Experience

(Daene C. McKinney)

Professional Appointments

Permanent

     Professor, 2003 – present (Associate Professor, 1996-2003; Assistant Professor, 1990-1996)

      THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN, Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, Austin, Texas

      Teach undergraduate courses in Fluid Mechanics, Numerical Methods for Engineers, Hydrology, and Groundwater Hydraulics, and graduate courses in Water Resources Planning and Management, Transboundary Water Resources, Groundwater Hydraulics, and Numerical Methods for Environmental Engineers.  Conduct research in the development of tools to support decision making in environmental and water resources management using optimization techniques, expert systems, and geographic information systems, and aquifer remediation design, modeling of multiphase transport in porous media, parallel algorithms for modeling flow in permeable media, uncertainty analysis of groundwater models.

      Team Leader/Senior Environmental Policy Advisor, 1998 – 2000

      US AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, through contract to International Resources Group (IRG), Ltd, Washington DC

Overall field manager (Chief of Party) of the USAID Environmental Policy and Institutions for Central Asia (EPIC) Program and advisor to USAID in supporting the Mission's environmental and natural resources activities in the Central Asian Republics of the former Soviet Union.  Responsibilities included bridging between the program implementation structure and its USAID, regional and host country collaborators; initiating and overseeing all EPIC activities and taking ultimate responsibility for all EPIC reporting and publications; carrying out administrative and management functions and providing overall programmatic and technical leadership and advisory services; and serving as the senior policy advisor to cooperating regional and host country entities on water, environmental and natural resources management issues.  Responsible for annual budget of $2.2 million, management of a staff of 40 including 5 Americans and 35 locals, establishing and operation of offices in 3 cities in 2 countries.

Manager of the Water Policy Team of the USAID Environmental Policy and Institutions for Central Asia (EPIC) Program, responsible for management and technical direction of all aspects of the water resources management efforts--regional, national, and local-- carried out under the USAID EPIC Program.  Responsibilities included ensuring that EPIC activities addressed the full range of water policy and water resources management issues along the Syr Darya basin; prepared the section of the annual work plan which covered work in the water sector and liaised with technical staff at USAID/CAR to ensure appropriate coordination of all technical work. 

      Environmental Engineer and Hydrogeologist, 1989-1990

      U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, San Francisco, California

Enforce federal regulations to protect underground sources of drinking water.  Analyze hydrogeologic data, negotiate settlement agreements for remedial investigations and feasibility studies and perform groundwater modeling studies for cleanup of contaminated aquifers.  Review geophysical, hydrological, and geological information as it pertains to site characterization and remediation.  Research and write regional guidance documents.  Inspect sites, analyze applications, and write permits for waste disposal injection wells.  Review Environmental Impact Statements.

Temporary Appointments

Asian Development Bank (ADB), Manila, Philippines

Transboundary Water Management Specialist (Central Asia), 2002 – 2003

Participate in consulting team developing the theme of effective regional cooperation in transboundary water management among Central Asian Republics in preparation for the 3rd World Water Forum (WWF), together with a strategy for ADB to support such cooperation through its operations.  Primary tasks included: organizing a Regional Consultation Workshop; preparing a background paper on transboundary water resources management in central Asia; preparing a paper on integrated water resources management at the basin scale in Central Asia; and preparing the documents of the theme sessions and presentations at the 3rd WWF, and organize the sessions in collaboration with the 3rd WWF Secretariat.

       CALFED Science Program, Sacramento, CA

Member, Independent Science Board, 2006 - Present

Standing Science Board of the California Bay-Delta Authority for its suite of Science Programs provides overarching review and coordination of program strategies, plans, and specific issues of strategic importance for program elements that contribute to the CBDA Goals

Management Science Board, 2004 - present

Standing Science Board of the California Bay-Delta Authority for its suite of Water Management Programs.

Member, Independent Science Review Panel (CalSim II San Joaquin River), 2005

Member of an external review panel to provide an independent review of the California Water Resources Simulation Model (CalSim II) for the San Joaquin River basin. 

Member, Independent Science Review Panel  (CalSim II), 2003

Member of an external review panel to provide an independent review of the California Water Resources Simulation Model (CalSim II), a general-purpose reservoir-river basin simulation model for the planning and management of the State Water Project and the federal Central Valley Project. 

       Natural Heritage Institute, San Francisco, CA

River Restoration Specialist, 2005

Global Survey of the Best Opportunities to Reoperate Major Dams to Restore Downstream Ecosystems and Livelihoods

U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Natural Resources Management Specialist (Kyrgyzstan) 2006, through contract to International Resources Group (IRG), Ltd, Washington, DC

Conduct of a Case Study to Highlight  Impacts from  Sustainable Land Management (SLM) Investments in the Central Asian Republics and with a particular focus on Kyrgyzstan. 

Groundwater Modeling and GIS Specialist (Cyprus), 2006 – 2009, through contract to International Resources Group (IRG), Ltd, Washington, DC

Developed and taught training courses on aquifer management.

Integrated Water Management Specialist (Romania), 2004 – 2005, through contract to International Resources Group (IRG), Ltd, Washington, DC under the WATMAN Project

Analysis of options for developing a decision support system for water management for the Romanian National Waters Administration.

Integrated Water Management Specialist (Romania), 2003 – 2004, through contract to International Resources Group (IRG), Ltd, Washington, DC under the Agricultural Pollution Reduction Activities (APRA) Project

Analysis of options for environmentally friendly agricultural practices focusing on development/modification of the Code of Good Agricultural Practices as required by the EU Nitrates Directive.

Institutional Specialist/Team Leader (Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbijan), 2003, through contract to International Resources Group (IRG), Ltd, Washington, DC

Lead assessment team to evaluate the USAID program for improved water resources management in the South Caucasus countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia and prepare an assessment report for future program direction. 

Integrated Water Management Specialist (Romania), 2002, through contract to International Resources Group (IRG), Ltd, Washington, DC

Conduct an assessment of Romanian institutions responsible for environmental protection and watershed management and make recommendations regarding the regulatory framework to better support the overall objectives of the flood early warning system titled “destructive water abatement and control of water disasters (DESWAT).

Water Policy Advisor (Central Asia), 2001, through contract to International Resources Group (IRG), Ltd, Washington, DC

Performed field research for preparation of proposals to the US Agency for International Development for work on water system rehabilitation in Central Asia and Afghanistan.  Performed field research for preparation of proposals to World Bank and Asian Development Bank for work on water and energy management in Central Asia.  Invited speaker at Asian Development Bank conference on regional energy in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

Water Policy Advisor (Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbijan), 2000, through contract to International Resources Group (IRG), Ltd, Washington, DC

Performed field research for preparation of proposal to USAID for work on transboundary water management in the South Caucasus region.   The proposal was funded.

Water Resources Advisor (Central Asia), 1994 – 1998, through contract to CH2M-Hill Int'l Services and International Resources Group, Ltd, Washington, DC

Environmental Policy and Technology Project, Central Asian Region, Almaty Kazakstan.  Various assignments to support the development of regional water and energy sharing agreements in the Central Asian Republics.  Development of river basin model for the Syr Darya basin.

 U.S. Department of State,

Instructor (Washington, DC), 2006 - present, Tradecraft Class in Transboundary Water Challenges: PE -305 Environment, Science, Technology, and Health, Foreign Service Institute.  Taught two times per year.

       WORLD BANK

Water Resources/Environmental Specialist (Ethiopia, Sudan, Egypt), 2005-6, through contract to International Resources Group, Washington DC and Riverside Technology, Inc., Colorado Springs,

Participate in World Bank-funded Eastern Nile Planning Model Project to provide focus on environmental aspects of the project, including: providing advice regarding developing the project and future water resource planning models, preparing a state-of-the-art review of water resources planning models, conducting a modeling needs assessment, defining the environmental requirements of suitable water resources planning models for the Eastern Nile, developing the conceptual design for water resources planning models, and identifying suitable approaches for sustained development and application of planning models in the Eastern Nile countries.

 Water Resources Planner (Turkmenistan), 2002, through contract to Development Alternatives, Inc (DAI), Bethesda, MD

Assist in the preparation of the National Environmental Action Plan (NEAP) of Turkmenistan.  Focus of work was on issues pertaining to water resources scarcity, land pollution, salinization and water logging and sectors covering resource planning, hydrology, irrigation engineering, and the important roles that NGOs play in effecting plan implementation.  This involved working closely with the Turkmen Water and Land Resources Working Groups, and the Turkmen Aral Sea Basin Working Group.