What Do WRP Alumni Do?
Graduates of the Water Resources program enjoy a wide range of employment opportunities. These fall into four categories, all of which employ one or more MWR alumni:
1. Public resource management agencies including federal (US Bureau of Reclamation, US National Park Service, US Forest Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service, US Geological Survey), state (NM Environment Department, NM Office of the State Engineer), and local (Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District, Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority, City of Santa Fe).
2. Consulting firms, which often provide consulting services to federal, state, and local water resource management agencies. Many of these firms also provide consulting services to industries and other entities that are large users of water.
3. Private industries and other entities that use large amounts of water such as electric power, mining, and agricultural businesses
4. Further graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or professional degrees in fields such as law, engineering, or public health.
Alumni Highlights
Kate Lacey-Younge
Kate Lacey-Younge earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Natural Resources with an emphasis in Watershed Management and Hydrology from the University of Arizona in 2011 and earned a Master of Water Resources degree, graduating with distinction, with a concentration in Hydroscience from UNM in 2017. Her professional project focused on diatoms found in travertine-precipitating springs in the Sandia Mountains, where she worked closely with Director Becky Bixby to learn the art of diatom identification.
During Kate’s career, she has worked with local, state, and federal agencies to manage and protect New Mexico’s water resources, including experience in watershed restoration and management, water rights, post-fire mitigation work, nonpoint source management, and fire management. As the Watershed Protection Section Program Manager with the Surface Water Quality Bureau of the New Mexico Environment Department, Kate manages an array of responsibilities aimed at safeguarding New Mexico’s surface water quality. She currently oversees multiple funding sources and grants, facilitating contracts to improve surface water quality and riparian ecosystems through nonpoint source management across New Mexico. Prior to her tenure with the Surface Water Quality Bureau, Kate worked with the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority (ABCWUA) where she focused on water resources management and water quality protection, including the management of the Bear Canyon Aquifer Storage and Recovery Project and work with the Middle Rio Grande Endangered Species Collaborative Program. Preceding her time at ABCWUA, she worked in fire management and watershed management with the Cibola National Forest for several years working on fire crews, post-fire mitigation projects and teams, and in watershed management. Kate worked towards her Master of Water Resources while employed with the Cibola National Forest, gaining experience in the professional world while advancing her education.
What advice would you give to students pursuing a career in water resource management?
It is imperative to gain experience in the field while you’re earning your degree. Not only will the experience help you decide what area of water resources management you are most interested in (e.g., water quality or water quantity), but it will help you stand out as an applicant for employment after you graduate.
Also, as soon as you start your MWR program, try to identify a professional project and a committee. If you’re working in the water resources field or in an internship, see if there’s a real-world problem that needs a solution that could be turned into a professional project and find a professor that has related interests to serve as a mentor and on the committee. Your motivation and passion towards a project will be the ultimate driver of your success in the MWR program.
What are the most valuable things you learned during your academic career at UNM?
Hard work, passion, and dedication to your education and career pay off. Taking the time to learn about different career paths in water resources management and making connections with staff, agencies, and your peers while you’re in school will help you be successful beyond your time at UNM.
Contact: Kathryn.lacey@env.nm.gov
Lucas Curry
Prior to studying in the Water Resources Program at UNM, Lucas Curry received his B.S. in Environmental Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and then served in the Peace Corps in Panama from 2012 to 2014. He lived in a remote, indigenous village, working on potable water and sanitation projects and hiking all over the Panamanian mountains with his dog, Cache. After returning from Panama, Lucas and Cache moved to the Southwest and traded tropical humidity for the desert. He attended UNM from 2015 to 2017 where he was enrolled in the dual Water Resources/Community & Regional Planning Program while working as a hydrologist for the USGS New Mexico Water Science Center.
Lucas’s work at the USGS focused on mapping the Albuquerque aquifer and he was able to expand that work into a professional project at UNM. After graduating, Lucas returned to Atlanta and worked as a Water Resources Engineer for the consulting firm, Tetra Tech, for 4.5 years. He designed stormwater management and stream restoration projects, assessed dams and prepared dam emergency action plans, prepared hydraulic and hydrologic models, and had the opportunity to design the conversion of an 80+ acre piece of neglected land into a restored wetland and recreational area.
Since 2023, Lucas has been working as a Watershed Restoration Engineer with The Nature Conservancy in Tennessee. He partners with two federal agencies, the U.S. Forest Service and the Natural Resources Conservation Service, to design and implement Aquatic Organism Passage (AOP) projects around the Cherokee National Forest in the southern Appalachians. This region is one of the most biodiverse temperate regions of the world with hundreds of species of fish and other aquatic organisms that depend on connected stream habitat for survival. Lucas works to remove aging and failing culverts that create barriers to aquatic organism passage and replaces them with bridges or enlarged bottomless culverts that allow streams to continue flowing without any barriers.
What advice would you give to students pursuing a career in water resource management?
I would suggest that students get involved in water resource management organizations and attend organization meetings. The water resources network is close-knit and there are diverse opportunities in this field, so figuring out what interests you, showing up, and meeting people will open many doors for you.
I’d also suggest finding work opportunities that will provide you with ideas for your professional project. Getting paid to complete your master’s degree is a win-win.
What are the most valuable things you learned during your academic career at UNM?
Science Communication. It does not come naturally to me, but the Water Resources Program helped me recognize the importance of it. You can have data, you can engineer things, but you must also be able to communicate your work with the public.
Contact: curry.lucas@gmail.com, www.linkedin.com/in/lucas-curry
Sara Chudnoff
Sara Chudnoff received her Master of Water Resources degree from UNM in 2009 after earning a degree in Geology from NM Tech in 2006. At UNM. she followed the hydroscience track and completed a professional project assessing the water quality of the Rio Katari and its principal tributaries in Bolivia under the direction of Professor Bruce Thomson. At the time, the field problems class and the Water Resources Program were frequently working in Latin America which led to a number of professional projects being focused on that region.
Since graduating, Sara has had a varied and interesting career in both the public and private sectors. She has worked as a hydrogeologist for Bernalillo County, the Office of the State Engineer-Hydrology Bureau, and then the aquifer mapping program at the NM Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources. She subsequently moved to southeastern Arizona and became an independent consultant working on water planning and hydrogeology projects in both Arizona and New Mexico. While she continues to work as a consultant, she has recently joined the American Ground Water Trust, a professional organization with a mission to inform the public and water professionals of the importance of groundwater as a source of water supply and promote efficient and effective use of this resource.
Since graduating Sara has maintained a close relationship with the Water Resources Program, its faculty, and her fellow grad students. She has recently been teaching online geohydrology classes and is frequently in contact with former colleagues in NM. She now lives with her husband and their young children in Pinetop, Arizona.
What advice would you give to students pursuing a career in water resource management?
If you are able to intern/work in the water resources field while pursuing your degree, do so. This will give you the opportunity to explore the many paths you can take in the field and help you figure out what you want to do after graduation. The job market is tilted in your favor. Use this to find a company and culture you believe in! Lastly, attend local conferences and meetups. These offer valuable opportunities to network with professionals in the field and develop relationships within the industry.
What are the most valuable things you learned during your academic career at UNM?
When your professors assign you to a group project, they do so with purpose. As painful as it may be, they usually recognize our strengths and weaknesses and group us accordingly. Take the time in these group projects to evaluate your own strengths and weaknesses and use that knowledge to help yourself build a team in the future that lifts each other up with their respective strengths.
Be the first person in the room to say yes to something new. When I took WR 573 (Field Problems) many moons ago, I jumped at the chance to titrate samples every evening, prepare and run samples on the analytical equipment, and put together the interpretive report and associated figures. Did I grumble a little bit about how much "I" chose to take on? Yes. But now I realize how much I learned about geochemistry because of that, and it gave me the confidence to apply what I learned to projects I work on today.
Contact: sara.chudnoff@gmail.com
Roger Peery
Roger Peery was among the first graduates of the Water Resources program having received his Master of Water Resources degree in 1992. He also earned a B.S in Geology from UNM. His professional project was related to the Bureau of Reclamation’s Yuma Desalting Plant.
Roger joined John Shomaker and Associates, Inc. (JSAI, www.shomaker.com) after graduating with his geology degree and has been with the firm for over 30 years. He is presently CEO and Principal Hydrogeologist. His work at JSAI is focused on ground water resources has included projects on water resource development, aquifer storage and recovery, permitting, design & construction of water supply wells and brine injection wells, and development of ground water monitoring programs. He has worked all over the southwest and his clients have included a mix of large and small water utilities, industrial companies, and private parties. Some of his clients have included the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority (ABCWUA), Village of Ruidoso, Las Cruces Utilities, numerous Pueblos, and mining companies.
The most notable changes in the industry over the last several decades are those related to permitting for environmental projects, water rights, and municipal drinking water supply wells. The permitting process has become quite arduous, and has resulted in significant increases in the time and cost to complete projects. On the plus side, the hydrogeologic setting in many places has been studied more thoroughly, making it easier to help people and communities develop safe and reliable groundwater supplies.
Over the years, JSAI has hired a number of UNM graduates from the WRP and other departments and maintains a connection with our faculty and students.
What advice would you give to students pursuing a career in water resource management?
The interdisciplinary nature of the WRP provides an excellent opportunity to obtain a strong background in both technical and policy aspects of water. I strongly encourage students that are focused on either the technical or policy aspects of water to take as many courses as they can in both tracks. This will build a foundation for working with everyone involved in water resources.
What are the most valuable things you learned during your academic career at UNM?
The WRP did not have technical and policy tracks at the time I was in the program. All students took a fairly balanced set of courses that included engineering, hydrogeology, biology, public administration, water law, and environmental law. As a working hydrogeologist at that time, I didn’t appreciate how valuable the policy portion of the program would ultimately be for my career. The water law and environmental law portions of the program have also served me well on the many projects where I have helped obtain permits.
My advice: Once established in a career, never passing up an opportunity to take a short course, go to a conference, or listen to someone else’s perspective on an issue. There is always something new to learn; if you quit learning, you’re not paying attention.
Contact: rpeery@shomaker.com
