Keynote Presentation

Friday, October 21
6:00-7:30

Three fantastic researchers will each present on their expertise followed by a panel discussion and Q&A about water issues in the Four Corners region.

Crystal Tulley-Cordova, PhD (Diné)

Crystal is a Principal Hydrologist in the Navajo Nation Department of Water Resources – Water Management Branch. She has worked collaboratively with Navajo Nation partners on water-related research since 2013. Her work pre-pandemic focused on protecting and managing water resources in the Navajo Nation; since the start of the pandemic, her work has shifted to providing access to safe water for Navajo residents.

Jon Meyer, PhD

Jon is assistant state climatologist at the Utah Climate Center. He specializes in operational climate services as well as numerical weather and climate modeling. In addition to fulfilling the Utah Climate Center’s education outreach, forensic meteorology, and media relation roles, he helps lead climate service product development through “research-to-operations” studies focused on Western U.S. hydroclimate. He also serves on the Utah Water and Condition Monitoring taskforce and is the state coordinator for the citizen science Community Collaborative Rain Hail and Snow (CoCoRaHS) network.

Celene Hawkins, JD

Celene is a conservation professional and attorney with experience in Colorado River and Tribal water and natural resource management. She serves as The Nature Conservancy’s Colorado River Tribal Partnerships Program Director, where she leads the Conservancy’s efforts to effectively and ethically partner with Tribal Nations and indigenous peoples on freshwater conservation projects in the Colorado River Basin. Celene serves on the leadership team of the Water and Tribes Initiative and has served on the Colorado Water Conservation Board in her personal capacity since 2017. Celene enjoys living near the Animas River in Durango, Colorado with her family and rescue dog.