Prior to Her Position As Senior Water Quality Advisor, Donna Served As the Chief of The

Prior to her position as Senior Water Quality Advisor, Donna served as the Chief of the USGS National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. The NAWQA Program provides scientific assessments of the quality of streams and ground water in river basins and aquifer systems representing more than 60 percent of the Nation’s water use for public supply and irrigation. NAWQA Program informs policymakers on the science behind a wide range of water-quality issues ranging from nutrient enrichment to the impacts of contaminants on our Nation’s streams, rivers, groundwater, source water for drinking water, and stream ecosystems.

Donna previously (2000-2003) served as the Coordinator of USGS Programs in the Great Lakes Region. As coordinator, she helped start the first USGS water availability study that provided key information on the Great Lakes –St. Lawrence River system supporting development of the recently ratified Water-Resources Agreement.

Donna has received two Department of Interior awards, the Honor Award in 1996 for her contribution to the study of the microbiology of fresh water, and in 2005, the Secretary of Interior’s 4-Cs Award for “Communication, Coordination, and Collaboration for Conservation” for her work in the Great Lakes. Donna helped create and later served as President of the Ohio Lake Management Society which has just celebrated its 23rd year. Donna led the creation of the first all volunteer inland lake monitoring program in Ohio.

Donna first joined the USGS as a hydrologist in 1985 in its Columbus, Ohio Office after spending five years (1979-1984) at the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency serving as a water-quality and environmental scientist. She has authored or co-authored over 25 publications while at the USGS.

Donna was born and educated in Ohio. She earned a B.S. degree in Zoology from Ohio University in 1974 and a M.S. degree in Biological Sciences from Kent State University in 1979.