Advancing a Vision for the Mississippi
2014 SummitBrigadier General Duke DeLuca (Ret.)
Commander, Mississippi Valley Division, USACE President, Mississippi River Commission
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Bill Dennison
Professor, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
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Mayor Greg Fischer
Mayor, Louisville, KY
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Mayor Fischer’s accomplishments include:
- Regaining the 42,000 jobs lost to the long recession, including creating 12,400 new jobs in 2013 alone.
- Launching full-speed-ahead construction of the two Ohio River bridges while opening the pedestrian and bicycle friendly Big Four Bridge
- Bringing innovation and efficiency to city government by using data to increase performance through LouieStat, championing the Louisville Water/MSD consolidation, and reaching a deal to bring $27 million in efficiencies to city facilities with no upfront costs.
- Earning “International Model City of Compassion” recognition for Louisville in part by creating the Give A Day week of community service, which drew more than 144,000 volunteers and acts of compassion in April, 2014.
Mayor Fischer was named a 2013 “Public Official of the Year” by Governing Magazine, the only U.S. mayor to earn the distinction. Greg is an entrepreneur who started several businesses including SerVend International and Iceberg Ventures, a private investment firm. Greg graduated from Trinity High School and Vanderbilt University. He and his wife Alex have four children.
Terry Fleck
Chairman, Friends of Lake Sakakawea
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Ben Grumbles
President, U.S. Water Alliance
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Greg C. Heitzman, P.E.
Executive Director, Louisville Metropolitan Sewer District
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He has bachelor and masters degrees in Civil Engineering from the University of Kentucky and an MBA from the University of Louisville.
He currently serves on the following Boards:
- Greater Louisville Fund for the Arts, 2013 Campaign Chair
- Kentucky-Indiana Exchange (KIX) – The Regional Leadership Coalition
- Louisville Better Business Bureau, Secretary
- Louisville Chamber of Commerce – Greater Louisville, Inc.
- Louisville Water Foundation
- Water Information Sharing and Analysis Center (Water ISAC)
- Water Research Foundation
- WaterStep Advisory Board
He and his wife, Linda, reside in Louisville. Their daughter, Claire resides in Lexington, KY.
Dr. Heath Kelsey
Program Director, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
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Ray LaHood
Senior Policy Advisor, DLA Piper
Former Secretary, US Department of Transportation
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Secretary LaHood’s tenure was marked by landmark efforts to improve safety in every mode of transportation, from aviation and rail to pipelines and automobiles. Under his leadership, improvements to America’s infrastructure included building or replacing 350,000 miles of highway, repairing 20,000 bridges and renewing or constructing 6,000 miles of rail track. Secretary LaHood also achieved more stringent fuel efficiency requirements from automakers, took steps to address airline pilot fatigue and turned the problem of distracted driving into a national concern. As Secretary of Transportation, he oversaw an agency with more than 55,000 employees and a US$70 billion budget in charge of air, maritime and surface transportation.
Before heading the US Department of Transportation, Secretary LaHood served from 1995 to 2009 in the US House of Representatives on behalf of the 18th District of Illinois and also served on various House committees, among them the powerful House Appropriations Committee and the House Intelligence Committee. He served as chief of staff to US House Minority Leader Robert Michel from 1982 to 1994. He was director of the Rock Island County Youth Services Bureau from 1972 to 1974; chief planner of the Bi-States Metropolitan Planning Commission from 1974 to 1977; and district administrative assistant for US Congressman Tom Railsback from 1977 to 1982.
He is married to Kathy LaHood, and they have four children and eleven grandchildren.
Brigadier General John R. McMahon, P.E. (Ret.)
Korea Relocation Program Manager, CH2MHILL Former Commander, Northwestern Division, USACE
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Major General John Peabody
Deputy Commanding General for Civil and Emergency Operations, USACE
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He has had multiple staff assignments at the tactical, operational and strategic levels as a Combat Engineer, Political-Military Advisor in US Southern Command covering Latin American issues, as the senior Engineer Trainer at the National Training Center, and for Army Legislative Liaison. He has commanded combat engineer units at the company, battalion and brigade levels, as well as three Corps of Engineers Divisions for over eight consecutive years – in sequence, the Pacific Ocean, Great Lakes and Ohio River and the Mississippi Valley Divisions. He also served five years on the Mississippi River Commission, culminating as the 36th President of the Commission. He has had operational deployments to Honduras, El Salvador, Somalia and Kuwait and Iraq, including command of the 3rd Infantry Division’s Engineer Brigade during the attack to Baghdad and subsequent transition to stability operations during Operation Iraqi Freedom I in 2003.
MG Peabody is a graduate of the United States Military Academy with a Bachelor of Science degree, the Command and General Staff College, and the Army War College with a master’s degree in Strategic Studies. He also holds a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University and studied international relations and political sociology as an Olmsted Scholar at El Colegio de Mexico, Mexico City. He holds a Professional Engineer License from the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
He and his wife Kelly spend their free time with their young daughter, Reagan.
As the Deputy Commanding General for Civil and Emergency Operations, Major General Peabody is responsible for a $10 Billion dollar annual program. He exercises oversight of Corps’ civil works activities conducted by over 23,000 military and civilian professionals operating in 8 engineer divisions and 38 districts nationwide. The Corps Professionals conduct research and development, as well as plan, design, build, operate and maintain the nation’s water resource civil infrastructure valued at $125 Billion dollars, including more than 693 dams, 4,254 recreation areas, over 12,000 miles of commercial inland waterways, and approximately 14,000 miles of levees and 926 harbors. Major General Peabody is also responsible to coordinate all emergency response missions and preparatory activities for civil disasters in support of FEMA and state and local authorities. He serves the Chief of Engineers and the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works as their principal military advisor for Civil and Emergency Operations.
Denise Reed, Ph.D.
Chief Scientist, Water Institute of the Gulf
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Steven Stockton, P.E.
Director of Civil Works, USACE
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Mr. Stockton was selected to the Senior Executive Service in January 1996. From August 1998 thru May 2005, he served as the Director, Engineering and Technical Services; Director, Programs Management; and Director, Regional Business; for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, South Pacific Division in San Francisco, California. From May until November 2004, Mr. Stockton was the Director, Business Management, U.S. Army Corps of Engineer, Gulf Region Division in Baghdad, Iraq. From his selection in January 1996 thru July 1998, Mr. Stockton was the Chief, Engineering Division, Civil Works Directorate, Headquarters, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Washington, D.C.
CAREER CHRONOLOGY:
- 1988 – 1996: Chief, Planning and Engineering Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District, Portland, OR
- 1975 – 1988: Various positions including Branch Chief, Geotechnical Branch, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District, Portland, OR
- 1972-1975 Naval Officer. Multiple Mediterranean and Caribbean deployments
COLLEGE:
- BS, Civil Engineering, Oregon State University, 1971
SIGNIFICANT TRAINING:
- Senior Executive Fellow, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, 1991
CERTIFICATIONS:
- Registered Professional Civil Engineer, State of Oregon
AWARDS AND HONORS:
- Presidential Rank Award – Meritorious Executive, 2003
- Oregon State University, Academy of Distinguished Engineers
- Secretary of the Army’s Exceptional Civilian Service Award
- Meritorious Civilian Service Award (2)
- Superior Civilian Service Award (2)
- Commanders Awards for Civilian Service (3)
- North Pacific Division and the Portland District Engineer of the Year Award, 1982
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS AND ASSOCIATIONS:
- Army Engineer Association
- Society of American Military Engineers
- American Society of Civil Engineers (Fellow)
- National Academy of Construction
- Governor, World Water Council
MAJOR PUBLICATIONS:
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 2012: Preparing USACE for the 21st Century, 2003
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Building Strong Collaborative Relationships for a Sustainable Water Resource Future: National Report
- Water in the U.S. American West, 150 Years of Adaptive Strategies, Policy Report for the 6th World Water Forum
- Developed and published the powerful Federal Support Toolbox for Integrated Water Resources Management, a one-stop shop (Portal and Clearinghouse) for national and international water resources information (www.watertoolbox.us), public release on February 28, 2013
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Building Strong Collaborative Relationships for a Sustainable Water Resource Future: Understanding Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), January 2014
Michael Toohey
President/CEO, Waterways Council, Inc.
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Nominated by President George Bush and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Mr. Toohey was Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation from May 1992 through January 1993. He also served as Staff Director of the Republican Staff, Committee on Public Works and Transportation, from 1983 through 1989, and as Staff Director, Republican Staff, Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries from 1981 through 1983. He was also a Professional Staff Member on the Committee on Public Works and Transportation from 1975 through 1981.
Commissioned as an Officer in the U.S. Army, he served on active duty as a staff officer for the Chief of Engineers from 1971 through 1975. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Forestry.
He serves on the Board of Directors for the American Highway Users Alliance. He served on the Board of Waterways Council, Inc. and as its Secretary/Treasurer from 2003 to 2005. He was also a member of the Board of the Danny Thompson Memorial Leukemia Foundation, a Supporting Member of The Marrow Foundation, The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Foundation, and Ducks Unlimited.
Conversant Biographies
Anne Murray Allen
Vice President of Organization Design and Integration, Conversant
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Anne has taught graduate level management classes and has presented at conferences around the world. She co-authored the 2005 Reflections Journal article, “The Nature of Social Collaboration: How Work Really Gets Done.” She published an article in the July 2012 edition of OD Practitioner on culture integration when merging organizations. She is a past recipient of an American Society of Training and Development (ASTD) Torch Award.
Anne served in several executive positions within Hewlett-Packard (HP) including Senior Director of Knowledge and Intranet Management; Director for Strategic Change which included an assignment leading the culture integration between HP and Compaq companies; leading the strategic planning process in both division and companywide positions; production management; and information technology management. Anne has an undergraduate degree in psychology and an MBA, and is currently working on her Doctorate in Social Science.
Jennifer Simpson
Chief Innovation Officer, Conversant
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A dynamic leader, Jennifer has an impressive track record of engaging multiple stakeholders to produce results and accelerate business success. She specializes in translating organizational vision into practice, and mindfully managing change dynamics to build on and strengthen organizational capacity in times of transition.
Jennifer has developed and delivered high-ROI projects in business areas including: Finance, Human Resources, R & D, Service Operations, IT, Global Operations, and Executive Management in a wide range of Fortune 500 and Global Philanthropic organizations.
Jennifer’s lifework is to create a world where individuals thrive in healthy, rewarding, and successful organizations and communities. Jennifer is author or editor of two books and multiple journal articles and book chapters. Her varied background includes more than twenty years of experience working in and with organizations across the private, public, corporate, and not-for-profit sectors to create more meaningful and effective ways of living and working together; more than a decade of teaching university courses in communication and leadership disciplines; and a lifetime of bridging worlds in a way that capitalizes on the best in organizations to enhance creativity and stimulate whole system learning.
Jennifer holds a B.S. in communication and psychology from Syracuse University, and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Organizational Communication from the University of Colorado at Boulder where she retains an adjunct faculty appointment.