WGA Staff BiographiesPatrick Cummins Patrick Cummins is the Air Quality Program Manager for the Western Governors' Association, where he also serves as Co-Director of the Western Regional Air Partnership. Over the last 15 years, Patrick has held environmental management positions at the federal, state, and local levels, and has worked in the natural gas industry as a corporate planner. Prior to joining the Western Governors' Association, he was Deputy Director of Denver's Regional Air Quality Council where he helped develop the air quality plans that brought the Denver area into attainment of all federal health standards. Patrick has a B.S. in Chemistry from Ft. Lewis College in Durango, Colorado and an M.P.A. in Environmental Policy from Indiana University. Shanna Brown currently serves as the Deputy Director for the Washington, D.C. office of the Western Governors' Association. She started with the organization in August 2003. Prior to the Western Governors’ Association, Miss Brown served first as legislative assistant and then as legislative director to former U.S. Rep. Larry Combest of Texas. She worked for Representative Combest from March 1997 until his retirement from Congress in May 2003. She also served on the transition team for his replacement, Representative Randy Neugebauer. While on the Combest staff, Shanna was the point person for energy, natural resources, commerce, judicial, and environmental policy issues. Karen Deike Karen Deike is the Western Governors’ Association’s Director of Communications, overseeing media relations, public outreach efforts and publications. The WGA, which is headquartered in Denver, Colorado, represents the governors of 19 Western states and three U.S.-flag, Pacific islands. A graduate of the University of Wyoming, Ms. Deike came to the Association in 1994 with a broad background in both journalism and public relations. She worked as a general assignment and consumer reporter for the Dallas Times Herald in the early seventies before moving to Washington, D.C., where she worked for six years as press secretary for U.S. Senator Malcolm Wallop of Wyoming. She returned to journalism in 1985, working as an assignment editor and reporter for the public broadcasting station in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The Cal State-Fullerton Film Festival awarded her Best Documentary for her examination of prison reforms five years after a riot at the New Mexico State Prison that resulted in the deaths of 33 inmates. From 1985 to 1990, Ms. Deike was employed by the NBC television affiliate in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She worked as a reporter and bureau chief in both Farmington and Santa Fe. While covering the New Mexico Legislature, Ms. Deike co-produced and reported a documentary about the state’s troubled workers’ compensation system, for which she won the Albuquerque Press Club’s Best Documentary in 1990. Gayle Gordon is a senior natural resource policy advisor and manager of WGA’s Biomass Program. Before joining WGA in June, 2005, Gayle was the Bureau of Land Management’s National Program Liaison, working to increase understanding and cooperation between BLM and external organizations. Other positions she held in BLM include State Director, managing BLM programs in the 31 states east of and bordering on the Mississippi River; and Assistant Director for Information Resources Management, the Bureau’s Chief Information Officer. Previously, Gayle had been the Department of the Interior’s senior information resources and technology manager and held senior technology management positions at the U.S. Geological Survey. Gayle holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Economics from the University of Wisconsin, a Master of Science degree in Technology of Management from the American University, and Master and Doctoral degrees in Public Administration from the University of Southern California. Rich Halvey is a Program Manager in the Western Governors' Association's air quality group, working primarily on U.S.-Mexico environmental projects, energy issues, and the Western Regional Air Partnership. He is currently managing the development of a national air pollutant emissions inventory for Mexico and managing the Border Energy Project to make energy efficiency gains in the border region. The WGA, which is headquartered in Denver, Colorado, represents the governors of 18 Western states and three U.S.-flag, Pacific islands. Mr. Halvey came to the Association in 1996 with a broad background in air quality management and public finance. Prior to coming to WGA, he worked for nearly 20 years at the Colorado Department of Health and Environment. Upon his departure he held the positions of Budget Director and Air Quality Planning Program Manager for the Air Quality Division. Mr. Halvey has published numerous papers and articles on various environmental, policy, and economic topics. Mr. Halvey did his undergraduate work in Economics and Geography at the University of Buffalo and his Masters work in Geography and Urban Planning at the University of Colorado. Shaun McGrath Shaun McGrath has been with the Western Governors' Association since 1995. During the first three and a half years, he was the Senior Legislative Assistant in the WGA–Washington, D.C. Office. In November 1998, he transferred to the Denver Office where he is the Program Director responsible for Water Policy, Drought Policy, Climate Change Adaptation, and the WGA Wildlife Corridors Initiative. Additionally, he staffs the WGA Resolutions Committee, and serves as the WGA liaison to the Western States. Prior to coming to WGA, Shaun was a Legislative Assistant to Congressman Jim Slattery of Kansas, handling the environmental issues for the Congressman that came before the Commerce Committee, including the drafting of the Slattery/Bliley Safe Drinking Water Act Reauthorization bill that passed House in the 103rd Congress and was the basis for the bill that was enacted in the 104th Congress. He has also served as the Executive Director of the Kansas Natural Resource Council – a non-profit environmental organization – and Trade Manager for the Kansas Department of Commerce's European Office in Stuttgart, Germany. Shaun has a Bachelor of Arts in German and Political Science from Kansas State University and a Master's of Public Administration from the University of Kansas. He was elected to the Boulder City Council in 2003 and reelected in 2005. He is married to Rebecca Heaton, who is the Editor of Rocky Mountain Sports Magazine. Chris McKinnon Mr. McKinnon, a Denver native, has been with the Western Governors’ Association since its formation in 1984. He received his BA from San Diego State University in 1978 (three minor major - political science, business management, and economics) and his MPA from University of Colorado in 1984. Mr. McKinnon’s responsibilities as a WGA program manager include managing the $4 million Health Passport Project, facilitating the efforts of the Western Geographic Information Council, and providing support on mining, health, and other issues as they arise. In addition to his program management responsibilities, Mr. McKinnon is the staff information management specialist and webmaster for WGA’s Internet web site. Mr. McKinnon is married to Patricia A. N. McKinnon. Tom Moore Kevin M. Moran Alex Schroeder is the Western Governors’ Association program director for nuclear waste policy issues and manages the western regional transportation program in support of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). He previously assisted in the management of WGA’s Transportation Fuels for the Future and Clean and Diversified Energy initiatives and is currently providing support for the implementation efforts of these initiatives. Alex joined WGA in 2005 and holds a B.S. in General Engineering from the University of Illinois and an M.S. in Engineering and Technology Management from the Colorado School of Mines. ¬¬Prior to his time at WGA, Alex worked for a consulting firm where he assisted in financial analyses and strategic planning for electric utilities.
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