Meet our team.
Senior Scientist & Principal
Senior Engineer
Environmental Engineer
Office Manager
Senior Advisor - Agriculture
Project Scientist
Senior Advisor - Ecology
Senior Advisor - Modeling
Mark Kieser - Senior Scientist & Principal
Mr. Kieser has over 38 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 textbooks 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. At K&A, Mr. Jacobson’s oversees permitting and engineering design on a variety of lake, stream, and watershed projects. These have included stream restoration, lake level monitoring, groundwater modeling, shoreline protection, and natural shoreline installations. He also works with municipalities and industrial clients on permit compliance, stormwater management, and wastewater treatment.
Prior to arriving at K&A, Mr. Jacobson oversaw 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:
Engineering design and permitting
Hydraulics and hydrology
Stormwater treatment retrofit design
Grading and drainage
Wastewater design
Groundwater discharge permitting
Mike Foster - Environmental Engineer
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
Natalie Howard - Project Scientist
Ms. Natalie Howard received her Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Ecology and Environmental Science from Michigan Technological University. Her primary areas of focus are on wetland and aquatic plant ecology, climate resiliency, and environmental sustainability.
At K&A, Ms. Howard contributes to aquatic vegetation surveys and water quality monitoring efforts on a variety of lake systems. She is also involved with project oversight, wetland delineations, and the rearing and distribution of biological controls. As a newer member of the K&A team, Ms. Howard is looking forward to continuing to develop her skills and knowledge in watershed and lake management areas.
Prior to joining K&A, Ms. Howard was involved with designing and implementing grant funded university research on the climate resiliency and management strategies for northern red oak. She was also closely involved in wetland restoration, mapping, and surveying projects throughout the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
Areas of Expertise:
Aquatic Invasive and Native Species Surveying
Wetlands Surveying and Mapping
Data Management and Analysis
Project Design and Presentation
Becky Hough - Office Manager
Email: 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
G. Douglas Pullman, Ph.D. - Senior Advisor, Ecology
Dr. Doug Pullman received his M.S. and Ph.D. in Limnology from Michigan State University, following a B.S. in Zoology from Indiana University. Dr. Pullman has over 40 years of experience in aquatic biology, aquatic herbicide product development, and lake management services. Since 1991, he has overseen lake studies, lake vegetation management planning, as well as solicitation and implementation of grants and contracts for aquatic ecosystems management on over 20 Michigan lakes. Dr. Pullman began working in association with K&A on lake studies in 2018 and in 2023 he officially joined our team. He has served as a co-author and legislative committee member on a number of Michigan legislative bills, and has served in capacities from member to director of a variety of professional associations such as the Michigan Aquatic Managers Association and the Midwest Aquatic Plant Management Society. Dr. Pullman holds several US patents in aquatic management technology and has published numerous articles in a variety of scientific journals.
Areas of Expertise:
Aquatic Invasive Species Assessment and Control
Ecological Assessment of Aquatic Plant Communities
Herbicide Product Use Development, Formulations Development
Aquatic Pesticide Application Engineering
Lake Management
Ecological Metrics Development and Application
"Andrew" Feng Fang, Ph.D. - 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 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