President's Statement

Shailesh Patel has 17 years of experience in soil and water sciences specializing in the fields of dredging, mining wastes and associated environmental issues. He is President of Dredging & Marine Consultants, LLC and has served on the Florida Lake Management Society, both as a Board member and President. He has managed or assisted with numerous public projects from initial feasibility studies, involving the public, to project implementation and inspection to post-dredge assessment. Shailesh continues to add to his extensive knowledge of designing cost-effective and environmentally-sound lake, estuary, and canal/channel dredging projects, including sediment treatment, management, disposal operations, beneficial reuse of dredged sediments and source control. He has practical knowledge of environmental dredging equipment, their applications, limitation, and suitability to specific projects, recognizing every project is unique. He has managed projects that have evaluated or included innovative sediment dewatering or separation treatment and processing such as hydrocyclone, belt press, rotary screen, centrifuge, and polymers due to project site constraints. He continually participates in professional and scientific groups to keep abreast of advances in dredging and water quality, is dedicated to educating the public and passionately promotes the environmental restoration benefits of responsibly removing sediments and pollutants from our waters.

Vice-President's Statement

Kelli Hammer Levy has been a member of FLMS for 8 years.  She has served on the board of directors for the past 2 years and as the Southwest Florida chapter representative for 4 years.  Kelli is an Environmental Program Coordinator for the Pinellas County Department of Environmental Management. Kelli oversees the Water Resources Management Section. She is responsible for the County’s NPDES compliance, training, and enforcement program, the TMDL and watershed planning programs, the surface water quality, seagrass, and benthic monitoring programs, and  water quality and habitat restoration. Kelli is responsible for the implementation of multiple capital improvement projects to restore Lake Seminole and to improve water quality in Lake Tarpon.   Prior to coming to Pinellas County, Kelli worked with the City of Clearwater and the Florida Wildlife Research Institute as a senior chemist.  She received her B.S. in Marine Science from Eckerd College and her M.S. in Chemical Oceanography from the University of South Florida. Kelli has been working in the Tampa Bay watershed for over 15 years and is dedicated to carrying out FLMS’ mission and looks forward to contributing to an outstanding organization in the future.

Treasurer Statement

Michael J. Perry has served on the Board of Directors of the Florida Lake Management Society since July 2001 and as Treasurer since June 2003.  Mike serves as the Executive Director of the Lake County Water Authority.  He has been in that position since July 2000, responsible for the surface and groundwater resources in Lake County.  He is particularly responsible for supervising the development and implementation of water quality and natural systems improvement projects for an ecologically diverse group of connected lake systems in.  He has earned a B.S. in Marine Science and Biology from Jacksonville University in Jacksonville, Florida; a Master of Science from the University of South Carolina; and completed Post-Masters academic work at the University of Florida.  Prior to the Water Authority, Mike spent 12 years with the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD).  While at SWFWMD, Mike’s responsibilities included preparation and implementation of watershed management plans for Tampa Bay, Charlotte Harbor, Crystal River/Kings Bay, Lake Thonotosassa, and Lake Hancock.  Mike has over 20 years of extensive technical experience with managing the needs and implementation of restoration projects for large and complex estuarine, river and lake systems. 

Secretary's Statement

Shannon Carter Wetzel has been a member of FLMS for over 12 years.  She has served as the Secretary for the past year, as a board member and as the Central Florida chapter representative in past years.  Shannon has also been very active in the Central Florida chapter of FLMS since its inception.  Shannon is a Principal Environmental Scientist for Seminole County Public Works Department.  She is responsible for the County’s NPDES compliance and training, including erosion control training and stormwater system inspections.  Shannon conducts water quality and biological monitoring on lakes and streams within the County and is involved with the County’s TMDL and lake management programs.  She is also involved with wetland mitigation monitoring activities for various County projects.   Prior to coming to Seminole County, Shannon worked with the South Florida Water Management District as a senior environmental analyst where she was involved in the environmental resource permitting regulatory program, including wetland delineations, mitigation assessments and permit compliance.  She received her B.S. in Limnology from the University of Central Florida and her M.S. in Aquatic Biology from the University of Alabama.  Shannon has been working on and in Florida waters and wetlands for over 15 years and is very excited about the future of FLMS and hopes to continue serving the society.

Directors' Statements

David Evans is a limnologist serving as Principal Environmental Scientist at Water & Air Research, Inc. (Water & Air) in Gainesville, Florida. Water & Air is an environmental consulting firm of engineers, biologists, geologists and planners, providing environmental engineering and planning services to both private and public clients across the United States. Dr. Evans received his Doctorate of Philosophy degree in Environmental Engineering Sciences from the University of Florida and has more than twenty-five years of experience in the assessment and management of aquatic and wetland systems in Florida and the southeastern United States. He has managed and participated in numerous water and sediment quality assessments, water use studies, Environmental Impact Statements, Environmental Assessments, Planned Urban Developments, and Developments of Regional Impact. He has extensive experience in evaluating biological response to wastewater and stormwater discharge in urban lakes and lotic systems and in the ecological characterization of natural aquatic systems.

Jim Griffin is a retired naval officer, Environmental Scientist, PhD., Principle Investigator and Associate in Research at the Florida Center for Community Design and Research-USF School of Architecture, Adjunct Professor, USF-Geography. Research interests include limnological assessments, spatial modeling and spatial database design. Jim has been a FLMS member since 1998 and has served as President, Past President, Vice President and director of FLMS.  Jim was the 2007 NALMS Conference Host Committee Chair. He is a LAKEWATCH volunteer, past LAKEWATCH trainer, Hillsborough Adopt-A-Pond volunteer pond representative and Stream Water Watch founder and volunteer.  Past work experience includes: Lake Management Program Coordinator and Scientist for Hillsborough County, Senior Environmental Scientist for the South West Florida Water Management District and Indian River Water Quality Monitoring Network Manager and Scientist.  Jim would like to return to the FLMS Board of Directors because he is interested in continuing to be part of the society’s future.

Jennifer Sagan has worked intensively for the last decade in the Lower St. Johns River, Florida monitoring and analyzing the effects of biotic and abiotic stressors on submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV). She has comprehensive knowledge of Northeast Florida aquatic systems through her work as a private consultant to the St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) and now as a senior environmental scientist with BCI Engineers & Scientists, Inc. She has produced a decade of annual and special reports related to SAV status and has acted as a member of a multiagency technical advisory committee providing input on water management issues related to water quality, aquatic organism habitat restoration, and establishment of Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLS). She currently manages the nearly 30 full-time, contingent workers provided to the SJRWMD by BCI for district-wide technical and field support services. She received her M.S. degree from Georgia State University in Microbiology with an emphasis on bioremediation. Her B.S. degree is in zoology from the University of Florida.

John Walkinshaw is a GPI Southeast Senior Environmental Specialist. He has over 21 years experience in water resources management. John has worked with projects involving water quality, water supply, and watershed management. Previous to joining GPI Southeast, John worked on education, research, technical reporting, emergency management, and other water-related programs and projects for the Southwest Florida Water Management District. Projects included cooperative efforts with Florida’s other water management districts, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the Florida Department of Education, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the state universities, and many local and regional governments. John also develops programs and materials for watershed outreach efforts with the Charlotte Harbor Environmental Center and is the Executive Director of the Hillsborough River Watershed Alliance. He has presented at numerous national and regional conferences on water supply and water quality topics. Since joining GPI Southeast, John has worked with a variety of clients in developing and implementing programs in support of NPDES and TMDL requirements and program implementation. John has a B.S. in Communications from the  University of Florida, and an M.A. in Communication Management from the University of Bridgeport.