Jessica Norris, PhD, Senior Ecologist, Biohabitats
Jessica's home river is likely a stream by others' standards - the Rose River as it leaves Shenandoah National Park. She started field work in biology studying birds and working in Latin America, then came home to a conservation and advocacy position with American Bird Conservancy. She transitioned to the restoration firm Biohabitats in 2012 because of her family's move away from DC. At Bio, she focuses on conservation planning and community engagement and has recently been working more often on code and policies for natural resources, particularly rivers such as the Wakarusa in Kansas, the Delaware, and the Illinois River in NW Arkansas. She is a returned Peace Corps volunteer and has a BS from Humboldt State and a PhD in Ecology from Duke University.

Shanyn Viars, Director, Clean Water Program, Great Lakes, American Rivers
Shanyn is an economist working at the intersection of environmental restoration and resilient development, helping communities invest in and deploy solutions that support healthy watershed management. Based in Grand Rapids (MI), Shanyn collaborates with municipal leaders and community organizations to restore urban rivers and unlock the economic benefits of sustainable, nature-based infrastructure. Shanyn holds both an M.S. and B.S. in Economics from the Belk College of Business at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte. Shanyn serves the region’s rivers as a Great Lakes Senior Environmental Leadership Fellow, Great Lakes Commission Stormwater Committee Leadership team and previous adjunct professor in Economics at Siedman College of Business at Grand Valley State University.