Board Information
Chair – Harry Stark, MPA, CMS4S
Harry Stark is the current Chair for the Ohio Stormwater Association. Harry has over 20 years of environmental work experience. Currently, he is the Assistant Director of Public Service for the City of Wadsworth; is one of the founders, past chair and current board of director for the Tinkers Creek Watershed Partners; serves as the Administrative Vice Chair for the CMS4S Envirocert Certification Board; is the founder and current Chair for the annual Ohio Stormwater Conference. Harry is extremely active in storm-water and watershed management issues.
Secretary – Kathy Wade Dorman
Kathy Wade Dorman’s responsibilities include development and administration of the stormwater program for the City of Mason, including floodplain management, coordination of all capital improvement and maintenance projects, administration of stormwater utility billing and development and administration of the NPDES permit for the City of Mason. Kathleen is an active founding member of the Regional Storm Water Collaborative covering southwest Ohio, northern Kentucky and southeast Indiana and serves on the Board for the Ohio Stormwater Association.
Treasurer – Mark McCabe
Mr. McCabe’s background includes 20 years of experience in working in a consultant capacity primarily for public sector clients in several states. His range of experience covers program and project management; public speaking; council presentations; inter-agency coordination; permit applications; storm sewer system design, inventory, system modeling and mapping; hydraulic studies, drainage analysis/studies; master planning; GIS map development; and Best Management Practice (BMP) designs, BMP research, water quality BMP design and functionality assessments, watershed analysis and storm water runoff water quality analysis and chemical composition analysis.
Patekka Pope Bannister
Patekka Bannister has worked almost fifteen years protecting natural resources. She has experience in wastewater, air, hazardous materials, and storm water programs. As Storm-water Coordinator, for the City of Toledo, she develops policies and programs for the stormwater program which includes actively encouraging green infrastructure projects and complying with Phase I MS4 requirements
Brett Bergefurd
Brett Bergefurd is the Deputy Drainage Engineer to the Delaware County Drainage Engineer (2002) and has worked for 17 years in the fields of drainage, drinking water and storm water management, quality and its applications in regulatory compliance. Brett has worked as an analytical chemist for the City of Columbus Water Quality Assurance Laboratory and as Urban Conservationist and Assistant Administrator of Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District. He has served as an Associate Board Member with the Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District and as President of the Great Lakes Chapter of the International Erosion Control Association.
Justin Czekaj
Justin Czekaj is a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Ohio. He also holds the certifications of CPESC, CESSWI, and CPSWQ. For the last 8 years, Justin has worked for the City of Aurora as City Engineer responsible for private developments, capital improvement projects, and all things stormwater. Prior to this, he worked for the City of Akron. Justin is a graduate of the University of Akron and has a Bachelors of Science in Civil Engineering. Justin currently serves as Chair for the Tinkers Creek Watershed Partners and has been a board member since 2007. He is also a board member of the Ohio Stormwater Association. Justin continues to play an important role in planning and coordinating the Ohio Stormwater Conference as a member of the Planning committee for the 2012 Ohio Stormwater Conference.
Jennifer Fish
Jennifer Fish is the Director of Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District. She has a Master of Science in Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and a Bachelor of Science in Biology. Jennifer has co-authored two published articles: “An Analysis of the Costs and Benefits of Residing near a Rural and Recreational Greenway” and “Perceptions of Landowners Toward Natural Resource Conservation in the Big Walnut Watershed”. Jennifer’s prior experience includes working for Rivers Unlimited, a statewide nonprofit, and working for the National Park Service as an Interpretive Park Ranger. She also serves on the board of the Ohio Stormwater Association and on MORPC’s Center for Energy and the Environment Advisory Board. As Director of Franklin Soil and Water for the past 12 years, she has led the development of the organization into becoming one of the largest districts in the state. She directs and sup-ports a staff of 12 natural resource professionals with the mission of promoting responsible land use decisions for the conservation of soil and water resources.
Jason Fyffe
Jason Fyffe is employed by Ohio EPA’s Division of Surface Water in Columbus, Ohio. He currently serves as an Environmental Supervisor with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. His primary duties consist of developing and administering rules and permits associated with the NPDES Storm Water Program.
Rob Lang
Rob has worked as an Environmental Specialist with the Ohio Department of Transportation since 2001. He has coordinated ODOT’s Storm Water Management Program, served as a technical liaison for post construction BMP research, reviewed projects for waterway permitting and ecological requirements, and compiled project documentation for NEPA. Prior to working at ODOT, Rob prepared enforcement actions with North Carolina’s environmental regulatory agency and also worked for various consulting firms. He holds a Bachelor’s degree from Kent State University and two Associate degrees from Lake Superior State University.
Bob Lentz
Bob Lentz has been the Butler County Storm Water District Coordinator since its inception in 2003. He is responsible for implementing and managing the district’s storm water management plan, especially in the areas of public education and outreach, illicit discharge detection and elimination, and pollution prevention at public facilities. Butler County’s Stream Team was developed with Lentz’s help and input. The Stream Team is a volunteer stream-monitoring program covering major sub-watersheds for the lower Great Miami River in collaboration with Miami University and the Butler Soil and Water Conservation District. Lentz has also served on the Mill Creek Watershed Council Board of Trustees since 2004 and on the Ohio Storm Water Association Board of Trustees since 2009.
John Mathews
John Mathews is the program leader for stormwater and streams with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Soil and Water Resources. John is responsible for maintaining and updating the Rainwater and Land Development manual, which serves as Ohio’s resource for protecting water resources during construction and development projects. He also provides training to consultants and local government representatives in the areas of stream dynamics, stormwater management, and erosion & sediment control. He has worked on soil erosion and stream conservation issues for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the Franklin County Soil and Water Conservation District and the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service. He has a B.S. in Agronomy from the Ohio State University.
Jennifer Zielinski
Jennifer Zielinski, a water resources engineer with Biohabitats, has over 14 years of experience in watershed and stormwater planning and policy development. She has worked with communities throughout the country on projects focusing on stormwater design and retrofitting, local stormwater and watershed program guidance, watershed planning, upland area pollution prevention assessments, better site design, and other watershed consulting areas. Before joining Biohabitats, Jennifer was program director at the Center for Watershed Protection (CWP), a nationally recognized non-profit that develops innovative technical guidance relating to watershed assessment and management, stormwater management, NPDES regulatory compliance, and natural resource conservation.
