CARRIE ADAIR
GIS SPECIALIST
CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER
GIS SPECIALIST
CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER
Carrie collects, manages and develops ARWC data and brings the organization’s projects to life by generating maps, creating story maps, and other visual formats to bring form to ARWC work. She uses data to paint a picture of the condition of compromised and burned watersheds that allows staff to identify needs, prioritize projects, pinpoint safety concerns and provide education to funders and stakeholders in the communities in the Arkansas River Basin. Carrie has over 10 years of experience with using GIS and related spatial analysis tools to support forest health, water quality, community wildfire protection planning, fire suppression, emergency response, flood mitigation, emergency preparedness, river restoration, recreation and education work. She worked as part of the Waldo Canyon Fire post-wildfire efforts by creating project maps, collecting project data and participating in community outreach and public meetings through the Coalition for the Upper South Platte.
ANDY LERCH
LEAD FORESTER
LEAD FORESTER
Andy uses forestry techniques for forest and ecosystem restoration to help create forests that are resilient to wildfire, climate change, and outbreaks of insects and disease. He comes to ARWC as Lead Forester from Oregon, where he worked on collaborative forest restoration projects that engaged federal, local, and nonprofit partners to develop and implement landscape-scale projects to reduce the threat of severe wildfire and provide protection for communities and watersheds. Andy is excited to work with ARWC on forest treatments that promote watershed function throughout the Arkansas River Basin. Andy earned a Bachelor Degree in Forestry from the University of Missouri and Master Degrees in Forestry and Entomology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
THERESA SPRINGER
RECOVERY COORDINATOR
RECOVERY COORDINATOR
Theresa brings more than 20 years of on-the-ground experience with post-fire flood recovery to ARWC. Her knowledge, expertise and sincere passion for helping communities who have been affected by fire and flood allow her to provide quick, precise, compassionate recommendations to landowners and communities reeling from the impacts wildfire, helping them prepare for and respond to subsequent flooding. Through the Coalition for the Upper South Platte, Theresa worked on post-fire recovery for the Hayman Fire, Waldo Canyon Fire, Hayden Pass Fire, Beulah Hill Fire, Junkins Fire and Spring Creek Fire.
DAVE STEFFAN
RECOVERY COORDINATOR
RECOVERY COORDINATOR
As a local rancher, fire chief, combat veteran and wildland fire fighter, David is deeply rooted in his home community of La Veta, where the Spring Creek Fire burned in 2018. David has been a wildland fire fighter and sawyer since he attended college at Western State University where he studied history and biology. He earned a graduate degree in Colorado History from the University of Colorado - Denver. He served in the Army Corps of Engineers with two combat tours in Iraq. He fought the Spring Creek Fire as an Engine Boss and Sawyer, became involved in post-fire recovery efforts and was hired as ARWC's local recovery coordinator. He works on projects that help burned watersheds, and his friends and neighbors, recover from the effects of fire.
