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Ms. Guercio is senior counsel in Crowley Fleck’s Bozeman office. She is a member of the firm’s Environmental & Energy Practice Group, and her environmental practice includes environmental litigation, permitting and compliance work, as well as CERCLA/Superfund, natural resource damages, and Clean Water Act related issues. Ms. Guercio has worked on renewable energy development matters, as well as public utility infrastructure upgrades and transmission line developments. She is a member of the firm’s Commercial Department. Her commercial transactions practice focuses on general commercial real estate matters, including acquisitions/dispositions, development, financing, land use and leasing. Ms. Guercio received her Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree in Environmental Law, summa cum laude, in 2010 from Vermont Law School. While at Vermont Law, she was a research fellow, published several law review articles and earned several academic excellence awards. Ms. Guercio received her J.D. degree, cum laude, in 2008 from the University of Michigan Law School. She holds an Environmental Studies degree from Middlebury College and worked as an environmental scientist for several years before attending law school. Prior to joining Crowley Fleck, Ms. Guercio was an associate in the Boston office of Goulston & Storrs.

Ms. Knuteson has worked in a variety of land use and conservation-oriented positions in the Rocky Mountain west for more than 23 years, including a collaborative National Park Service/US Forest Service archaeological internship where she served as a surveyor/topographical and vegetative mapper, followed by years-long internships with a Bozeman-based consulting engineering and land development firm and a Bozeman-based law firm where she researched and performed extensive document review on toxic tort claims related to tetrachloroethylene pollution in the Yellowstone River. Ms. Knuteson earned her JD degree from University of Montana School of Law in 2012. During law school Ms. Knuteson worked on Missoula County’s comprehensive zoning update and various land trust and conservation matters through the Land Use Clinic and performed in-depth water rights and water quality permitting research through summer internships. Ms. Knuteson also began her 6-year tenure with a Missoula-based environmental law firm, first as a law clerk, then as co-counsel, where she gained valuable experience representing local, state and national environmental law groups and individuals challenging agency actions related to projects with potential significant impacts to water quality and water rights, including water-related nuisance and trespass claims. Ms. Knuteson’s current practice focuses on assisting Montana businesses and property owners with land use and permitting issues through comprehensive due diligence research services, regulatory compliance guidance and also general day-to-day business, contract and transactional matters. Ms. Knuteson serves as chair of the Montana Water Pollution Control Advisory Council (WPCAC), a statutorily-authorized group representing a diverse array of interests across Montana that serves in an advisory capacity to MDEQ.

Mr. Robinson was born in Wyoming, and at a young age, his family moved to Utah. He spent his summers working on various ranches in Southwest Wyoming and attending high school in Utah during the winters. He has worked various jobs which include mining, logging, and communications. He worked for a consulting firm doing work in the coal bed methane arena which included sampling and inspecting water wells that are located near methane wells. He graduated from Montana State University-Billings with a BA degree in Environmental Studies. Mr. Robinson has been the program manager for the Montana Board of Water Well Contractors for 16 years.

Mrs. Stephenson founded DMS Natural Resources in 2011. DMS is an advisory firm specializing in water right management, water right technical services, water valuation, water investment advisory, and water transaction services. Mrs. Stephenson manages large water right portfolios across the Western United States for which she provides water right database and inventory management, historical research and document interpretation, GIS mapping and aerial photo interpretation, change application and permitting services, adjudication support, due diligence in property transactions, and expert witness support in water right lawsuits. Mrs. Stephenson also has 15 years of experience helping entities across the western United States acquire or sell water assets. From identifying water assets suitable for purchase, to negotiating terms, and through the administrative permitting process, Mrs. Stephenson helps clients navigate the entire water right transactional process. An in-depth technical understanding of water rights combined with a business and economics background makes Mrs. Stephenson one of the country’s leading experts in water valuation and water investment advisory. Mrs. Stephenson maintains detailed water market transaction data and performs water valuations based on multiple valuation techniques. Lastly, Mrs. Stephenson advises investors in making decisions regarding water-related investments. Prior to forming DMS Natural Resources LLC, Mrs. Stephenson worked as a senior associate at WestWater Research (WWR). While at WWR, she worked on a variety of projects including water right appraisals, market research reports, water investment due diligence and water right portfolio management. At WWR, Mrs. Stephenson managed projects and teams of Associates. Mrs. Stephenson graduated with a BS degree in Agricultural Business and Economics from the Montana State University in 2001 and a Master’s of Business Administration from Stanford Graduate School of Business in 2005.

Prior to joining Parsons Behle & Latimer, Ms. Story worked as an associate attorney at the Bloomquist Law Firm, P.C. for three-and-a-half years, serving clients across the state of Montana in Water Court, State District Court and Federal Court. Ms. Story received her J.D. degree from the University of Montana School of Law in 2019. During her time as a law student, Ms. Story served as president of the Federalist Society Student Chapter and was the recipient of the Dean of Students Award for Highest Academic Achievement in Land Use & the Environment. Ms. Story holds an undergraduate degree in Political Science with minors in Russian and Arabic Studies. She often returns home to Emigrant, Montana, to help on her family’s cattle ranch and enjoys rafting, long distance running and skate skiing, and mountain lion hunting.

Dr. Taylor leads internationally recognized research at the National Concrete Pavement Technology Center. His high-impact work has resulted in the development of standard practices such as AASHTO PP 84: Developing Performance Engineered Concrete Pavement Mixtures. Additionally, his research has helped transportation agencies save millions of dollars by preventing premature failures in sawn joints and improving concrete proportioning tools for sustainable concrete mixtures. Dr. Taylor regularly presents at workshops, seminars, and conferences as an invited speaker, where the information he presents about the current research in concrete technology has a strong impact on the concrete pavement community in the United States and internationally.

Ms. Copeland is a partner in the law firm of Schmidt & Copeland, LLC, based out of Columbia, South Carolina, where she focuses her practice on state and local government contracts and business litigation matters. She has extensive experience advising on state and local government contracts, having handled matters dealing with the law of nearly all states as well as Puerto Rico. Ms. Copeland has represented clients across the country before administrative tribunals, state and federal courts, and in arbitration proceedings. She is actively involved in the Public Contract Law Section of the American Bar Association having served on the Section Council, as co-chair of the State and Local Procurement Division, and as co-chair of the State Law Database Coordination Committee. Ms. Copeland was awarded the Donald McL. Davidson Award by the Public Contract Law Section of the American Bar Association in 2011 for her work in the area of state and local procurement. Ms. Copeland is the editor of the Guide to State Procurement: a 50 State Primer on Purchasing Laws, Processes and Procedures (2011), 2nd Edition (2016) and 3rd Edition (2022), published by the American Bar Association. She earned her J.D. degree from the University of South Carolina and her B.A. degree from the College of Charleston. Ms. Copeland is licensed to practice in North and South Carolina and is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, the Middle District of North Carolina, the Western District of North Carolina, the Eastern District of Michigan, and the District of Colorado.

Mr. Markham is an attorney at BBG Construction Law in Greenwood Village. He started his legal career with Chee Markham & Feldman in Honolulu, where he represented owner/developers, general contractors, subcontractors, material suppliers, insurers, and sureties. He has extensive experience in delay claims, mechanic’s and materialman’s liens, bond claims, defects, bid protests, as well as contract review, contract negotiations, and OSHA defense. He also has significant civil trial experience. Mr. Markham was born in Boulder, Colorado, and raised in Kailua, Hawaii. He earned a B.A. degree in Political Science and Economics from Colorado College and his J.D. degree from the University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law. While in law school, he served as president and co-founder of the Federalist Society student chapter as treasurer of the Phi Delta Phi International Legal Honors Fraternity, and received a CALI excellence for the future award for Criminal Law. Mr. Markham is licensed to practice in Colorado, Hawaii, and Minnesota, is licensed to practice in Colorado, Hawaii, and Minnesota.

Ms. Maya is an accomplished and effective attorney in Denver, with over 20 years’ experience serving the construction industry. Her practice encompasses all areas of construction law including construction defect litigation, lien law, bond law, building code violation defense, OSHA defense, construction license issues, and contract review and drafting. Ms. Maya’s work includes disputes involving construction scheduling, insurance, claims avoidance, and other related matters. She has also handled a wide variety of complex construction disputes involving project delays, construction defects, and differing site conditions. Aside from her construction experience, Ms. Maya assists clients with issues involving workers’ compensation, employment law, corporate law, commercial litigation, insurance, and commercial disputes. Her clients include architects, engineers, subcontractors, product manufacturers, large corporations, small businesses, insurance companies, real estate brokers, insurance agents, home owners’ associations, apartment complexes, and other professionals. She has also served as outside counsel for various engineering and construction firms. Ms. Maya earned her B.S. degree from Southwest Adventist University, and her M.B.A. from Baylor University, and her J.D. degree from Baylor University School of Law.

Mr. Morse is an attorney with McGeady Becher P.C. in Denver. He joined McGeady Becher as a special district attorney in 2021. Mr. Morse received his J.D. degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School on merit-based scholarship. During his legal education, he earned credit towards his degree as a judicial intern in the Wisconsin Supreme Court and as a student associate with the Law & Entrepreneurship Clinic, assisting nascent and early-stage businesses. Before joining the firm, he focused his practice in the areas of commercial real estate and business transactional matters. Prior to his legal career, Mr. Morse promoted U.S. exportation as a commercial service intern with the U.S. Department of Commerce at the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He then took that experience in-house to boost the international sales of a domestic packaging producer. Between his studies and work experience, he lived in South America for two years and speaks Spanish fluently. Mr. Morse is admitted to practice in Colorado, Michigan and Wisconsin.

Mr. Walsh is a shareholder with Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP in Denver. He has more than a decade of construction litigation and contract drafting experience. He provides practical solutions to clients’ business challenges, and his experience ranges from relatively small disputes to multi-million-dollar claims in state courts, federal courts and arbitration. In his construction-focused practice, Mr. Walsh provides developers and construction professionals with a wide range of legal services, including contract drafting and negotiation; dispute avoidance and de-escalation; mediation, litigation and arbitration; and compliance with public procurement laws. Recent engagements include representing developers and contractors in disputes over defects, delays and payments; using mechanic’s lien rights to secure payment of amounts owed to general contractors and subcontractors; advising special districts concerning their compliance with public bidding requirements for public works projects; preparing a suite of custom form contracts; representing the seller in a dispute over broker commissions; providing real-time advice to owner and contractor clients on active construction projects; and drafting contracts for all aspects of construction on private and public projects. He is also active with the firm’s e-discovery and litigation support services. Mr. Walsh earned his B.A. degree from the University of Colorado and his J.D. degree from DePaul University College of Law.

Mr. Collazo is a Hydrogeologist with Collier Consulting, Inc. and has 5 years of experience in hydrogeologic studies and public water supply. As a member of the Innovative Water Technologies department at the Texas Water Development Board he gained experience with research and planning related to alternative water supply projects in Texas, including ASR (aquifer storage and recovery), AR (aquifer recharge), and brackish groundwater production. While at the TWDB, he conducted outreach and research projects to advance the implementation of ASR in Texas. He was also responsible for responding to public and government requests for information related to alternative water supply strategies or groundwater. Mr. Collazo also spent a year with a private consulting firm in Colorado assisting with management and processing of monitoring data, data collection for groundwater flow model inputs, and preparation of figures and maps for mine dewatering projects and environmental studies.

Mr. Collier is a geoscientist with 20 years of professional experience in all facets of subsurface investigations and engineering projects. During his career, Mr. Collier’s responsibilities have ranged from on-site supervision of drilling and description of well cuttings in mixed carbonate and siliciclastic environments to technical lead/project management of several of Collier’s geoscience projects. For the last seven years, Mr. Collier has overseen the operations of Collier Consulting and its sister company Collier Geophysics. Projects during Mr. Collier’s tenure have included local and regional hydrogeological investigations throughout Texas, designing groundwater databases, groundwater modeling, and borehole and surface geophysical investigations throughout the United States. He has also worked on water resource engineering, and development of SAAS software for management of water assets, regulatory compliance, and environmental litigation.

Mr. Collier’s professional experience includes over 30 years of consulting, research, technical support for litigation and teaching throughout the U.S. Mr. Collier has conducted petrophysical and hydrogeological investigations of multiple aquifers throughout Texas and the U.S. He has also provided technical support, including field investigations, hydrogeological reports, petrophysical analyses of fresh and saline water aquifers, and reviews of technical reports for many clients. Mr. Collier has been the principal investigator for many research projects in which he was the geologist, hydrogeologist, and/or petrophysicist. One of his specialties is the hydrogeological characterization of aquifers determined by integrating various types of data (e.g., borehole geophysics, water analyses, pumping tests, cuttings, cores, and surface geophysics). This expertise has been applied to multiple groundwater studies, environmental litigation cases, and brackish water studies. Mr. Collier has authored a dozen papers, including a textbook, Borehole Geophysical Techniques for Determining the Water Quality and Reservoir Parameters of Fresh and Saline Water Aquifers in Texas. He has taught short courses for the National Ground Water Association and Environmental Education Enterprises. He has taught undergraduate and graduate geology and hydrogeology courses at Tarleton State University.

Ms. McDonald specializes in ecohydrology of semi-arid environments. She has conducted a variety of water resource investigations across west Texas with the cooperation of landowners, as well as state and federal agencies. Surface water experience includes stream discharge measurements from the Pecos Valley and Yegua Jackson aquifers, baseflow recession analysis, and standard of identity study to assess hydraulic connection between groundwater and spring water in the Queen City and Sparta aquifers. Groundwater expertise includes rainfall recharge in the Edwards Trinity Plateau aquifer; low-flow sampling from the Queen City aquifer; borehole sampling, core logging, and packer testing in the Dockum aquifer; and installation and maintenance of monitoring well networks in the Pecos Valley aquifer and Rio Grande alluvium.

Dr. Gretchen Miller has been working in environmental and water resources engineering for nearly 20 years. During that time, she has worked in academia and environmental consulting. Prior to joining Collier, she was an associate professor at Texas A&M University, where she taught fluid dynamics and groundwater engineering. She is an experienced project and program manager and has experience conducting major projects involving numerical modeling of groundwater flow and transport, plant-groundwater relations, and managed aquifer recharge. She has obtained over $6 million in federal, state, and local grants, of which she directly managed over $2 million. These grants included the prestigious National Science Foundation CAREER Award for early career investigators, state funds for the development of water conservation technologies such as aquifer storage and recovery, and an industry partnership to pilot test a managed aquifer recharge system.

Mr. Van Hattem’s background includes experience with a wide variety of water resource engineering, geophysical surveys, and environmental investigations. He also has extensive experience in the design and construction of a variety of private and municipal water treatment and supply projects. Mr. Van Hattem’s overall responsibilities include client development, project management, team leadership, preparation, and construction inspection and management. His diligence and experience allow him to deliver projects on time and within budget.

Mr. Breedlove focuses his practice on water rights transactions and permitting, state and federal land permitting, mining, administrative law, and governmental relations. His experience includes a wide variety of water rights transactions (groundwater, surface water, and Colorado River entitlements), assured water supply permitting, consultation on compliance with active management area management plans, water rights due diligence and permitting, state land acquisition, and National Historic Preservation Act compliance. Mr. Breedlove has represented land developers, landowners, golf courses, ranchers, farmers, private water and energy utility businesses, government agencies, and private equity investment firms. He also served for five years as the legislative liaison for the Arizona Department of Water Resources, during which time he managed several bills that were enacted, including the 2007 Water Adequacy Amendments. Mr. Breedlove has experience with the Arizona legislative process, bill drafting, and government relations. He earned his B.S. degree from Western Washington University, his Master of Studies in Environmental Law from Vermont Law School and his J.D. degree from Vermont Law School.

 Mr. Burnside covers water rights and water quality as part of a broad-based environmental and natural resources law practice at Snell & Wilmer. Mr. Burnside regularly counsels and represents significant water interests in the State of Arizona, with a particular focus on mining and energy. He has extensive experience litigating contested water rights claims in Arizona’s Gila River General Stream Adjudication, including multiple arguments and trials before the Special Water Master. Mr. Burnside has in-depth experience with the complex legal and technical issues surrounding Arizona water rights at the intersection between groundwater and surface water.

Mr. Decker represents mining and other industry sectors in Arizona (and surrounding states) with respect to various state and federal-based water quality and mine reclamation and closure programs, including the aquifer protection permit program, Arizona’s pollutant discharge elimination system permit program, impaired water determinations and listings, development and implementation of total maximum daily load requirements, development of surface and aquifer water quality standards, and state certification of federal water quality permits/approvals. He participates actively as a member of the Arizona Mining Association and Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry, and he lobbies federal and state governmental agencies on water quality statutory, regulatory, and policy-based issues to the benefit of industry in Arizona. He is a fifth generation native of Arizona, having spent his early years (until college) in the northeastern Arizona town of Snowflake while working on his parents’ farm and cattle ranch. 

Mr. Forester practices in the areas of tax and trust law, personal injury and criminal law. He also testified as an expert witness in various state and federal courts in California.  Mr. Forester is a Certified Public Accountant, Attorney, and Economist. As a CPA , he provides accounting, financial, and business valuation services. He received his M.A. in Economics and Finance, his Ph.D. Candidacy degree in Economics from UCLA, and his Juris Doctor from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles.  Mr. Forester is an adjunct professor at California State University (CSU) and has teaching credentials in Accounting and Economics. He has taught tax, accounting, business law, statistics, and computer courses to graduate and undergraduate students. Mr. Forester is a Judicial Arbitrator of the Superior Court of the State of California for Los Angeles County as well as a mandatory fee arbitration for the State Bar of California.

Mr. Givens is an associate at Best Best & Krieger LLP who focuses on telecommunications, land use and real estate. He regularly assists clients in California and across the country with a wide range of regulatory and transactional matters involving broadband and fiber networks, cable and telecom franchising, leases and licenses, wireless communications, and public-private partnerships. Mr. Givens primarily represents public agencies, cooperatives, nonprofits, and small competitive providers on a wide range of issues related to telecommunications infrastructure. While earning his law degree at Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, Mr. Givens served as chief research editor for the Entertainment Law Review.

Ms. Karish is a partner at Best Best & Krieger LLP in Los Angeles who focuses on telecommunications, assisting clients in California and across the U.S. with a wide range of regulatory and transactional matters involving broadband and fiber networks, cable and telecom franchising, wireless communications and public-private partnerships. Ms. Karish’s clients are mainly public agencies, such as local governments, water districts and municipal utilities. Public agencies can serve a variety of roles in relation to telecommunications infrastructure – regulator, owner, service provider, customer, partner – and Ms. Karish’s clients come to her for advice and guidance on issues that arise in all these contexts. She also represents some cooperatives, nonprofits and small competitive providers. Ms. Karish’s telecommunications practice regularly involves regulatory advice and advocacy, negotiations and drafting agreements and litigation. Ms. Karish is licensed to practice law in California and the District of Columbia and is admitted to practice in the US District Courts of Northern California, Central California and Southern California; the US Court of Appeals in the Sixth Circuit, Ninth Circuit, Tenth Circuit and DC Circuit; and the Supreme Court of the United States.

Ms. Madikians is an associate at Nossman LLP in Los Angeles where she represents public and private sector clients through all stages of civil litigation primarily focusing on eminent domain and land use matters. She has advised numerous public agencies on complex property acquisitions for large public works projects shaping California’s infrastructure, including rail projects, roads, highways, stadiums, public utilities, and flood basins. Ms. Madikians’ experience includes working with expert witnesses; drafting pleadings, dispositive motions and written discovery; negotiating and litigating discovery disputes; managing large-scale electronic document reviews and productions; second chairing a trial; and preparing cases for trial. While in law school, Ms. Madikians served as a judicial extern to the Honorable Otis D. Wright II of the U.S. District Court, Central District of California.