Professional and Technical Staff
Our experienced staff of scientists, planners and environmental professionals are the technical experts who help municipalities, advocates, policymakers and citizens get clean water projects in the ground. To contact a Center staff person, call 410-461-8323 and use the extension listed below.
Hye Yeong Kwon
Executive Director
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As the Executive Director, Hye Yeong’s responsibilities include organizational management, fund-raising, and program development. Hye Yeong joined the Center in 1996 and combines her education and training to help lead the Center toward a multi-disciplinary strategy to protect and restore watersheds throughout the country. Her project experience has included a wide range of subjects, including illicit discharge detection and elimination, environmentally sensitive site design, watershed planning, green jobs, and consensus building. Hye Yeong has a B.S. in Biology, an M.S. in Management, and an MBA.
Bill Stack, PE
Deputy Director of Programs
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As the Deputy Director of Programs, Bill’s responsibilities include program and resource development, supervision, and marketing. With over 40 years of experience in the field, Bill is the senior resident expert on staff. Before coming to the Center, Bill worked in Baltimore City and also served as a past Center Board Member. Bill has a B.S. in Biology from St. Mary’s College of MD and a M.S. in Biology from Towson University and is a professional engineer licensed in Maryland. Bill lives in Carroll County, MD with his wife.
Karen Cappiella
Director of Research
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Karen is a former GIS guru whose areas of expertise include applied watershed research, watershed planning, producing guidance documents and articles on watershed and stormwater management, and proposal writing. In addition to managing the Research Program, she coordinates proposal submissions for the Center. Karen has been with the Center since 2000, and has a B.A. in Geography from Millersville University and an M.A. in Geography from East Carolina University. She lives in New Market, Maryland with her husband and daughters.
Greg Hoffmann, PE
Program Director, Practices
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Greg has been with the Center for Watershed Protection since 2008. Through his work at the Center, Greg has had the opportunity to design numerous stormwater retrofits and develop stormwater regulations and guidance manuals for several states and communities. Greg has a master of engineering and a bachelor of science in environmental engineering from Michigan Technological University. He would be happy to discuss all things stormwater with you, but as a native Wisconsinite, would be just as happy discussing his beloved Packers.
Marlyn Argueta
Office Manager
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A born and raised Marylander, Marlyn joined the Center in 2017. He graduated from the University of Maryland Baltimore County with a bachelor’s degree in history and an associate’s degree in business administration. After hours, you can find him at a DC United soccer game or coaching the South River High School soccer team. His passion for soccer and helping the community propelled him to be a finalist in the 2015 Major League Soccer Community MVP Award.
Lindey Brown
Financial Officer
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Wondering who’s handling billing and invoices? Lindey has elevated the Center’s finances and accounting to higher accountability standards since 2005. Lindey has a BS in Accounting and loves spreadsheets and accounting. Her role at the Center includes all internal and external accounting functions, project financial reporting, financial statements, work with auditors for the annual audit and tax return, review all contracts and subcontracts, all state and federal filing requirements.
Deb Caraco, PE
Senior Watershed Engineer
607-242-9941
Deb has been a Center employee since 1996, and currently works for the Center remotely from Ithaca, New York in the beautiful Finger Lakes Region. Her areas of focus include IDDE, pollutant modeling, stormwater design, and data analysis. She has a Master of Engineering in Biological and Environmental Engineering from Cornell University, and is completing a Master of Applied Statistics from Penn State in Fall of 2017. Deb enjoys hiking, cross country skiing, reading and music, but is a nerd at heart and her true loves are board games, puzzles and spreadsheets.
Ari Daniels
Water Resources Engineer
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Ari earned a B.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Virginia. He lives and works remotely in Charlottesville, Virginia, and has also logged significant time in the DC metro area and Portland, Oregon. A lover of all things outdoors, he especially loves the water, though his kayak is quite lonely these days. Starting in July, 2014, he brings various types of work and life experience to the Center, including construction and project management, non-profit administration, environmental and social activism, outdoor adventure leading, teaching, and a seemingly random assortment of others.
Jordan Fox
Watershed and Stormwater Technician
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Jordan started as an intern for the Center while completing her double major in Biology and Environmental Science and minor in Chemistry at Washington College in Chestertown, MD. In her post-graduation, full-time role, she provides project assistance with research, field assessment and monitoring, data entry and management, and GIS. Her extensive experience with field work, data analysis, and technical writing make her well-suited to help the Center with monitoring and other watershed and stormwater projects.
Lisa Fraley-McNeal
Research Specialist
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Lisa has been working on urban watershed and stormwater management since 2006. Her areas of expertise include GIS and field methods for watershed assessment, watershed planning, stream restoration, Chesapeake Bay TMDL crediting, and applied research on topics related to watersheds and stormwater. She has a B.S. degree in Geography and Environmental Systems, with a writing minor and cartography certificate from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Lisa also has a M.S. degree from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County in Marine and Estuarine Environmental Science.
Laura Gardner, PE
Water Resources Engineer
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A Wisconsin native, Laura joined the Center in 2012 and has experience in conducting stormwater retrofit and watershed assessments, reviewing stormwater plans, designing best management practices (BMPs), and updating stormwater manuals. She has a B.S. in Biological Systems Engineering and a M.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Laura enjoys spending her free time reading, exploring the sites of Maryland and DC, and, in winter, searching for places to cross-country ski. Laura and her husband live in Catonsville.
Mike Hickman
Water Resources Designer
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Mike joined the Center in 2016. He has a B.S. in Environmental Engineering from Pennsylvania State University and a M.S. in Water Resources and Environmental Engineering from Villanova University. With extensive experience working in Pennsylvania at the Department of Environmental Protection, Mike has conducted numerous trainings, written guidance documents, and assisted communities with all aspects of MS4 requirements. Mike’s experience includes erosion and sediment control, post-construction stormwater management, permitting, and the development of conceptual-level stormwater plans.
Bill Hodgins
Senior Water Resources Engineer
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Bill resides in Bluffton, SC and joined the Center from the City of Savannah where he served as the Environmental Administrator for the Stormwater Management Department for 9 years. Bill was responsible for the City’s Phase I MS4 permit and managed the Department’s GIS and Site Plan Review programs. Prior to the City he was in private environmental consulting to industrial trade associations, and held corporate and manufacturing plant positions in the pulp and paper and fiberglass industries. When away from his work Bill enjoys walks with his wife, Ninette, gardening and woodworking.
Neely Law, PhD
Director of Education and Training
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Neely leads the development of the stormwater and watershed training program at the Center that is designed to meet the needs of professionals, non-government organizations along with workforce development programs. Neely is also involved in research-based projects to advance our understanding and application of stormwater practices and programs urban and rural watersheds. Recent projects include leadership on Chesapeake Bay Program Expert Panels, Stream Health Work Group, stream restoration and health, and nutrient reduction credit development. As part of the research and other applied Center projects, Neely provides data synthesis and analyses, monitoring study designs, survey development and writing technical reports and management plans. Neely has a B.S. in Environmental Studies and Urban Planning from the University of Waterloo, a M.A. in Geography from the University of Toronto and a Ph.D. in Geography from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Neely lives in Leesburg with her husband and three children.
Julie Schneider
Watershed Planner
215-277-1655
Julie has been working on urban watershed and stormwater management since 2003. Since joining the Center in 2005, she opened a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania office. In this role, she works with communities in Pennsylvania to help meet local TMDL and stormwater permit needs. Her areas of expertise include GIS and field methods for watershed assessment, watershed planning, and review of local codes and ordinances. She received her B.S. degree in Environmental Science from the SUNY University at Buffalo and a M.S. degree from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Julie lives in Glenside, PA with her husband and two sons.
Bryan Seipp
Watershed Manager/Professional Forester
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Since joining the Center in 2009 Bryan’s primary role has been to work with local governments to meet water quality goals. Prior to working at the Center, Bryan worked for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources as a Watershed Forester and the Potomac Conservancy as the Director of Restoration. Bryan has a B.S. in Forest Resource Management from Virginia Tech, is a licensed professional forester in the state of Maryland and a Certified Urban Nutrient Management Planner in Virginia. Bryan lives in Catonsville, and outside of work hours he enjoys photography, mountain biking, fishing, and scuba diving.
Chris Swann
Watershed Planner/CIO
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Chris has been a watershed planner at the Center since 1997. His work time is split between two responsibilities; researching and writing technical guidance on watershed management issues, and trying to keep the Center’s technology in check and functioning properly. Since joining the Center, Chris has contributed in the writing of numerous Center publications, including the Urban Subwatershed Restoration Manual series and the Better Site Design Manual. Chris has a B.S. in Natural Resources Management from the University of Maryland, as well as a B.S. in Biology from James Madison University.
Laurel Williamson
Stormwater and Watershed Planner
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Laurel is a Stormwater and Watershed Planner based out of Charlottesville, VA. Her past experience includes working for the County of Albemarle, VA on stormwater BMP maintenance inspections and coordinating the citizen water quality monitoring program and other projects for the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay. She has a B.A. in Environmental Science and a B.A. in Environmental Thought & Practice from the University of Virginia. Beyond her work at the Center, Laurel enjoys making music, country living, and being with her family.
Carol Wong, PE
Water Resources Engineer
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Carol is a Maryland native and joined the center in 2014. She graduated with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maryland and a M.S. in Environmental Engineering from Stanford University. Prior to joining the Center, Carol worked for the private sector as a consultant, managing environmental research and development projects. Carol has experience in program management, bioretention research, BMP design and permitting, construction inspection, and water quality monitoring.
Ellen Zagrobelny
Water Resources Engineer
540-270-6436
Ellen joined the Center for Watershed Protection as a Water Resources Engineer in 2017, coming from civil engineering consulting. Ellen has designed stormwater management facilities for a variety of localities, from the oil & gas industry in PA and WV to urban areas the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Ellen holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Virginia. Her other areas of interest include native grassland restoration, raising pastured livestock, gardening, and reading great books.
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