Program Co-Chairs

Tessa T. Davidson is a fourth-generation New Mexican and the founding member of her law firm. Her practice is devoted to representing public and private clients in a wide spectrum of water, environmental and natural resource issues.

Glenn Jarvis has been involved in Rio Grande water issues since 1963. He has been Chairman of the Rio Grande Regional Water Planning Group M (Texas Water Development Board) since 1997. He was involved in the first court adjudication of water rights in the Lower Rio Grande in Texas, and in the adjudication of water rights in the Middle and Upper Rio Grande in Texas. He represents water districts and other water clients along the Rio Grande and in other parts of the state.

David W. Robbins emphasizes water and natural resources law, water quality and environmental law. Since 1981, he has served as General Counsel to the Rio Grande Water Conservation District, where he has led efforts to defeat proposals to mine the ground water of Colorado`s San Luis Valley.

Keynote Speaker

Anne J. Castle has been in her current position since July 2009. She oversees water and science policy and has responsibility for the Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Geological Survey. She was formerly a partner in the Denver office of Holland & Hart, where her practice included litigation and multi-party negotiations involving water issues, water related transactions and advice on water policy and strategy. She served on the South Platte River Task Force appointed by Governor Bill Ritter and was twice appointed to the Colorado Ground Water Commission by former Governor Roy Romer.

Faculty

Jeffrey H. Albright has participated in more than 100 cases before the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission. His water law practice includes research, hearings, transfers, buying and selling water rights, water rights adjudications before the office of the State Engineer and District Court, water conservation plans, water utility proceedings, and legal assistance with developing 40 year water plans.

Carolyn Brittin is Deputy Executive Administrator, Water Resources Planning and Information for the Texas Water Development Board.

Timothy L. Brown focuses on environmental and water law, including water rights, administrative law and governmental and legislative practice. He is the former Chief of the Environmental Protection Division of the Texas Attorney General`s Office.

Filiberto Cortez has worked for the Bureau of Reclamation in the El Paso office of the Rio Grande Project since 1974. He is the principal Reclamation representative for the Rio Grande Project in southern New Mexico and West Texas in various negotiations on water operations procedures, water rights adjudications, and negotiation conversions of irrigation water to municipal and industrial water use and resolution of the environmental issues.

Craig Cotton is Colorado`s Engineer Advisor to the Rio Grande Compact. He is also the Division Engineer for the Colorado Division of Water Resources, managing surface water and groundwater rights in the Upper Rio Grande Basin in Colorado.

Martha C. Franks represents a variety of clients in mostly water matters, including disputes over duties attached to water rights and existence of water rights. She provides advice to and drafts proposed regulations and other documents for New Mexico`s Interstate Stream Commission and Office of the State Engineer.

William A. Hillhouse II has tried or settled numerous cases in virtually every area of water law, including water rights adjudications, augmentation plans, exchanges, changes of water rights, disputes over the exportation of water, disputes over priorities, defense of state enforcement actions, groundwater regulation disputes, litigation over interstate compacts and water quality battles including hearings before the Water Quality Control Commission.

Ronald A. Kaiser focuses on water rights, water marketing, and groundwater management. A number of his recommendations on water marketing have been incorporated into Texas surface water law.

Sarah A. Klahn represents ranchers and farmers, municipalities and industry, in Colorado, Idaho, Wyoming and New Mexico. Her practice is limited to litigation and transactional work involving water rights and water quality matters.

Estevan R. López was appointed to his current position by Governor Bill Richardson in 2003. He also serves as the Deputy State Engineer for New Mexico.

Jolene McCaleb has been representing clients on water quantity and water quality issues in New Mexico state administrative proceedings and state and federal courts for more than 11 years. Previously, she worked in Phoenix, where she served one year as a law clerk to the Arizona Supreme Court and then practiced complex litigation at Brown & Bain. She was recently elected to the Board of Directors of the Western Coalition of Arid States.

Edmond R. McCarthy Jr. represents clients in the sale and transfer of water rights, regional water supply projects, the development of water rights, district legislation, and agency rules and regulations.

Felicia Orth has been in her current position since 1999 and has conducted dozens of hearings in matters relating to water quality.

William A. Paddock has a diverse practice that includes representing agricultural, municipal and industrial clients in water rights and water quality matters. He is a frequent speaker on water rights and water law at legal education and engineering seminars and has authored numerous articles.

Willem A. Schreüder specializes in numerical analysis, mathematical modeling, computational fluid dynamics and parallel systems. His modeling expertise includes ground and surface water hydrology and contaminant transport.

Herman Settemeyer has over 35 years of state service with the TCEQ and its predecessor agencies. He serves as Engineer Advisor to each of Texas` five Interstate Compact Commissions. He also provides technical support relating to the water treaties with Mexico and was Project Engineer for the for the Rio Grande above Fort Quitman water rights adjudication and the Rio Grande Forgotten Rivers Project .

Brian L. Sledge focuses his practice primarily on legislative, environmental, water, and utility matters. He is head of his firm`s Government Relations Practice Group. He is a frequent speaker on legislative, solid waste, water, mining, and municipal issues and has authored numerous articles in his areas of practice.

Jay F. Stein has practiced water law since 1978 throughout the State of New Mexico and the western United States. His firm represents New Mexico, municipalities, and private interests in intrastate and interstate matters.

John Stroud represents the State in Indian water rights cases, including the Aamodt adjudication.

Zeke Ward has served his community in various capacities including past Chairman of the City Planning and Zoning Commission and former representative to the San Luis Valley Regional Planning and Development Commission. He is also a former Mineral County Commissioner. Currently, he is Project Manager for Bright Idea Energy Solutions.