Team
Researchers, practitioners, agency partners, and community leaders working together to transform drought resilience in the Northern Great Plains.
Leadership Team
Kelsey Jencso — Director, NGP RIDR; State Climatologist and Director of the Montana Mesonet, Montana Climate Office
Kyle Bocinsky — Co-Investigator; Director of Climate Extension, Montana Climate Office
Zach Hoylman — Co-Investigator; Asst. State Climatologist, Montana Climate Office
Scott Whittenburg — Co-Investigator; Vice President for Research and Creative Scholarship, University of Montana
Britt Parker — Co-Investigator; National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS), NOAA
Annie McVay — Fiscal and Program Coordinator, Montana Climate Office
Core Team
Laura Edwards — South Dakota State Climatologist
Nathan Edwards — Director, South Dakota Mesonet
Jason Gerlich — National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS), NOAA
Deb Bathke — Nebraska State Climatologist
Michael Downey — Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (MT DNRC)
Julian Scott — Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
Justin Derner — USDA Agricultural Research Service
Carrie Schumacher — American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) / FALCON Network
Zia Maumenee — University of Montana / FARTHER Ventures
Partner Network
NGP RIDR draws on a broad network of federal, state, tribal, and private-sector partners across the Northern Great Plains region.
State Climate Offices Montana Climate Office · South Dakota State Climate Office · Nebraska State Climate Office · North Dakota Climate Office · Wyoming State Climate Office
Federal Agencies NOAA National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) · NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) · USDA Agricultural Research Service · USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) · USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) · USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) · Bureau of Land Management (BLM) · U.S. Army Corps of Engineers · USGS
Tribal Partners
FALCON Network (American Indian Higher Education Consortium) · Great Plains Tribal Water Alliance
Universities University of Montana · South Dakota State University · University of Nebraska-Lincoln · University of Wyoming · North Dakota State University
Observation Networks
South Dakota Mesonet · CoCoRaHS · National Coordinated Soil Moisture Monitoring Network (NCSMN) · SCAN
Private Sector AgWest Farm Credit · Farm Credit Services of America · NorthWestern Energy · FARTHER Ventures / Headwaters Tech Hub
Additional representatives from North Dakota, Wyoming, USDA, and NDMC social science expertise are actively being added to the team.