Dr. Ellen Wohl received a BS in geology from Arizona State University and a PhD in geosciences from the University of Arizona. She is a professor in the Department of Geosciences at Colorado State University and a University Distinguished Professor. Her research focuses on physical processes and forms in river channels and floodplains, and how these interact with biogeochemistry and ecological and human communities. She has conducted field research in diverse environments around the world. Our Watersheds Conference has benefited over our 20-year history from multiple plenary sessions led by Dr. Wohl to kick off the conference. Thank you, Ellen!

Dr. Derek Booth is a geomorphologist with over 45 years of experience in federal and local public agencies (US Geological Survey, King County Surface Water Management), academia (University of Washington, UC Santa Barbara), and private consulting (Stillwater Sciences, ESA). He was the Senior Editor of the international journal Quaternary Research for 19 years and is a licensed geologist and civil engineer in Washington, California, and Colorado. His primary focus of research and application is the fluvial geomorphology of human-disturbed environments, which includes authorship or co-authorship of more than 90 peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and other publications; and over 100 projects as lead and/or supervising geomorphologist involving watershed analysis and restoration design throughout the western United States. Dr. Booth comes out of recent retirement to share his career insights to kick off this 20th anniversary of our Watersheds Conference. This marks a return for Dr. Booth in a lead plenary session role, having also led the conference kick off in 2022. Thank you, Derek!

Colin is a geomorphologist at Ayres who integrates the latest science to develop process-based understandings of fluvial systems for a wide range of applications and clients. Colin is a professional geologist with a Master’s in Hydrologic Science from Colorado School of Mines. He has been a leading figure in the Cameron Peak Fire Recovery efforts, modeling post-fire impacts, protecting infrastructure and stream systems from post-fire flooding, and implementing process-based restoration projects at scale to mitigate stream degradation and enhance recovery. Colin has worked for over 10 years to advance a mind-set focused on stream processes while working to include practitioners and project managers in the restoration experience.