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Dave Christensen is the Washington State Department of Ecology Water Resources Deputy Program Manager. He has been with Ecology for 12 years working on legislative proposals, regulations, and policies on water resource management. Mr. Christensen has worked for state agencies, local government and non-profit organizations, with more than 30 years of professional experience in water resources, public health and environmental management.

Wyatt Golding is an attorney with Ziontz Chestnut in Seattle. The firm serves the wide-ranging legal needs of Indian tribes and other Native American entities and individuals, as well as non-profit conservation and community groups. In addition to defending treaty hunting and fishing rights, the firm’s work involves tribal sovereignty and jurisdiction, taxation, land and water rights, federal government contracting, and natural and cultural resource protection. Mr. Golding specializes in litigation involving the intersection of environmental law and federal Indian law, Washington state water law, and administrative environmental appeals.

Dr. Sasha Richey McLarty is an assistant professor at Washington State University. Her main interest is in identifying and quantifying the interaction between human and physical systems, with a focus on groundwater and large-scale hydrologic systems. Currently, Dr. Richey’s research combines satellite and in situ observations of hydrologic systems into modeling and decision support frameworks over large regional scales, including in the Columbia Plateau Aquifer in the Pacific Northwest (USA) and in Central Asia. She mainly focuses on complex groundwater systems, where interdisciplinary approaches are necessary to understand both natural and anthropogenic drivers of aquifer change. She enjoys working at the interface of research and water resources management and has contributed to multiple “science diplomacy” efforts in the United States and internationally to advance the role of scientific research in decision making. Dr. Richey earned her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Civil Engineering – Hydrology and Water Resources Specialty from the University of California, Irvine.

Mr. Anderson has been an engineer in the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) Water Supply Engineering Section since 1984, and a senior engineer since 1995. He is the lead engineer responsible for water allocation review, policy analysis of water rights, and planning aspects of Iowa water law. He is also IDNR’s aquifer storage and recovery technical expert, from both a technical and a regulatory perspective. He has a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree, both in Civil Engineering, and both from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. He has a Hydrogeology minor, and he is also an assistant professor of Practice in Iowa State University’s Geology Department, teaching Hydrogeology.

Mr. Erbe is a graduate of the Drake University Law School. He has practiced law in Iowa since 1999 and is a sole practitioner in Des Moines. He exclusively handles civil trial and litigation matters, including boundary disputes. Mr. Erbe is a member of the Iowa Academy of Trial Lawyers, the American Board of Trial Advocates, and the Litigation Counsel of America.

Mr. Helfrich has been principal land surveyor with Craig R. Knoche & Associates, P.C. and its successor Koru Group PLLC in the Chicago area for the last 30 years. Mr. Helfrich first picked up a plumb bob in 1971 for Webster & Associates. From tape-and-transit to GPS, mortgage surveys to shopping centers, he has his seal on billions of dollars of commercial, residential and institutional developments and transactions in 23 counties in Illinois together with consulting and managing projects in 15 other states. Mr. Helfrich has enjoyed working with countless prominent developers, attorneys and other professionals in the field and the office. His specialties include real estate law, boundaries and boundary law, easements, rights-of-way and other encumbrances and servitudes, statutory and common-law plats, ALTA surveys, topography, building and site layout, construction- and project-management as well as land development consulting. He has presented classes and co-written manuals with the Illinois Institute For Continuing Legal Education along with classes at the University of Illinois and HalfMoon Education. Mr. Helfrich is a member of the National Society of Professional Surveyors and the Illinois Professional Land Surveyors Association.

As an attorney for government bodies, Mr. Hinders has substantial experience in advising boards on legal matters, interpreting ordinances and statutes, writing policies, reviewing and recommending modifications to ordinances, negotiating collective bargaining agreements, and representing municipalities in court, and he has tried numerous jury and non-jury trials. Mr. Hinders has represented clients on cases involving a wide variety of municipal law issues, including: statute and ordinance issues, open records and open meetings issues, contract interpretation issues, zoning issues, takings issues, and writs of certiorari and mandamus. He has represented municipal boards of adjustment, zoning commissions, and drainage districts. Mr. Hinders has been named a “Best Lawyer” in the State of Iowa since 2020 in the areas of employment benefits law, employer and employee labor and employment law, and as and as a litigator in the areas of labor, employment, and municipal law. He is a graduate of Simpson College, Drake University College of Business and Public Administration, and Drake University Law School.

As the conservation easement director for Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation (INHF), Ms. Van Waus acquires new conservation easements and oversees monitoring and enforcement of 240 conservation easements protecting 28,000 acres across the state. INHF is a statewide conservation organization with a mission to protect and restore Iowa’s land, water and wildlife. Celebrating 45 years as a non-profit, INHF has protected over 200,000 acres of Iowa’s prairies, woodlands, wetlands and family farms. Ms. Van Waus has completed 80 new conservation easements during her 15-year tenure at INHF. Her other duties have included invasive species management, prescribed fire and farm management. Prior to INHF, Ms. Van Waus worked at Iowa State University and Iowa Learning Farms focusing on soil conservation and residue management in agricultural systems. She received her bachelor’s degree in Biology: Ecology and Systematics and her professional science masters degree in Ecosystem Management, both from University of Northern Iowa.

With a robust legal career spanning across litigation in various legal areas, probate, estate planning, and in-house counsel roles, Ms. An offers a wealth of experience and practical expertise. She has previously represented numerous clients in high-stakes commercial disputes, personal injury cases, complex probate cases and estate planning matters, and she now focuses her practice in probate and estate planning. Ms. An received her J.D. degree in 2017 from the University of Houston Law Center. She also received her B.S. degree in Psychology, summa cum laude, from the University of Houston in 2011. She is a current member of the State Bar of Texas, the Houston Bar Association, and the Asian American Bar Association in Houston. She is admitted to practice before all Texas State Courts.

Ms. Barr founded Barr Law, PLLC, after serving as managing attorney of RMO LLP’s Houston office for almost two years. After seeing how she could run a satellite office of another firm, she decided to venture out on her own and hang her shingle. As a seasoned litigator, her areas of practice include defending and prosecuting causes of action against fiduciaries in probate, trust, guardianship, and power of attorney proceedings. Ms. Barr also handles guardianship, probate, and trust administrations to stay abreast of any statutory changes and court requirements. As a part of this type of litigation, she has experience handling several commercial real estate transactions (including acreage), commercial and dram shop liability litigation, equitable and statutory bill of review proceedings, and appeals. Ms. Barr defends fiduciaries wrongfully accused but she also prosecutes fiduciaries who have abused their positions. Her extensive experience in discovery disputes, either defending privilege and objections to prevent production of certain documents and compelling documents, allows her to advise clients on the pitfalls of discovery. Ms. Barr earned her J.D. degree from the University of Houston Law Center.

Mr. Coufal is a Texas licensed attorney and his areas of practice are elder law, estate planning, and Medicaid planning. His goal in practicing law is to make complex legal challenges easier to understand and provide the support and education his clients need to relieve the financial and emotional stress associated with long-term care expenses. Mr. Coufal is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA). He is also a member of the Elder Counsel, a group of attorneys dedicated to the elder law practice. In addition, Mr. Coufal is a full member of the Texas Bar College, an honorary society of lawyers who are among the best trained attorneys in Texas. Members are qualified attorneys who are interested in both high ethical standards and improved training for all Texas attorneys. He has a J.D. degree and an LL.M. degree from the Duke University School of Law. He is also a graduate of Texas A&M University Mays Business School and Dallas Baptist University. He and his family are actively involved in church ministry in north Texas.

Mr. Ford’s main areas of practice include estate, trust and guardianship litigation, estate planning and uncontested probate and guardianship. In 2010, he achieved the highest distinction available to an attorney practicing in the area of estate planning and probate in Texas. He has become Board Certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, which is a coveted recognition bestowed on few attorneys who have demonstrated special competence in this area of law and who have received recommendations from fellow attorneys and judges with whom they have worked. In 2009, Mr. Ford completed the required course-work to become certified to serve as a mediator. In pursuit of this distinction, Mr. Ford attended the world-renowned Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at the Pepperdine University School of Law in Malibu, California. He attended this intensive course with the goal of being able to conduct mediations in probate and guardianship cases, as few mediators in Texas specialize in these areas. In 2006, Mr. Ford was appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas to serve on the Guardianship Certification Board (GCB), which is a 15-member board that creates policy and oversees the regulation of private professional guardians in the State of Texas. At the inaugural meeting of the GCB, Mr. Ford was elected as the chair of the Rules Committee, where he has served with distinction since that time. Mr. Ford graduated from Baylor University with degrees in Accounting and Law. He has also completed several post-graduate courses at Baylor in pursuit of a master’s degree in Taxation.

Ms. Hoggatt concentrates her practice in estate planning and probate law, business planning and tax law. Her practice includes estate planning, providing estate administration and probate services to executors, trustees, heirs and beneficiaries in matters involving probate, estates, and trusts, general business matters, formation and financing of business ventures, entity choice and formation considerations for business entities, asset protection, and tax planning for businesses and their owners. Ms. Hoggatt received her LL.M. degree in Taxation in 2012 and her J.D. degree in 2008, both from the University of Houston Law Center. She received a B.A. degree in Government from The University of Texas at Austin in 2005.

Ms. Pierson’s main areas of practice are estate planning and probate. She realizes that a well-planned estate can mitigate a lot of the burdens families face when they lose someone they love. Ms. Pierson believes her clients deserve a plan that goes beyond the legal documents and ties up both legal and non-legal loose ends in order to give her clients’ families a path forward through their grief. She helps her clients create estate plans that do not just transfer assets. The wills and trusts she creates take a load off the survivors, prevent familial conflict, and protect future generations. Whether clients need a will, a trust, or a vehicle to protect their assets, Ms. Pierson can prepare a customized plan that will help them to achieve their goals. She enjoys counseling her clients on how to use their estate plan to protect their legacy and provide for loved ones in the event of death or incapacity. Ms. Pierson graduated with honors from the University of Texas School of Law.

Mr. Klaas is a partner at Friedman & Huey Associates, LLP. He specializes in fiduciary, estate and individual income taxation and working with large family groups. Mr. Klaas taught as an undergraduate/graduate tax instructor at Purdue University Northwest. He received his B.S. degree with concentrations in Accounting and Finance from Purdue University Northwest and received his M.S. degree in Taxation from DePaul University. He has spoken on various occasions presenting on taxation of decedents, estates and trusts. Mr. Klaas serves as a 1041 subject matter expert for a national tax software development firm, has edited various professional publications and is an active member of the Chicago Estate Planning Council, Illinois CPA Society, and AICPA.

Mr. Wirtz is a principal at Friedman & Huey Associates, LLP. He specializes in fiduciary, charitable and individual income taxation and working with large family groups. Mr. Wirtz received his B.S. degree in Accounting from Purdue University Northwest and received his M.S. degree in Taxation from DePaul University. He also is member of the Illinois CPA Society.

Samah (“Sam”) T. Abukhodeir was born and raised in Lake Wales, Florida. Following high school, Ms. Abukhodeir moved to Tallahassee, Florida, to pursue a B. S degree in Psychology with a minor in Arabic and Child Development at Florida State University. Ms. Abukhodeir obtained her J.D. degree from Florida International University College of Law, where she was on the Dean’s List and earned two CALI Excellence for the Future Awards in Islamic/Sharia Law and Judicial Externship. While in law school, Ms. Abukhodeir worked as a graduate assistant to law professor Cyra Choudhury and was a judicial intern for the Honorable Marisa Tinkler Mendez, Circuit Court Judge in the Criminal Division of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit in Miami-Dade, Florida, and the Honorable Maria M. Korvick, Circuit Court Judge in the Probate Division of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit in Miami-Dade, Florida.

Ms. Daddino focuses her practice on elder law, estate planning, and guardianships. She developed her passion for assisting the elderly due to her upbringing surrounded by aging family members, including being raised with the help of not only a great-grandmother, but also her maternal grandparents. Ms. Daddino attended Wake Forest University School of Law and is licensed in both North Carolina and South Carolina. She is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) and serves on the board of the North Carolina Chapter. She is also a member of the North Carolina Bar Association Estate Planning and Fiduciary Law Section and serves as a council member for the North Carolina Bar Association Elder Law Section. In South Carolina, she is a member of the South Carolina Chapter of NAELA and serves on the South Carolina Bar Elder Law Committee.

In 2024, Ms. McKinney officially launched the Garlock & McKinney, P.C.’s beach office where she spends most of her time. Although she still takes on clients in the mountains, she now offers legal services in her practice areas to the residents of the Greater Topsail Island, Sneads Ferry and surrounding areas. In her more than 20 years of practice, Ms. McKinney has very unique experience as an attorney. She was a probate clerk in both Wake and Buncombe Counties where she audited and approved estate filings, assisted attorneys, and presided over hearings as an “ex officio Judge of Probate” as an extension of the elected Clerk of Court’s authority in those counties. She also served as assistant legal counsel to all the Clerks of Court and their staffs statewide in her practice areas. Ms. McKinney attended Univeristy of North Carolina Wilminton to obtain her undergraduate degree in Communication Studies. She received her law degree from North Carolina Central School of Law and was licensed to practice law in 2004. Ms. McKinney is a member of The Greater Topsail Area Chamber of Commerce and ANEW, A Network Empowering Women. She is also a trained Christian mediator and conflict coach. She offers those services through PeacePoint Ministry.

Ms. Simpson started Simpson Law Firm because she wanted to create a premier estate planning firm that was unique and stood apart from the pack. Her main strategies were to call clients back (attorneys are notoriously bad at this), treat clients with as much kindness as they receive at Chick-fil-A (my pleasure!), and to provide outstanding, smart, efficient legal services so that families can protect their assets and their loved ones. With plenty of elbow grease and some great mentors, Ms. Simpson is accomplishing her goals with the help of the most amazing attorneys and outstanding law firm staff in all of North and South Carolina. Simpson Law Firm continues to grow and strives to be the kindest and largest premiere estate law firm in the Carolinas.

Mr. Ash joined Carlin & Ward in 2019 bringing 15 years of experience in real estate law for public projects to the representation of property owners in eminent domain acquisitions. Now a partner at Carlin, Ward, Ash & Heiart, LLC, his practice focuses on real estate litigation and trial advocacy in eminent domain matters and tax appeals. He collaborates with experts in various disciplines including real estate appraisers, engineers, planners, and environmental consultants. Mr. Ash is certified by the New Jersey Supreme Court as a certified civil trial attorney, handling all aspects of condemnation valuation jury trials, commissioner hearings, and tax appeals in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Court, Tax Court, Supreme Court, and United States District Court for the District of New Jersey and Southern District of New York. In 2018, Mr. Ash was awarded the CRE® designation by the Counselors of Real Estate®, an international group of real estate professionals recognized as leading advisors in complex real property matters with approximately 1,000 members worldwide, of which only about 50 are practicing attorneys. Mr. Ash has been Recognized as “Rising Star” and Super Lawyer in Eminent Domain 2012 through 2022. He earned his B.A. degree from Rutgers University and his J.D. degree from New England School of Law.

Ms. Baillie’s practice focuses on land use in all its variety, including development applications, redevelopment plans and projects, affordable housing, land preservation, objector work, planning and zoning, and land use-related litigation. She represents both municipal clients (land use boards) as well as private clients, uniquely positioning her to understand both the public and private sides of the land use process. Before discovering her passion for land use, Ms. Baillie worked for many years as a transactional corporate attorney in New York City. Ms. Baillie holds law degrees from the University of Chicago Law School and Cambridge University in England, from where she originally hails.

Mr. Chou is a member of the Corporate, Foreign Direct Investment, Life Sciences, Renewable Energy & Sustainability, Real Estate, Land Use, Environmental and Commercial Leasing practice groups at Hill Wallack LLP. He concentrates his practice in areas of mergers and acquisitions, corporate, environmental permitting, renewable energy projects, commercial real estate transactions, commercial leasing, construction contracts and land development matters. Mr. Chou has represented domestic and foreign companies, public entities and non-profits in a wide variety of commercial, environmental, renewable energy, leasing and land use matters. He has also represented foreign entities in various corporate matters related to their investments and transactions in the United States. Mr. Chou is admitted to practice in the State Courts of New Jersey (2000) and Pennsylvania (2000) and the U.S. District Court of New Jersey (2000). He received his law degree from Rutgers Law School. Following law school, Mr. Chou served a judicial clerkship with the Honorable Lawrence M. Lawson, Assignment Judge of Monmouth County. He is a graduate of the Honors College of the University of Georgia. Mr. Chou is proficient in Mandarin Chinese.

The main focus of the Condemnation, Redevelopment, and Eminent Domain Group is property valuation litigation and representing private property owners in challenging the government’s right to take private property by the use of the power of eminent domain (also known as condemnation) and prosecuting inverse condemnation claims. Mr. Duggan regularly represents clients whose highway access and property rights have been revoked or taken by the New Jersey Department of Transportation, county agencies and utility companies, and has experience in handling all aspects of eminent domain, including relocation assistance, modification of highway access, and litigating the amount of just compensation. He represents property owners in urban redevelopment projects and pipeline cases, and he has experience in both state and federal courts. Mr. Duggan also prosecutes real estate tax appeals for banks, developers, automobile dealerships, condominium and homeowners’ associations, shopping centers, and commercial property owners and is a member of the Firm’s Flood Litigation, Development & Mitigation Group. He has been awarded the CRE® designation by the Counselors of Real Estate®, an international group of real estate professionals recognized as leading advisors in complex real property matters with approximately 1,000 members worldwide, of which less than ten percent are practicing attorneys (www.cre.org). Mr. Duggan is a frequent speaker and author on topics related to bankruptcy, eminent domain and tax appeal matters. He earned his M.B.A. degree from Seton Hall University and his J.D. degree from Seton Hall University School of Law.

Mr. Krauser is actively engaged in a wide range of commercial, industrial and vacant land assignments. He specializes in appraisals for tax appeals, condemnations, litigation and open space/land preservation. Mr. Krauser also provides corporate clients and institutional investors with an array of real estate consulting services for properties located throughout New Jersey and New York. He prepares and reviews appraisals, market studies and feasibility assignments to evaluate acquisition and disposition opportunities as well as for financing, tax appeals, bankruptcy proceedings, condemnation and asset management purposes. In addition, Mr. Krauser reviews large portfolio assignments throughout the U.S. pertaining to office, multifamily, industrial and retail properties. He joined Newmark Valuation & Advisory in 2017, when the firm acquired several affiliate offices of Integra Realty Resources (IRR). At the time of the acquisition, he was serving as a senior managing director in IRR’s Whippany office. Additionally, Mr. Krauser is qualified as an expert witness before the New Jersey Tax Court, New Jersey Superior Court, Federal Bankruptcy Court and various planning boards, commissioner hearings and county tax boards.

Mr. McNally has extensive experience in land-related litigation and transactions. Mr. McNally has been retained by a number of title insurance underwriters to litigate title claim matters on behalf of owners and lenders. He has also been retained by individual and corporate clients to address boundary line disputes. Mr. McNally has been appointed by the Superior Court of New Jersey to act as a boundary line commissioner. He has handled all aspects of commercial real estate transactions including but not limited to preparation and negotiation of contracts, assistance with due diligence, negotiation of loan documents, compliance with lender instructions and analysis of insurable and marketable title. Additionally, Mr. McNally focuses on the representation of industry professionals, such as architects and engineers. Mr. McNally is well-versed on the organization of legal entities and provides counsel to clients about the responsibilities of directors and officers. He is also a Rule 1:40 Qualified Mediator included on the roster of court-appointed mediators in the State of New Jersey. In July 2021 he joined with Paige M. Bellino, Esquire to form McNally & Bellino, LLC. Mr. McNally has been a speaker on title claim issues for New Jersey Land Title Association as well as having served as a panelist for several seminars concerning complex real estate transactions, title insurance coverage and claims and boundary issues. He has been an adjunct professor at Villanova Business School teaching a course in real estate law since the Spring 2024 semester. Mr. McNally appeared as a panelist at the 2023 and 2024 Survcon events in Atlantic City sponsored by the New Jersey Society of Professional Land Surveyors. During the 2024 Survcon event, he spoke on two separate panels; one on preparing and negotiating contracts and the other on surveyors serving as experts in litigation. Mr. McNally and his partner Paige M. Bellino successfully argued before the New Jersey Supreme Court in Green Knight v. Calderon, 252 N.J. 265 (2022) which resulted in an interpretation of the tax sale law favorable to their client. Mr. McNally is a member of the New Jersey Land Title Association, the Pennsylvania Land Title Association, the Cape May County Bar Association, an affiliate member of the Cape May County Association of Realtors and an affiliate member of the NEXUS Board of Realtors.

Mr. Fleischer is the founder and principal of Capital Environmental Consultants, Inc. He is an environmental scientist and professional wetland scientist with more than 15 years of experience in the environmental consulting industry. Mr. Fleischer has conducted wetland and ecological investigations at properties throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Long Island, and the Lower and Mid-Hudson Valley. His areas of expertise include all aspects of federal, state, and local wetland analysis including freshwater and tidal delineation, specializing in comprehensive determinations for routine, atypical, and problem wetlands. Mr. Fleischer has extensive experience developing solutions and providing strategic advice for a wide range of clients and projects. He holds a BS degree in Biology from SUNY New Paltz and an MS degree in Environmental Science from Pace University.

Mr. Scarborough is an associate in the Environmental and Land Use Practice Group at Whiteman Osterman & Hanna LLP in Albany. Whiteman Osterman & Hanna LLP is the largest law firm in the capital region and has been recognized numerous times for the firm’s experience in the environmental and land use legal field. Mr. Scarborough graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor’s degree in Public Relations and received his J.D. degree from Vermont Law School, where he concentrated his studies on environmental, energy, and regulatory law.

Dr. Schultz’s research focuses on the interaction between ecosystem functioning and plant community (diversity and composition). Her specialties include wetland ecology, ecosystem ecology, plant functional traits, and carbon cycling dynamics. She earned her Ph.D. degree in Environment and Natural Resources from The Ohio State University.

Mr. Sturm has been a practicing wetland scientist since he joined the firm in 2012 and has been a partner since 2019. He has delineated and/or assisted with delineating hundreds of acres of freshwater and tidal wetlands and has managed and conducted numerous surveys for endangered/threatened flora and fauna. In addition, Mr. Sturm conducts or assists with conducting environmental analyses such as air quality and sound level studies on a wide range of projects. He is a project manager in his own right but frequently provides technical assistance in terms of AutoCAD drawings and data collection. A graduate from Stony Brook University, Mr. Sturm obtained a B.S. degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and a B.A. degree in German Language and Literature. He currently holds the designation of Professional Wetland Scientist (PWS #3470). While not working he enjoys his time outdoors, often found birding and hiking throughout Long Island, as well as looking for owls and moths at night.