Meet Aerin Doughty, Rachel Pence, and Kim Romero
Kansas Keeton is a Water Quality Data Analyst with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality's Blue Ridge Regional Office in Salem, VA. With a background in hydrology and water quality monitoring, she helps turn complex environmental data into insights that protect rivers, streams, and the communities that depend on them.
Rachel Pence is Water Monitoring Specialist with DEQ's Blue Ridge Regional Office. She also is manager of a local volunteer citizen science monitoring program. Rachel is a Roanoke Valley native and has lived in Virginia all her life. She has a huge passion for aquatic insects and loves teaching people about them!
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Kim Romero is a Nonpoint Source Coordinator for DEQ's Blue Ridge Regional Office. She specializes in coordinating the development of Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) implementation plans. She manages grants to implement completed TMDL standards, tracking requirements, and reporting requirements. Kim also works to promote awareness of, and involvement in, watershed stewardship by fostering partnerships among community organizations, federal, state, and local agencies, and governments to facilitate watershed management planning. In her free time, Kim enjoys going on hikes around Roanoke with her husband and two sons.​
Planning for Clean Water
This workshop will allow students to learn about and practice watershed planning. From identifying sources of pollution to brainstorming ideas for how to improve waterways, students will explore the resource management practices that help improve waterways across Virginia.