from the expertise and experience of others, and she is passionate about connecting individuals with varying backgrounds and beliefs over common values to effectively face shared challenges.

Tori also holds a B.S. in Behavioral Neuroscience from Westmont College in Santa Barbara, CA. Although she has never worked full-time in agricultural production, she is a working member for a local organic vegetable farm in her hometown of Fort Collins, CO, and she is hoping to try her hand at backyard gardening next season!

Emily Lockard is the agriculture livestock extension agent for CSU Extension in Montezuma County and she is an instructor at Pueblo Community College – Southwest where she has taught animal science and ag business. She previously worked as a research associate at the Southwestern Colorado Research Center and as an agriculture extension agent in Pueblo, Colorado and Bozeman, Montana. She grew up in San Diego where she rode horses, swam in the ocean and participated in 4-H. It was visiting her grandparents farm in Viola, Idaho as a child that inspired her love of livestock and agriculture. She followed that passion to attend Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo for a B.S. in animal science and then studied livestock grazing behavior for her M.S. in range science at Utah State University.

Brad is from Paonia, CO, and serves as the Research Scientist at the CSU Organic Agriculture Research Station at Rogers Mesa. He is working to sustain and build the community presence of this research station and produce ground-breaking research to benefit farmers. Brad focuses on bridging the communication gap between the public and the university, emphasizing applied research to solve immediate issues, especially drought. He grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and earned his PhD in plant pathology with CSU. Before ending up in western CO, he was an organic farming teacher for a non-profit in Sacramento, CA, and a chile pepper breeder in southern NM. Outside the research station, you’ll find Brad either biking, fishing, dancing, or starting new projects like brewing hard cider from his surplus apples.

Lauren Vilen holds a M.Ed. in Education and Human Resources Studies with a specialization in Adult Education and Training from Colorado State University. Her research interests include environmental adult education, community-based education, and the professional identity and development of non-formal educators addressing environmental sustainability issues. Lauren also has over 10 years of professional experience in public lands and non-profit program management, where she developed and implemented service-learning programs for young adults focused on environmental stewardship and job readiness in the natural resource field. Lauren supports Drought Advisors because she believes interprofessional collaborations are how we make progress in addressing complex socio-ecological problems.

Christina Welch is the Outreach and Research Coordinator for the Agricultural Water Quality Program (AWQP) at Colorado State University (CSU). Christina is pursuing her passion for facilitating effective, science-based communication within the broader context of applied research. In this role, she supports the validation of agricultural Better Management Practices to inform decision-making at the state and farm level in Colorado. She advances collaborative efforts and effective outreach communication for the AWQP’s diverse network of stakeholders. Her interdisciplinary background includes project management, GIS mapping, grant writing and strategic planning. She completed her joint master’s degree in Water Cooperation and Diplomacy from OSU, IHE-Delft, and UPaz. She is currently pursuing a PhD program investigating how to apply behavioral economics principles to advance decision making around water management adaptation and drought planning.

Gus Westerman, CSU Extension Director in Dolores County and Drought Advisor. Gus’s work has included acting as a resource to agricultural producers as they navigate risk management programs, plan for the future, and take the needed steps for their businesses to survive. He loves being on a team with his peers who all want to tackle this issue head-on and help to mitigate the negative impacts of drought. When he is not busy serving his community, he is probably fishing.

Jill is an associate professor in the Adult Education and Training program in the School of Education at Colorado State University. She earned a Ph.D. in educational human resource development, with a specialization in adult education, from Texas A&M University and a master’s degree in computational and applied mathematics from the University of Texas, Austin. Jill has over 20 years of teaching and adult education experience. Her research interests include informal education and adult STEM education, with funding from the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.