ABWC Board of Directors

Dr. Burgess became dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at the University of Arizona in July 2011.  After qualifying as a veterinarian at Massey University, New Zealand in 1989, he worked in and managed veterinary clinical practices in Australia, Africa, and the UK as well as holding a management position in the aquaculture industry in Scotland for two years.  From 1995 to 2001, Dr. Burgess was employed by the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council at the Institute for Animal Health.  He was awarded the Institute for Animal Health Director's Award for service during the UK Foot and Mouth Disease epidemic of 2001.  Dr. Burgess joined the faculty at Mississippi State University in 2002, where he served as director of the Institute for Genomics, Biocomputing and Biotechnology and worked with a team to develop AgBase, a database of functional gene annotations for agricultural animals and plants.  His primary research areas are high-throughput genomic biology (including genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, bioinformatics and computational biology).  His funding research has included cancer biology, immunology, virology, bacteriology, tomicology, bioenergy, and agricultural plant and animal genomoics.  As dean at the University of Arizona's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Dr. Burgess is responsible for the college's academic programs, Arizona Cooperative Extension, and the Arizona Agricultural Experiment Station with over 3100 students and 1600 employees.  Dr. Burgess holds a Ph.D. in bio-medicine from Bristol University, UK and is married to Dr. Jennifer Burgess.  

Other Professional Activities  Include: 

*Bioinformatics Committee Member, USDA  NRSP9:  National Animal Genome Research Program

*Co-Chair, Working Group on Animal Biotechnology within the US-EC Task Force on Biotechnology

*Member, Food Systems Leadership Institute Executive Committee

*Project Steering Team, University and Industry Consortium

Elston Grubaugh joined the Wellton-Mohawk Irrigation and Drainage District in July 2008 and assumed the duties of General manager on January 1, 2009.  A native of New Mexico, Elston has worked in the water and power areas for over 40 years, holding positions in Texas, New Mexico, California, and Arizona.  Elston holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Agricultural Engineering from New Mexico State University and a Masters' Degree from Texas A&M University.  

Other Professional Activities Include:  

*Chair; Gila Gravity Main Canal Administrative Board

*Vice President; Irrigation & Electrical Districts Association of Arizona

*Member: Yuma County Flood Control Advisory Board

*Member, Tri-Valley Ambulance Board of Directors

Dave Roberts is the Associate General Manager and Chief Water Resources Executive at the Salt River Project.   Dave oversees several SRP functions including water supply planning and reservoir operations, water rights, water strategy, water measurement, groundwater resource management, including water banking, and water supply development and acquisitions.  Dave has been a member of a number of planning and advisory committees for rural watershed groups, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the Arizona Department of Water Resources.  He is a member of the Arizona Municipal Utilities Leadership Institute, the Arizona Hydrological Society, the Board of Directors of the Agribusiness & Water Council of Arizona, the co-chair of the Environment & Water Committee of the Arizona-Mexico Commission, and the developer and Board manager of the Gila River Water Storage, LLC, SRP's partnership with the Gila River Indian Community which will bring 5,000,000 acre-feet of water to central Arizona.   

In 2007 Dave co-authored a paper which was published in the University of Arizona Water Law Review entitled, "Beyond the Colorado River: Is an International Water Augmentation Consortium in Arizona's Future?"  The research suggests Arizona and Mexico begin exploring a partnership to jointly begin the planning and development of a large desalination project to serve the growing water needs of northern Sonora Mexico and Arizona.  

Dave has worked for Salt River Project for 33 years.  Prior to coming to SRP, Dave worked for the Arizona Department of Water Resources and the Bureau of Reclamation.   

Matt Beyer is a VP-Relationship Manager for Farm Credit West and has been involved in banking for 17 years. Matt is a graduate of St. Cloud State University (St. Cloud, MN) where he earned a degree in Business Economics and also earned his MBA from Dominican University (River Forest, IL). He is also a proud Class 25 graduate of Project CENTRL, a center focused on keeping rural Arizona healthy, vibrant, and sustainable. Matt and his wife, Alisa Beyer PhD, have four children and reside in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Mr. Justice is a native of Arizona, and graduated from the University of Arizona, with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture.  He raises cattle and citrus in Waddell, Arizona.  He is a member of the Board of Directors of Electrical District Number Seven and is President of the Irrigation and Electrical Districts Association of Arizona.  He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Agribusiness & Water Council of Arizona.  

Jeffrey Silvertooth grew up in northwest Oklahoma and Wichita, Kansas.  He has a B.S. in Agriculture (Agronomy) from Kansas State University, an M.S. in Agronomy (Soil Fertility) from Oklahoma State University, and a Ph.D. in Soil Science (Soil Fertility) from Oklahoma State University.  He has worked in a variety of roles over 30+ years to develop crop production management strategies (primarily irrigated cotton, chiles, and cantaloupes) that optimize the soil-plant system agronomically, economically, and environmentally.  He has been with the University of Arizona since 1987, as an Extension Agronomist for 14 years, and Head of the Soil, Water and Environmental Science Department for over 12 years.  In his current role, he provides overall program leadership and administrative and personnel  management for Arizona Cooperative Extension.  He is also responsible for the development of effective education programs and related translational and applied research programs dedicated to extending knowledge resources to the people of the State and region.  

Shane Lindstrom joined the San Carlos Irrigation and Drainage District (SCIDD) in May 2018 serving as the General Manager.  He began his career working for numerous Arizona Natural Resource Conservation Districts conducting on-farm irrigation evaluations from Buckeye to the San Tan Valley.  He previously spent 24 years working for the Gila River Indian Community's Pima-Maricopa Irrigation Project (P-MIP) as the Water Management Engineer assisting in the planning, design, construction, and operation of that system.  

He served on numerous committees for the United States Committee on Irrigation and Drainage (USCID) where he co-authored "Operations-Based Design of Irrigation Delivery Systems".  Current member and former Chairman of the ASCE's Environmental & Water Resources Institute On-Farm Irrigation System Committee.  

A life-long Arizonan, Shane graduated from the University of Arizona with a degree in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering.  He likes to say he started in the on-farm head ditches and just kept swimming upstream into his present career.   

Jason Moyes is an attorney and shareholder with the law firm of Moyes Sellers & Hendricks.  His practice is focused in the area of natural resource law and the representation and defense of agricultural irrigation and electrical districts, small utilities, renewable energy developers, and other agricultural interests.  

He serves as general counsel for the Yuma Mesa Irrigation and Drainage District, McMullen Valley Water Conservation & Drainage District, Electrical District Number Eight, Tonopah Irrigation District, Harquahala Valley Irrigation District, Harquahala Valley Power District, and Aguila Irrigation District.  

He earned his Bachelor of Arts and Juris Doctor Degrees from Brigham Young University and is admitted to practice in the state and federal courts of Arizona and Nevada.  

Jason lives with his four children in Mesa, Arizona.

Dr. KIRIL D. HRISTOVSKI is the Program Chair of the Environmental and Resource Management (ERM) Program and an Associate Professor of Engineering and Environmental & Resource Management Programs in the Polytechnic School, one of the six Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University (ASU). He also serves as the Director of the ERM professional development program at the Polytechnic School. Dr. Hristovski holds a Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering (2007) and an MS in Technology (Environmental) (2003) from Arizona State University, and a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Sts. Cyril and Methody in Skopje, Republic of Macedonia (1998). His research focuses on topics related to environmental applications and implications of engineered nanomaterials, water and wastewater treatment and management, solid and hazardous waste, and international environmental management issues. He is actively engaged in researching the environmental challenges of the developing world and translating fundamental knowledge into simple and inexpensive solutions to address these challenges. Since 2007, he has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles and over 100 conference papers/presentations in his areas expertise. He is an editorial board member of the Science of the Total Environment, Trends in Analytical Chemistry, and Environmental Nanotechnology, Monitoring and Management Journals. He also serves as a section editor of the Macedonian Journal of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. He has served as an external advisor for environment, science, and education to the President of Republic of Macedonia, HE Dr. Ivan Ivanov. Dr. Hristovski is a recipient of a Presidential Medal of Merit for Macedonia (2016), Fulbright Fellowship (2012), the College award for outstanding faculty mentor (2011), and a U.S. Presidential Academic Award (1991). He is affiliated with the School of Sustainability and Global Institute of Sustainability at Arizona State University as a Senior Sustainability Scientist, Global Security Initiative, School for Future of Innovation in Society, Global Security Initiative, Center for the Future of War, and the School for Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment. He also serves as Principal Investigator/co-Principal Investigator on several multi‑university centers/networks such as NSF Engineering Research Center Nano-Enabled Water Treatment (NEWT - Rice, ASU, Yale, UTEP), US EPA Life Cycle Nano (LCNano), and US EPA Design of Risk-reducing, Innovative-implementable Small-system Knowledge (DeRISK), which are related to environmental applications and implications of nanomaterials.  

Bullhead City Councilman, Mark R. Clark participates in the following city/regional/state committees, boards, and organizations: 

Try-City Council, Bullhead City Water Advisory Committee, Chairman of the Mohave County Water Authority, Commissioner on the Arizona Water Banking Authority, Arizona Water Association, Agribusiness and Water Council of Arizona, Mohave County Industrial Development Authority, Board of Directors Vice President, Past member of the following organizations: Vice President of the Mohave County Airport Authority,  Real Estate Committee for the Mohave County Airport, Bullhead Regional Economic Development Authority (BREDA) Board of Directors, BREDA Administrative Committee & Finance Committee, Mohave County Sheriff Technical Advisory Committee, Association of Financial Professionals.  

Mark has been married for 42 years to Beth Clark.  He is a Tri-State resident for 20 years and earned his MBA from Indiana University.  He is a Certified Cash Manager (CCM), President QPC Inc. - a Water & Wastewater Resource Management and Land Development consulting company. 

Michael A. Curtis was a charter member of the Agribusiness & Water Council of Arizona, Inc.  and has been a continued financial supporter, and served as Secretary for several years.  Mr. Curtis is admitted to the Supreme Court of the United States, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Arizona Federal District Court, the Supreme Court of the State of Arizona and the Northern District Federal Court of California.  Upon graduation from law school, Mr. Curtis began working with Arizona agriculture and consumer owned water and power entities.  Since 1972 he has been Executive Secretary of the Arizona Municipal Power User's Association and is now Counsel.  He served at one time as a legislative consultant on electrical power matters to the Grand Canyon State Electric Cooperative Association.  in 1993, Mr. Curtis received the American Public Power Association's Kramer-Johnson Award in recognition of outstanding service.  

Other Professional Activities include: 

Special Counsel, Wickenburg; HoHoKam Irrigation and Drainage District; Cortaro-Marana Irrigation District

Founder, Curtis, Goodwin, Sullivan, Udall & Schwab, PLC.

Member, State Bar of Arizona; Maricopa County Bar Association; America Bar Association

Member, Utility; Natural Resources; Litigation Sections of the America Bar Association

He is a Senior Counsel to the Denton's International Law Firm

He served as Navopache Electric Cooperative and Mohave Electric Cooperative General Counsel for over 30 years.  

Ed Gerak has nearly 15 years of experience in water and power issues.  Ed spent 10 years as the General Manager of the Buckeye Water Conservation and Drainage District (BWCDD), an IEDA member. In 2009, Ed began representing IEDA on the Colorado River Energy Distributors Association board, becoming president in 2015.  In 2017, Ed joined the Arizona Power Authority as Executive Director, managing the Hoover Dam power allocation for the state.  Ed sits on the American Public Power Board, representing Region 6. Ed received his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Michigan and a Master of Business Administration from Arizona State University.  Ed is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Arizona.