Staff

Prairie Rivers' staff of highly qualified experts and activists is supported by your generous contributions.

Stephen Davis, Executive Director

Steve's early interest in environmental protection led him to pursue a BS degree in Forestry with an emphasis in Natural Resource Management. After receiving his undergraduate degree at Southern Illinois University, he continued his education at the University of Illinois, completing an MA in Environmental Studies with an emphasis in geology and hazardous materials management. 

Steve brings to PRN over 25 years of experience in environmental management, and program and policy development. He has a sound working knowledge of the environmental risk-based management and decision making approaches required under CERCLA (Superfund) and other federal and state environmental laws. As a senior project and program director in both the public and private sector, Steve has led, managed, and resolved many environmental liability projects over the years.

Steve's expertise in environmental damage assessment was instrumental in helping to refine/improve the Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) process at federal and state levels. In addition to Steve's NRDA background he has also been involved in several wetland restoration projects including the development of draft isolated wetland regulations for Illinois.

Kim Erndt, Habitat Conservation Program Coordinator

Kim Erndt came to Prairie Rivers in 2004 from Living Lands and Waters, the Mississippi River group that works to connect people to the river through outreach and education. Kim has a Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Biology from Central Missouri State University.  Before joining the not for profit world Kim worked for the U.S. Geological Survey, helping to conduct watershed assessments. As the Habitat and Conservation Program Coordinator, Kim works with citizens, farm communities, and agencies to both increase awareness of landowner conservation practices and to develop new programs and activities to protect and conserve riparian habitats and wildlife.

Traci Barkley, Water Resources Scientist

Traci Barkley joined the staff in 2005. She is a former Prairie Rivers volunteer with both a MS and a BS in biological sciences. She has worked for IEPA where she was involved in water quality monitoring; provided technical assistance to the public, local watershed groups, and state agencies; and was involved in statewide discussions related to water quality standards and criteria, NPDES permits, and TMDL development. She also coordinated River Watch volunteers for the Illinois EcoWatch program, a citizen monitoring program that tracks ecological trends in Illinois.

Glynnis Collins, Water Resources Scientist

Glynnis Collins joined the staff in 2005. She has a BS in Environmental and Forest Biology and a MS in Biology. She is well versed in the Clean Water Act and permitting issues having worked for many years at the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board, dealing with 404, 401, and NPDES permits and TMDLs. She also has experience in watershed-based ambient water quality monitoring and has done research into the fate and transport of nitrogen in water. She has worked with permit applicants, advocacy groups, municipalities, and local citizens—all of whom we communicate with in our clean water work on a regular basis.

Stacy James, Water Resources Scientist

Stacy James joined the staff in 2006.  She has a B.S. in Biology and Ph.D. in Biological Sciences and Conservation Biology.  Previously, Stacy was a post-doc for the U.S. Geological Survey Columbia Environmental Research Center in Missouri, where she conducted research on the effects of contamination on aquatic organisms.  She was also affiliated with USGS as a graduate student at the University of Missouri-Columbia,and her dissertation assessed the effects of metal contamination on larval and metamorphic amphibians.  Before enrolling in graduate school, she worked all over the U.S. as a seasonal technician for bird, mammal, amphibian, reptile, and plant projects.

Brad Walker, Mississippi River Restoration Coordinator

Brad Walker joined the staff in 2006 to lead our river restoration program effort. Brad, an Illinois native, has a BS in Civil Engineering and MA in Geography. He worked for many years managing the construction of large public work projects specializing in wastewater treatment plants before changing his path to concentrate upon environmental advocacy. Although Brad has not worked specifically within the Upper Mississippi River System before, he has considerable experience organizing people in environmental-related advocacy activities.

Phone: (618) 541-0778

Vickie Nudelman, Office Manager

Vickie Nudelman joined Prairie Rivers Network in January 2005. She has a BS in Computer Information Systems and Marketing from Florida Atlantic University. Prior to moving to Illinois, Vickie worked for the Mississippi Center for Community and Civic Engagement as the program coordinator of a service-learning grant that focused on improving civic education by utilizing college students as civic tutors to K-8 students in after-school programs. Vickie also previously worked as a technical writer where she coauthored several computer textbooks.