Our Team

Hydrologist

MS, Hydrology and Water Resources
University of Arizona, 2018

BS, Geological Engineering
National Autonomous University of Mexico, 2013

Mr. Briseño is a hydrologist with experience in environmental and hydrologic studies since 2013. His work consists of performing physical and hydraulic property testing on large scale samples and laboratory data analysis, with a focus on investigating heap leach optimization. He also models surface and subsurface water-soil interactions, such as erosion, evaporation, and other unsaturated flow processes, specifically for mine waste cover systems. His field work involves soil, sediment, and water sampling in a wide range of investigations. In addition, he has instrumented various types of mining facilities for physical, hydrologic, and environmental monitoring. His background in geology and hydrology gives him a comprehensive basis to address a variety of issues in subsurface characterization.

• Laboratory testing for physical and hydraulic properties in porous materials
• Heap leach optimization
• Analysis and modeling of saturated and unsaturated flow
• Field testing of physical and hydraulic properties
• Instrumentation and data collection systems

Hydrogeologist

B.Sc. University of California
Santa Barbara; 2020

Ms. Asakawa-Ekeland assists in the lab with hydraulic property testing. She has work experience in geotechnical engineering and has spent over 200 days conducting field work in her studies and professional career. Her academic research experience includes geochronology, thin section petrochronology, and GIS. She has been primarily working on rapid brine release moisture retention curve testing, data analysis, and technical report writing for lithium brine samples from South America.

• Laboratory testing for physical and hydraulic properties of porous materials
• Physical characterization of soil and rock samples
• Data management, compilation, and analysis
• Quality Assurance/Quality Control

Hydrologist and Data Scientist

MS Water Resources Management
University of New Mexico, 2019

BS Biology
University of New Mexico, 2014

Grady is a hydrologist and data scientist, who has been leveraging a versatile skillset encompassing surface and groundwater modeling, data analysis, and pipelining since 2017. He leads teams in groundwater and surface process modeling, as well as manages the automation of large-scale data ingestion and integration. He has extensive experience in GIS, remote sensing applications, and stakeholder engagement across federal, state, local, and tribal entities. He has been with GSA since 2025 and previously was a Staff Hydrologist at the USGS New Mexico Water Science Center.

• Data Engineering (ETL, AWS integration)
• Data Management (QA/QC, database management, automated systems)
• GIS Mapping and Analysis
• Drone Operation
• Surface and Groundwater Modeling

Environmental Scientist

PhD, Soil, Water, and Environmental Science
University of Arizona, 2009

BS Biology
The George Washington University, 1998

Dr. Banerjee has been restoring and reclaiming disturbed habitat since 2007. Her work focuses on riparian restoration and abandoned agriculture and mined land reclamation, with significant expertise in arid/semi-arid land systems. She has been successfully managing complex restoration and monitoring projects to include monitoring soil moisture and groundwater, evapotranspiration cover system monitoring, site assessments for riparian restoration in saline affected areas, vegetation and erosion monitoring, and developing and implementing adaptive management strategies to meet restoration/ reclamation goals. Current projects responsibilities include designing databases for soil moisture and well monitoring data, site assessments to guide restoration planning, and mine cover system design and monitoring.

• Mine cover system design and performance
• Habitat restoration and revegetation studies
• Vegetation, soil, and microbial analyses and survey techniques
• Physical and hydraulic characterization of soils
• Soil fertility and plant nutrition

Hydrologist

MS, Soil Water and Environmental Science
University of Arizona, 2010

BS, Crop Production
University of Arizona, 2008

Mr. Bañuelos has been managing and supervising hydrology, soil science and crop production studies since 2011. He has managed multiple, large-scale, mine closure characterization and monitoring studies at mines in Perú and the USA and has extensive experience with physical and hydraulic characterization of soils for mine reclamation, groundwater recharge, and habitat restoration studies. His experiences ranges over a variety of environments from the arid southwest to wetter environments as those found in the Andes Mountains of Peru. He also has extensive experience in soil moisture, and soil salinity monitoring as well as soil and plant fertility assessments. Jaime is a fluent Spanish speaker.

• Physical and hydraulic characterization of soils
• Soil moisture and salinity management of arid lands
• Soil fertility and plant nutrition
• Mine cover system performance
• Data analyses and management

Soil Scientist

MS, Environmental Science,
University of Arizona, 2024

BS, Forestry Sciences
University of Chile, 2011

Mr. Barra has eight years of experience in soil hydraulic, geochemical and agronomic property studies, soil-plant relationships and baseline environmental studies. Christian has expertise in field data collection, laboratory analyses, data interpretation and report writing. He has managed numerous studies in Chile, from the hyper-arid north of Chile to the subpolar maritime Tierra del Fuego, leading teams doing research on soil morphology, infiltration, heavy metal evaluations, soil moisture monitoring, vegetation monitoring, and environmental impacts to develop plans for compensation, restoration, and mitigation in degraded areas. In his research project for the MS at the University of Arizona, he assessed the effects of wildfires on the soil's biogeochemical and hydraulic properties to then model the main factors controlling the infiltration rates.

Environmental Scientist

BS, Environmental Science
University of Arizona, 2013

Mr. Blevens has seven years experience as an Environmental Scientist with several years’ experience managing and conducting hydraulic property tests, geochemical and electrochemical analyses. He has significant experience in conducting heap leach optimization studies for a variety of mines around the world. His background in process improvement, lab management, and QA/QC allows for projects to be completed accurately and on time.

• Laboratory testing for physical, chemical, and hydraulic properties in porous materials
• Laboratory and project management
• Heap leach optimization
• Constructing instrumentation, custom lab equipment, and data collection systems
• Quality Assurance/Quality Control

Environmental Scientist, Soil Scientist

MS, Soil, Water and Environmental Science
University of Arizona, 2011

Environmental Science
University of Arizona, 2007

Lindsey Bunting has over 15 years of experience specializing in environmental monitoring, habitat restoration, groundwater recharge studies, mine reclamation and salinity management. She is skilled with soil field assessments, laboratory physical and hydraulic property testing, and data acquisition system management and troubleshooting. Lindsey manages large datasets from hundreds of soil, mine waste, groundwater, and surface water monitoring stations on a daily basis, and also provides expertise in soil biogeochemical cycling and nutrient dynamics in tropical ecosystems. She has served as the data manager for a large-scale soil and groundwater monitoring project to assist with adaptive management of habitat restoration sites along the Lower Colorado River. Currently, Lindsey is managing several long-term monitoring projects to support groundwater recharge projects and mine cover closure systems.

• Managed aquifer recharge site screening investigations and monitoring
• Habitat restoration and revegetation studies
• Environmental monitoring system design, installation, maintenance, and management
• Soil and groundwater field and laboratory analyses

Hydrologist and Soil Scientist

MS, Geology
Concentration in Hydrogeology, 2021

BS, Geosciences
Fort Lewis College

Sara has over a decade of experience in hydrology. Her early career was shaped by experiences as a hydrologic technician, during which she gained expertise in monitoring surface water, groundwater, and aquatic ecosystem resources across semi-arid and high-alpine regions. Sara’s curiosity for water systems led her to focus on the nexus of the physical hydrologic, geomorphic, and ecological processes that influence watershed function as a graduate student researching groundwater-dependent ecosystems in semi-arid landscapes. Her technical skills include field assessment of watershed characteristics, hydrologic/hydrogeologic instrumentation, environmental data management, and statistical analysis of open-source and field-based datasets. Before joining GSA, Sara held a program manager role where she facilitated collaborative stream restoration projects among government, private, and NGO entities. Before specializing in hydrogeology, Sara spent a summer interning as an underground geologist in Carlin, NV, and as an outdoor educator on expedition-style wilderness trips. From her field experiences, Sara has robust experience planning and executing challenging logistics to remote sites that emphasize participant safety.

Selected Technical Skills:

• Hydrogeologic and geologic characterization
• Flow measurement and hydrologic instrumentation
• Surface and groundwater quality sampling & analysis
• Regression-based hydrologic analysis & modeling
• Riverscape restoration design & implementation
• Geomorphic surveying
• Springs and aquatic ecosystem assessment
• Logistics planning and coordination
• Collaborative process facilitation

Restoration Program Director, Senior Vegetation Ecologist

M.S. Natural Resources Conservation
University of Montana, 1996

Todd Caplan is a senior ecologist with GSA. He has been working nearly 30 years integrating scientific disciplines of vegetation ecology, soil science and hydrology in the design, implementation, monitoring and adaptive management of large-scale river and arid-land restoration programs. Prior to working as a consultant, Todd served as the Natural Resources Director for a 37,000-ha American Indian reservation where he initiated and managed grant funded watershed restoration programs. Since 2002, he has worked as a consultant to support federal, tribal, state and private sector clients with addressing complex watershed management and restoration challenges. His work has included burned area rehabilitation on wildlife refuges in Arizona and New Mexico, developing tropical forest restoration monitoring programs in Papua New Guinea, and leading development of large-scale floodplain habitat restoration designs across the Southwestern US.

• Natural Resources Management & Planning
• Monitoring and Adaptive Management
• Arid Land and Floodplain Ecosystem Restoration
• Riparian Ecology
• Exotic Plant Management
• Revegetation/Bioengineering
• Restoration Construction Oversight
• Grant Writing

Ecologist/GIS Analyst

Brennan is an ecologist and GIS analyst with over 10 years of experience working in New Mexico. His experience ranges from public land management and planning to hydrological and botanical surveys, as well as GIS and remote sensing analyses. He seeks to integrate on the ground data collection with remote sensing approaches to develop a comprehensive understanding of ecosystem form and function. From regional-scale studies to site-specific projects, Brennan’s integrated approach helps to develop creative solutions to complex questions. He is excited to continue his growth as an ecologist and GIS analyst with GSA, offering data-driven, actionable results for clients.

GIS Analyst

BS Biology
Portland State University, 2008

Steve began his career as a biologist with the National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service. Over the past 17 years, he has gained extensive experience in natural resource management and GIS. As a GIS Analyst, he has supported a wide range of users—from interns and field technicians to scientists and academics—by developing tools and systems for collecting, managing, and interpreting data to enhance decision-making. His work includes creating databases and data collection systems for Yosemite National Park and modeling wildfire risk for the National Forests in Arizona and New Mexico. With advanced expertise in data analysis, database development, and programming, Steve takes a ground-up, customer-focused approach that prioritizes automation, efficiency, and simplicity.

Administrative Assistant

Zachary was born and raised in Tucson. He joined the GSA team in 2025 after spending years working through the hospitality business at Starr Pass in Tucson. His responsibilities at GSA include working on financial reviews and reporting each month, assisting project leads with administrative services, and helping maintain and organize the Tucson office and warehouse.

Soil Scientist

Ph.D., Forest Ecosystem Science
Northern Arizona University, 2020

BS, Biology
University of Utah, 2011

Henry Grover is a soil scientist, plant ecologist, and restoration ecologist who has studied and worked in the western US since 2009. He has extensive experience in landscape ecology, plant soil interactions, and soils and ecosystems mapping. Henry’s graduate degree centered around developing a new tool to restore severely burned ecosystems using mosses. There he managed greenhouse studies, landscape scale surveys of natural regeneration, and collaborations with land managers examining watershed restoration techniques. Before starting at GSA, he worked as a Soil Scientist for the US Forest Service developing soil and ecosystem maps in southeast Arizona. Throughout his career he has strived to better manage information and use new datasets through data capture, GIS, remote sensing, and modeling to inform decision making. As part of the GSA mine closure team, he is looking forward to refining his skillset in the context of post mining reclamation.

Areas of Expertise

• Mine cover system design and performance
• Habitat restoration and revegetation studies
• Vegetation, soil, and microbial analyses and survey techniques
• Physical and hydraulic characterization of soils
• GIS analysis and remote sensing

Environmental Scientist

BS Environmental Science; Biogeochemistry
Duke University, 2024

BS Environmental Science with a Track in Biogeochemistry
Duke Kunshan University, 2024

Erica Ham is a recent graduate of Duke Kunshan University, a collaborative dual-degree program of Duke University, located in Jiangsu Province, China. Having studied environmental science with a focus on biogeochemistry, she is interested in how changes in biogeochemical cycles are reflected in ecosystem health. She studied the benthic macroinvertebrate community structure along the rapidly developing coast of China for her senior thesis, monitored changes in ecosystem and biogeochemical processes in the Chesapeake Bay watershed with the USGS, and is eager to learn about the effects of various anthropogenic activities on ecosystems. She is excited to build on her lab, field, and data analysis skills, providing well-rounded support for a variety of projects.

Principal Engineer

PhD, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Purdue University, 2003

MS, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Brigham Young University, 1999

BS, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Brigham Young University, 1999

Nathan Haws is a registered professional civil engineer with over 15 years of engineering experience focused on surface and near surface water management, particularly for the gold and copper mining industry. He has served as project technical lead of the analysis and design of surface mine reclamation; mine heap leach facilities; river stabilization; and surface water risk mitigation in diverse regulatory and climatic environments. Nathan has authored or co-authored several peer reviewed publications and conference papers related to water and solute transport, surface water erosion protection, and heap leach design.

• Surface water hydrology
• Vadose zone hydrology
• Open Channel hydraulics
• Mine drainage master planning
• Riverbank and levee stabilization
• Stormwater management
• Mine reclamation and closure
• Heap leach design

Senior Wildlife Ecologist

M.Sc., Biology, Ecology and Evolution
University of Western Ontario, 2008

B.S., Wildlife Biology, Honors
University of Montana, 2001

Quentin Hays has nearly 20 years of experience as a professional wildlife biologist, including extensive work within the private sector and academia as well as with government agencies and non-profit organizations. His research background and expertise centers on avian ecology and mammalogy, and he has spent much of the past decade focusing on the interaction of wildlife and utility-scale alternative energy facilities. In addition to managing large-scale energy projects, Quentin has managed complex electrical transmission development projects in the Southwest and has provided wildlife-centered consultative support on a number of mining projects. Quentin has also worked extensively with the USDA Forest Service developing survey and management strategies for sensitive wildlife species, conducting post-wildfire monitoring and forest restoration, and continues to work with American Indian tribes in the Southwest to support wildlife resource management.

• Avian Ecology
• Biology and Ecology of Bats
• Interaction of Wildlife and Energy Infrastructure
• Threatened, Endangered, and Sensitive Species Monitoring and Mitigation Planning
• Ecological Monitoring Design, Implementation and Trainin
• Fire Ecology, Post-fire Monitoring and Restoration
• Southwest Forest Restoration
• Grant Writing

Hydrogeologist

MS, Hydrology
University of Arizona, 2022

BS, Geology
Oberlin College, 2014

Quinn has 10 years of experience as a water scientist specializing in the simulation and analysis of hydrologic systems. He has led interdisciplinary multi-year monitoring campaigns of contaminated groundwater; built and installed sampling systems at the groundwater/surface-water interface in rivers and lakes; and created and managed database systems for tabular and geo-spatial hydrologic datasets. Prior to joining GSA, Quinn worked in government, NGO, and academic settings. Quinn's integrated field and computational experience helps add to GeoSystem's data analysis capabilities.

• Analysis and modeling of saturated and unsaturated flow
• Relational database management systems
• Machine learning and data analysis
• Field and lab testing of hydrogeochemical, physical and hydraulic properties