Released: March 06, 2008

Environmental Leadership Program Announces Graduates of 2007 Class, New Class for 2008

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The Kansas Environmental Leadership Program (KELP) recently announced that 19 Kansans graduated from its class of 2007 and 22 have been named to its class of 2008.

In alphabetical order by last name, those graduating with the KELP Class of 2007 and the community in which they live included: Leslie Barnt (Olathe), Shelly Briley (Bison), David Coltrain (LaCrosse), Sherry Davis (Randolph), Bruce Frost (Wichita), Krista Harding (Erie), Douglas Helmke (Tecumseh), Cate Holston (Topeka), Barbara Johnson (Salina), James Leiker (Hays), Carolyn Nichols (Osborne), Ricky Nix (Liberal), Tracie Schardein (Abilene), Karen Schmidt (Hays), Heather Ross Schmidt (Lawrence), Craig Smith (Manhattan), Marlene Spence (Weir), Marcia Stapp (Holcomb), and Maurice Terrebonne (Wichita).

Graduate Terrebonne, a water quality supervisor in environmental services for the City of Wichita, said that what led him to apply to the KELP program was his interest in learning about water challenges statewide and in building relationships with public and private agencies concerned with the environment.

“The KELP training provided an outstanding opportunity to develop leadership skills related to environmental improvement,” said Marlene Spence, who is based in Weir, Kan., as an environmental scientist with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. “It has really helped me to understand more about water issues across the entire state.”

KELP also named 22 Kansans as class members for 2008. They are: Angela Beavers (Junction City), Peggy Blackman (Marion), Scott Bowen (Wichita), Constance Buckner (Topeka), Julie Coleman (Lawrence), Jeff Conley (Wichita), Ann D’Alfonso (Ottawa), Evelyn Davis (Topeka), Kay Drennen (Wichita), Trevor Flynn (Lawrence), Keri Harris (Ottawa), Brian Lindley (Wamego), Sandra Megrail (Topeka), Cheri Miller (Kansas City), Connie Pantle (Effingham), Cameron Peirce (Hutchinson), Renda Robertson (Newton), Leon Staab (Olathe), Keith VanSkike (Norton), Wallace Weber (Dorrance), Dan Wells (Hays); and Michael Wilson (Derby).

KELP class members participate in five training sessions over a 10-month period in communities throughout the state. The sessions are designed to help members hone their leadership skills and learn about the environment and water resources in Kansas, said Judy Willingham, KELP coordinator. The program is administered through the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering at Kansas State University.

Each session includes field trips, group activities, and opportunities to network. Participants visit water and wastewater treatment plants, learn about urban stormwater management sites, explore streams and their inhabitants, and view aquifer-recharge projects.

More information about the Kansas Environmental Leadership Program is available at http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/kelp/  or by contact with Willingham by phone at 785-532-5813 or e-mail at judymw@ksu.edu.

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K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan.

Story by:
Mary Lou Peter-Blecha
mlpeter@oznet.ksu.edu
K-State Research& Extension News