The Central Chapter of the Florida Lake Management Society was designed to be a forum in which citizens and professionals can meet to identify, educate, and correct the problems concerning our lakes.

The next central FLMS chapter meeting will be held on Tuesday, July 20, 2010.  This meeting will be a community forum giving homeowners a chance to learn more about protecting their lakes. Click here for the agenda and reservation information.

This is a great opportunity to share information and keep up with the latest lake management issues throughout the year with your Central Florida colleagues.

President:  Ron Novy
Vice Presdient: Sergio Duarte
Secretary: Marissa Rodriguez
Treasurer: David Mahnken

Officer Bios:

President:

Ronald Novy

Ron received his B.S. in Chemistry from Elmhurst College (Illinois) in 1988 and M.S. in Environmental Science from Florida Institute of Technology in 1991.Ron began his career in the analytical laboratory in 1985. Ron later moved to Florida where he conducted he began his career in the limnological field concentrating on aquatic chemistry and nutrient transport characteristics. Ron’s thesis research focused in on nutrients fluxes from within the littoral zone of Lake Okeechobee. After his graduate work, Ron spent the next 9 years working in the environmental laboratory field in central Florida.  Ron joined the Orange County Environmental Protection Division in 2001 where he is currently the Program Manager of the Lakes Management Section. Ron oversees the Counties MSTU lake program that consists of 33 separate lake funds with cumulative budgets of over 8 million dollars and the County’s Water Quality CIP budget.  At the County, Ron has initiated the develop of a proactive aquatic plant program, coordinated several educations workshops for local professionals and community leaders, develop a water quality needs assessment database, various educational campaigns for lake residents, as well as implemented numerous stormwater BMP’s for water quality and TMDL credits. Ron is an active member of FLMS, the Florida Aquatic Plant Management Society, Florida Stormwater Association and Florida Association of Environmental Professionals.

Vice President:

Sergio Duarte:

Sergio received his B.S. in Biology from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Colombia S.A; and two M.S. from Auburn University on Fisheries and Allied Aquaculture and Agriculture Economics.  Sergio has over fourteen years of experience in lakes and fisheries management, environmental studies, extension service, aquaculture production & consulting, and laboratory work on lake water, aquatic diseases, and fish pathogen inspections. Sergio is currently a Senior Environmental Specialist for the Orange County Environmental Protection Division.  Sergio is responsible for overseeing stormwater and lake restoration projects for over 4,000 acres of surface waters within the Windermere Water & Navigation Control District and the Big Sand Lake MSTU. Sergio conducts watershed restoration/stormwater retrofit projects, local taxing district management and provides support for aquatic weed control management and educational activities.  Prior to coming to Orange County, Sergio worked with the City of Maitland for seven years as a Lakes Management Coordinator where he was involved in the supervision of stormwater / lake restoration projects, NPDES compliance and training,  overseeing of the City’s Lakes Advisory Board and public awareness programs / activities.  Sergio participated in the organization of the Central Chapter of FLMS and has been a member of FLMS for over 10 years.

Secretary:

Marissa Rodriguez

Marissa graduated from Rollins College with a B.A. in Environmental Studies.  Marissa has worked for the FDEP Bureau of Invasive Plant Management for 2 years as a Regional Biologist where she was responsible for aquatic vegetation permitting in West Orange County and within the Butler Chain of Lakes.  Marissa then began working for the City of Maitland as a Stormwater and Lakes Management Coordinator in February of 2008. At the City, Marissa oversees the NPDES compliance, oversees stormwater & lake restoration projects, and works together with the City’s Lakes Advisory Board. Marissa is a member of the Florida Association of Environmental Professionals, Florida Stormwater Association, Cambrian Foundation, and Florida Local Environmental Resource Agencies.

Treasurer:

David Mahnken

David received his undergraduate degree in Biology from the University of Central Florida, concentrating on plant taxonomy; and his master’s degree from the University of Florida’s Soil and Water Science Department focusing primarily on wetland biogeochemistry and the relationships of soil ecology in the degradation and transformation of nutrients and pesticides in aquatic ecosystems. David is currently a Senior Scientist with E Sciences, Inc. in Orlando, Florida and holds more than 20 years of technical and professional experience as an environmental scientist in both the private and public sectors.  David has a broad range of experience including ecological and biological functional assessments of surface waters and wetlands, lake and stream bio-assessments, benthic macro invertebrate taxonomic identification, wetland and submerged aquatic vegetation survey and taxonomic identification, GIS/GPS assisted bathymetric surveying, surface water pollutant dispersion assessment, mitigation design, jurisdictional wetland delineations, threatened and endangered species surveys, wildlife habitat evaluations, GIS analysis of environmental data, and all aspects of local, state, and federal environmental resource permitting.