IECA Board of Directors Candidates

The International Erosion Control Association (IECA) announces seven candidates for the 2008 Board of Directors. Incumbents, Michael Chase, CPESC, CPSWQ; Julie Etra, CPESC and Tom Williams, MA, CPESC will run against Marvin Courtnage, CPESC; Sherri L. Dunlap, MBA, DEng, CPESC; Sandy Mathews and Brock Peters, CISEC for three open positions.
IECA’s Board of Directors is the governing body of the association. It consists of nine members serving three-year terms with three directors being elected each year. It is the policy of IECA to maintain a balanced distribution of professional affiliations on the Board. However, the actual composition is determined by the membership through the nomination and voting processes.
Meet the Candidates:
Michael Chase, CPESC, CPSWQ, an erosion control specialist with Paradigm Engineering, currently serves IECA as the treasurer for the Board of Directors. As a member of the association’s Western Chapter, Chase served two terms as Chapter president. He has been actively involved in reviewing and commenting on new policies at the federal and state levels and said he feels it is important to stay abreast of new policies and how they may affect stormwater. “It is necessary for IECA to be in the forefront to add guidance and to aid its members in understanding newly proposed regulations for construction and industrial activities,” said Chase.
Marvin Courtnage, CPESC, is the Southern California sales representative for Ewing Irrigation’s erosion and turf products. Prior to moving to California in 2006, Courtnage spent many years in Colorado and served on IECA’s Mountain States Chapter Board of Directors. He has a strong horticulture background and has served on the Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado Denver Chapter Board and the Xeriscape task force sponsored by the Denver Water Department. Concerned over guideline changes to the Clean Water Act, Courtnage said, “IECA must be a leader in protecting all waters of the United States. I want to be instrumental in doing that as an IECA Board member.”
Sherri Dunlap, MBA, Deng, CPESC, is Manager of Applied Technology and New Products at the Harris County Flood Control District in Houston, Texas. She is a founding member and past president of the South Central Chapter of IECA and previously served on the IECA Board of Directors as technical vice president. “I would like to continue the technical programs I was involved in while on the Board and lead the organization in outreach and educational opportunities,” said Dunlap. In addition to her involvement with IECA, Dunlap also is a member of American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and the Water Environmental Resource Foundation (WERF).
Julie Etra, CPESC, is principal of Western Botanical Services, Inc. As an active member of IECA for nearly 20 years, Etra currently serves as the association’s vice president of international development and is a past president of the Western Chapter. “I am very passionate about our organization and its potential to be a truly global force through our membership, expertise and philanthropy,” she said. She is fluent in Spanish and teaches bilingual erosion control classes. Etra has authored over 12 publications and is currently leading pioneering work on noxious weed control and restoration of riparian plant communities along the Truckee River in Nevada.
Sandy Mathews is an environmental analyst in the Environmental Protection Department of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory where she works to bridge the theory of law and regulation to create programs that are compliant and work in the field. Until recently, she served as a director for IECA’s Western Chapter. Mathews also is involved with the California Stormwater Quality Association (CASQA) where she currently serves as a member of the Executive Program Committee and leads its Construction Subcommittee. “I see being a director on the international Board as an opportunity to help create a strategic direction that focuses on the members and Chapters,” said Mathews.
Brock Peters, CPESC, is a professional erosion control contractor and consultant. He currently serves on the Board of IECA’s Great Rivers Chapter and as a representative on the association’s Government Relations Committee. “As a Board member of IECA, I hope to increase membership by bringing the building and erosion control industries together. Bridging the gap between IECA and other well-established trade associations is imperative,” said Peters. He is currently serving terms on the Board of Directors for the Homebuilders Association of Lincoln (Nebraska) and the Nebraska State Homebuilders Association. He was recently selected by the National Association of Homebuilders to serve on the Environmental Issues Committee.
Tom Williams, MA, CPESC, works as a restoration ecologist for Golder Associates, Inc., in Lakewood, Colo. As a current director on the Board, Williams has participated in the Future of the Association Strategy Team (FAST) and has served as the chair for the Vegetative Establishment Technology Section for the past seven years. As co-chair of the Endowment Fund Committee, Williams said, “If elected, my main focus will be on getting this important funding mechanism up and running. I really believe this is our best approach to finding the funds necessary to accomplish the more exciting projects we would all like to pursue.”
Detailed biographies and a statement from each candidate is available online to IECA members. IECA members may cast their votes until November 1 through the IECA web site at http://www.ieca.org.