Archives: Staff

Keila Sherman is the Outreach and Education Specialist for the John Redmond and Toronto-Fall River WRAPS programs.

Keila began working with the Conservation District for Greenwood County after 16 years as a librarian for the school and city libraries and a year for the county road and bridge and noxious weed departments. She has been with the district for more than 8 years. Keila has stayed busy volunteering most of her free time and received the Community Member of the Month in July of 2022 for her efforts to community events. She received the Kansas Association of Conservation & Environmental Education (KACEE) Award of Excellence in Conservation and Environmental Education Government in April of 2020.

Keila has lived in Greenwood County for 33 years, married her high school sweetheart 28 years ago, and has three wonderful kids and two grandchildren. She loves the prairies of the Flint Hills and the trees of Chautauqua Hills. She enjoys spending time rock hunting in creek banks, bow fishing and growing house plants. Her most favorite free time activities are camping at her property near Toronto Lake and being a portrait photographer.

Chad was born and raised in Emporia, Kansas, and graduated from high school in 1993, before quickly starting his construction career.  Chad’s construction experience ranges from groundwork, to constructing buildings and water treatment facilities, refineries, iron work, and welding. There is not a piece of equipment he doesn’t have experience with!  As the John Redmond Watershed Technician, Chad brings a unique set  of knowledge to the team.

Chad’s passion is his kids.  He has an adult daughter that lives in Dallas, a son who lives in Enid, and also a 7 y/o daughter in Emporia. He is also a very proud grandpa to a beautiful, spunky, granddaughter.  

When not working in the watershed, Chad loves to camp, motocross, and do all types of water sports. On the side, he also owns and operates a commercial and residential concrete business.

Derek is the Watershed Coordinator for the in the John Redmond Watershed and Toronto Fall River Watershed and works closely with the John Redmond Watershed Technician and the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks.

Derek brings a unique blend of skills and experiences to his work at KAWS.  He has over a decade of agricultural Co-op management experience, time with law enforcement and in fleet maintenance, and most notably served as a Staff Sergeant in the United States Air Force. He has transformed the Conservation Technician role into a full-service conservation program offering everything from brush clearing to interseeding cover crops. In 2023, Derek was promoted to Watershed Coordinator for the John Redmond and Toronto-Fall River WRAPS.

When not at work, you can find Derek with his family, working on the farm, or indulging in his love of classic cars.

Tamara grew up in rural south-central Michigan surrounded by a mix of forest and agriculture. A self-described child of the dirt, she spent countless hours catching critters, biking, climbing trees (and falling out of them), wandering public land looking for mushrooms and sheds, running through corn fields, and walking down to the creek to have stick races with her siblings.

This love of the outdoors grew into a passion to study wildlife biology after high school. Upon earning her B.A. and M.S. from Grand Valley State University in west-Michigan, Tamara traveled the country to wherever the jobs were, eventually landing in Kansas as a fauna Field Ecologist with the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON). In 2021, Tamara met Aaron Deters through outreach with NEON, and upon learning more about KAWS and its partners, became interested in the intricate relationship between agriculture and water in Kansas. Seeking an opportunity for growth and expansion of knowledge, Tamara joined KAWS and the NRCS as a Conservation Specialist working with the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP).

During her free time Tamara enjoys hiking, kayaking, strength training, painting, drawing, and baking sweets. She has one giant rescue dog named Winston, two little fish, and an increasingly large number of house plants taking over her Manhattan apartment.

Jim has spent most of his career in education, serving students in grades 6-12 as a school counselor.  He has always had interest in the environment and conservation and stepped away from education after 33 years to pursue a different direction.  Having lifelong experience with agriculture and completing a Graduate Certificate in Environmental Assessment, he worked a seasonal position with the McPherson Valley Wetlands just west of McPherson and feels extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to now work with KAWS as a Conservation Specialist.

In his spare time or vacations, Jim finds spending time outdoors most appealing.  National Parks, State and local Parks, hiking, learning about new places, and tends to gravitate toward water structures or bodies of water.   Other interests include golfing, fishing, working with mechanics, inventive ideas, riding his bicycle, and spending time with both immediate and extended family.

 

 

Based out of Lawrence, Andrew serves as the Upper Wakarusa Watershed Coordinator. He has been involved with WRAPS since 2021, having worked for the Kansas Department of Health & Environment prior to KAWS. Having served as Fish Kill Response Coordinator and Project Officer for several WRAPS watersheds during his time with KDHE, Andrew has a unique perspective on the role industry and agriculture play in shaping water quality in Kansas. Andrew recently returned to Kansas after working as a wildlife ecologist in Illinois; there he managed human/wildlife conflict and studied the impacts of suburban sprawl on fragmented wildlife populations. Prior to that, he studied river otter ecology in southern Illinois. 

Andrew holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Emporia State University and a Master of Science in Forestry from Southern Illinois University. He is a Certified Wildlife Biologist® with The Wildlife Society. When he’s not managing wildlife habitat on his family’s land in southeast Kansas, you can find him hunting, fishing, or trapping. He also enjoys the food and music scene of Lawrence.

Megan is the Watershed Coordinator for both the Middle and Lower Kansas River WRAPS since 2018 and is based out of Lawrence.

Megan holds a Bachelor of Science in Animal Science from Bel-Rea in Colorado where she was a Certified Veterinary Technician for 10 years and specialized in animal ophthalmology. She also holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science and a master’s in Environmental Assessment from the University of Kansas.

Megan has a passion for Environmental Justice, sustainability and public lands. When she isn’t working on water quality, you can find her walking in a prairie, hiking a mountain, kayaking or stand-up paddle boarding on rivers, traveling, listening to live music, and loving on every animal.

Adam is the Coordinator for the Milford Reservoir WRAPS.

Adam Bauer, a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, has been hired as the Watershed Coordinator for the Milford Lake Watershed. Most recently, Adam worked for Pheasants Forever in partnership with the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks & Tourism assisting tenant farmers on the wildlife area and help to promote sustainable farming practices by using cover crops in crop rotations.

Adam brings his expertise in private lands, ArcGIS and Google Earth to the KAWS team.

Bob serves as the Eastern Kansas Wetland Coordinator. He knows that private landowners in Kansas hold the keys to conservation of natural resources in the state and believes that working directly with them is both rewarding and integral to conserving and improving our soil, water, grasslands, streams, forests, wetlands and wildlife. Bob has been involved with KAWS since 2015 as the coordinator for Toronto, Fall River and Upper Neosho WRAPS and previously worked for the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks as a Private Land Wildlife Biologist. He served as the Area Biologist in partnership with the Natural Resource Conservation Service in Emporia working with District Conservationists and landowners in southeast Kansas.

Bob holds a Bachelors of Science in Wildlife Biology from Kansas State University. He is a Certified Wildlife Biologist with the Wildlife Society, is certified in wetland identification and delineation and has completed numerous other training modules. Bob was recognized by the Kansas Wildlife Federation in 2001 as Land and Soil Conservationist of the year.