K&A Staff
Index
Mark S. Kieser
Senior Scientist
mkieser@kieser-associates.com
Mr. Kieser has over 36 years of environmental consulting experience in addition to three years of academic research on water resource issues in the Great Lakes. He has a broad range of environmental management experience from watershed planning and policy development to remedial investigation and cleanup. As a consultant, he has been responsible for implementing studies at hundreds of sites in Michigan and across the U.S. These have included investigations of surface water, wastewater, groundwater, soils and atmospheric contaminant issues encompassing sites ranging from the Great Lakes, to remote undeveloped areas, to Superfund sites with more than 100 years of industrial use. Mr. Kieser has directed more than 300 environmental engineering projects since the firm was founded in 1992. These have required an intensive knowledge of scientific and engineering principles as well as the full range of applicable state and federal regulations.
Mark has also been a pioneer and leader in environmental markets for water in the U.S. and internationally. Since 1995, he has led the assessment and/or development of a variety of market-based incentive programs in 28 states across the U.S. These efforts have focused on: watershed, state-wide and regional trading program development; agricultural credit banking schemes; urban stormwater trading; trading registries and infrastructure; development of ecosystem service markets; restoration of natural flow regimes in Great Lakes tributaries, and; nutrient enrichment in the Chesapeake Bay, the Gulf of Mexico and the Western Lake Erie Basin. Mark’s works have been published in three text books spanning the period of 2006 to 2015; publications that focus on water quality trading and other economic instruments for improving water quality.
Mark’s international expertise in water markets has focused on policy and program development as well as implementation in Canada, Peru, Sweden, the European Union, Costa Rica, Japan and China. Since 2001, Mr. Kieser has been serving as the Acting Chair of the Environmental Trading Network. The Network is a clearinghouse for water quality trading program information (http://www.envtn.org/).
Mr. Kieser holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Sciences from Wittenberg University (Springfield, Ohio) and a Master of Science degree in Biological Sciences from Michigan Technological University (Houghton, Michigan).
Areas of Expertise:
- Water Quality Trading Policy
- Surface Water Quality Assessment and Modeling
- Nonpoint Source Pollution Assessment and Modeling
- Lake and Watershed Management
- Soil and Groundwater Contamination Investigations and Remediation
- Hydrogeologic Investigation
- Environmental Site Assessments
- Ecological Modeling
- NPDES Permitting
- Waste Load Allocation
- Underground Storage Tank Removal/Compliance
- Sediment-Water Interactions
John Jacobson
Senior Engineer
Mr. John Jacobson has provided engineering management of multi-discipline teams in large and complex projects involving architectural engineering, water and wastewater and infrastructure projects. He has served in design and implementation roles in private, municipal, commercial, institutional, industrial and oil industry settings. Mr. Jacobson’s recent experience includes Water and Wastewater Design Management and Project Management Team support for a wastewater reclamation project for Qatar Gas in Qatar and an accommodation and utilities project in United Arab Emirates. He completed a detailed design for a high standard fully independent work camp facility in Kazakhstan, as well as highway, interchange and infrastructure for Jubail Industrial City in Saudi Arabia, and an architectural and engineering design for an 18,000-student university in Saudi Arabia. He also has worked to design and build parking structures within U.S. permitting requirements. He developed plans, including stormwater and wastewater infrastructure, for a 1,500-acre residential development near La Plata, MD.
Mr. Jacobson has a B.S. degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Wisconsin – Platteville, and a Masters of Management degree from Aquinas College, East Grand Rapids, MI. He is a Licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Michigan (ID # 6201041537), Licensed Civil Engineer in the State of California (Certificate # C43999), and Registered Engineer with the Saudi Council of Engineers, Saudi Arabia (#100053).
Areas of Expertise:
- Site Planning
- Grading and Drainage
- Infrastructure Roads and Utilities
- Water and Wastewater Infrastructure and Design
- Highway Design (Bridges and Highways)
- Civil / Structural Design
- Architectural Production
- Landscape Production
- Water / Sanitary Pipelines and Pumping stations for Oil & Gas Sector
Mike Foster
Environmental Engineer
mfoster@kieser-associates.com
Mr. Mike Foster received his Bachelor of Science degree in Forest Resource Management and his Master of Science degree in Environmental Engineering Science from Michigan Technological University. Since joining Kieser & Associates in 2018 he has worked on water quality modeling and quantification methodology development, as well as software applications for a range of water resource management efforts. His work includes developing methods to quantify management impacts on water quantity and quality, developing methods to quantify lake health, and modeling nutrient loading from agricultural operations. The latter focuses on K&A U.S. and international environmental markets applications. His work with software applications has focused on making quantification methods more accessible and easier to use, particularly in both remote and rural agricultural applications. Mike is currently leading K&A grant-funded efforts addressing capture of agricultural tile drain discharges of dissolved phosphorus in the Great Lakes.
Prior to joining K&A in 2018, Mr. Foster was involved in complex modeling assessments of various wastewater, CSO and stormwater management scenarios on Great Lakes water quality examining potential management impacts in and around Cleveland, OH, and Ajax, ON.
Areas of Expertise:
- Surface Water Quality Modeling
- Computer Programming
- Model Development
- Stormwater Management
- Forest Health and Management
- Database Management
- App Development
Josh Kieser
Field Services Manager
jkieser@kieser-associates.com
Mr. Josh Kieser serves K&A as the Field Services Manager with a broad focus on monitoring and reporting of water quality, hydrology, and aquatic biology in Michigan’s lakes, streams, and wetlands. His field research experience with K&A started in 2000. His field services management efforts include direct and remote surface and groundwater monitoring, lake level studies, aquatic vegetation management including biocontrol studies, industrial compliance, due diligence evaluation and reporting for property transactions, and stormwater monitoring focused on treatment efficiency and performance of BMPs designed and installed by K&A. This work includes managing and maintaining monitoring equipment installations and field data management and reporting.
Josh has over five years of watershed management planning experience and successful plan development for lakes, urban watersheds and tribal assets. Josh has also supported a number of water quality trading feasibility study assessments for K&A projects in the Midwest and internationally.
Mr. Josh Kieser received his Bachelor of Arts in History focused on International Development and African-American Studies from the University of Montana. He is also certified as a Natural Shoreline Professional through the Michigan Natural Shoreline Partnership. Mr. Josh Kieser joined K&A in a research capacity in 2011, before serving two years as an AmeriCorps member in various community service capacities including ecological restoration efforts led by The Nature Conservancy in Wisconsin and The US Army Corps of Engineers in Iowa. In 2013, Mr. Josh Kieser rejoined K&A as a field technician focused on surface water quality monitoring in support of local watershed improvement efforts before moving to his current position.
Areas of Expertise:- Surface and Groundwater Quality and Quantity Monitoring
- Aquatic Native and Invasive Species Surveying and Management
- Stormwater Monitoring
- Assessment of BMP Treatment Efficiency and Performance
- Field Equipment Management
- Data Management and Analysis
- Environmental Markets Analysis
Jacob Utrie
Project Scientist
jutrie@kieser-associates.com
Mr. Jacob Utrie received his Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and Fisheries from the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point. His focus is on lake and pond management, particularly in relation to fish habitat, water quality and vegetation surveys, and propagation and use of biocontrols to control invasive species. Jacob is currently developing field metrics for fisheries habitat assessments on inland lakes, and research applications for swimmer’s itch controls through select fish propagation.
Prior to joining K&A in 2020, Mr. Utrie was involved in lake management and consultation and fish farming with Herrmann’s Fish Farm in South Texas. While there he managed the lake management team, implemented lake plans, tested lake water quality and was responsible for fish propagation, transportation, stocking, maintenance, and quality assurance. He also worked as a Conservation Intern for the Squam Lakes Association in Holderness, NH, assessing, documenting and controlling aquatic invasive species, completing water sampling and documenting and maintaining equipment.
Areas of Expertise:
- Lake and Pond Management
- Water Quality Testing
- Aquatic Invasive Species Management
- Equipment Maintenance
- Fish Propagation and Stocking
Becky Hough
Office Manager
bhough@kieser-associates.com
Ms. Hough joined K&A as office manager in September 2014. Her responsibilities at K&A include oversight and implementation of all office operations and oversight and implementation of all accounting functions. She joined K&A with 18 years prior experience in construction accounting, office administration, and business operations management. She has strong general management qualifications developed during her tenure with progressive responsibility in administrative construction positions at Comar Castle, LLC (formerly Straticon, LLC) in Richland, MI.
Areas of Expertise:
- Contract Administration
- Forecasting, Planning, & Budgeting
- Accounting & Financial Analysis
- Human Resources
- Coordination of Licensing in Multiple States and Local Jurisdictions
- Strategic Planning
- QuickBooks Accounting Software
- AIA Documents and Software
- Construction Lien Waivers and Lien Laws
"Andrew" Feng Fang
Senior Advisor, Modeling
“Andrew” Fang, Ph.D., P.E., holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Engineering from Shanghai University (Shanghai, China), a Master of Science degree in Ecology and Environmental Science from the University of Maine, a Master of Science degree in Applied Economics from the University of Minnesota, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Water Resources Science from the University of Minnesota. Dr. Fang has over 18 years of environmental and water resources experience.
In 2002, Dr. Fang began conducting both field research and modeling for K&A to assess pollutant control options and economic implications for watershed management. During his initial four years with K&A, he was responsible for completing multiple economic, statistical, and environmental analyses for a variety of water quality applications. This work included both SWAT modeling and GIS analysis. He also worked on the development of water quality trading programs and assessments authoring one of the first papers on credit stacking in environmental markets. Dr. Fang left in 2006 to work for the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality developing TMDLs and applying watershed models for TMDL assessment. Dr. Fang also coordinated with multiple state agencies and regional inter-governmental organizations regarding TMDLs.
Andrew re-joined K&A from 2012 to 2018 integrating sophisticated modeling efforts to address point source and non-point source impacts on water quality, particularly in the context of supporting market-based solutions being pursued by K&A with a range of partners and clients. From 2018 to early 2020, Andrew elected to serve as a Senior Analyst for the Ecosystem Management Research Institute, part of the U.S.-China Green Fund. Dr. Fang now serves in a senior advisory role with K&A providing technical direction on watershed modeling associated with watershed management planning, TMDLs and water quality trading.
Areas of Expertise:
- Watershed and Water Quality Modeling
- Market-based Environmental Resources Management
- Environmental Chemistry
- Environmental Economics
- TMDL Development
Dan Klein
Senior Advisor, Agriculture
Mr. Dan Klein is a long-time commercial farmer in Southwest Michigan annually farming 8-10,000 acres of corn, soy and other specialty crops like Canola since the early 1980s. An early adopter of advanced farming technologies, Mr. Klein was formerly a partner in a consulting firm that assisted producers, both here and abroad, in the adaptation of precision farming methodologies. Mr. Klein was one of the first agricultural participants in water quality trading program development efforts in the Great Lakes in the mid-1990s that was initiated by K&A. Dan has received numerous awards for his conservation initiatives. He previously received a Governor’s appointment to the Michigan Corn Marketing Board, where he served as Vice President.
Mr. Klein is a consummate entrepreneur bolstering other Ag-related business interests in addition to his farming operations. Dan was affiliated with the Cocoa Corporation from 2017 to 2020. As a partner to K&A under the current GLPF project, “Advancing Systematic and Fundamental Changes in Agricultural Water Resources Management”, Mr. Klein led Cocoa’s provision of their organically-enriched compost product for field testing efforts. This compost restores organic matter to build healthier soils for improved agricultural production and sustainability.
Mr. Klein received a Bachelor of Applied Science (B.A.Sc.) in Agricultural Business and Management from Western Michigan University in 1981, following his Ferris State University Associate’s degree in Accounting in 1979.
Areas of Expertise:
- Working with Producers and Agronomists to Develop Strategies for Success
- Identifying and Developing New Prospects for Innovative Agricultural Applications
- Developing Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plans (CNMP)
- Identifying Long-term Strategic Growth Initiatives for Ag Products
- Precision Agriculture
Dennis O'Grady
Senior Associate
Mr. Dennis O’Grady has developed rules, procedures, and policies on point and non-point phosphorus trading, including identifying mathematical measurements for calculating pounds of Phosphorus removed and establishing farmer-run committees to deliver trading programs. He has developed communications strategies for media, landowners, politicians to explain how trading works, save money, and improves the environment and given presentations across North America and Europe on characteristics of a successful trading program.
Mr. O’Grady has worked with Cabinet Ministers and politicians at the local, provincial and federal level on issues regarding their constituencies and legislation. He is familiar with all aspects of the legislative process, including interpreting and implementing statutes, regulations, policies, and memorandums. Prior to joining K&A, Mr. O’Grady was Executive Director of an environmental non-profit corporation covering 1600 sq. mi. and 15 mostly rural municipalities where he established rural citizens’ committees to manage rural-related programs.
He has diverse project and program management experience including:
• Surface and groundwater monitoring program to measure quality/quantity
• Rural grant program for hundreds of farmers to implement non-point source controls
• Protection of aquifers and surface water sources of drinking water for rural communities
• Flood management program that protected homes, farms, people from flooding
• Fisheries program that monitored, protected, and enhanced fishing along 100+ miles of river
• Rural forestry program managing 12,000 acres of forest and planting of 100,000 trees/year
• Establishment of extensive public recreation and river access parks
Mr. O’Grady has a B.A. degree from University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, a Municipal Administration Program from Fanshawe College, London, Ontario and an Master of Public Administration degree from Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario.
Areas of Expertise:
- Water Quality Trading Policy
- Surface and Groundwater Water Quality Assessment and Modeling
- Nonpoint Source Pollution Assessment and Modeling
- Source Water Protection
- Stormwater Treatment and Design
- Community Engagement
- Natural Resources Protection
- Legal Coordination and Compliance
- Grant Writing