Meet our team.
We maintain a permanent staff of 6 scientists, employ an on-call, year-round seasonal field staff of up to 25 technicians and surveyors, and have several administrative support staff, including accounting and legal services. Our streamlined processes, experience and strong network of collaborators also allow us to rapidly recruit and onboard new professional talent whenever required to fill developing project needs.
MIKE WARD
President/ Senior Fisheries Ecologist
B.S. Fisheries, M.S. Fisheries Ecology
Mike is responsible for company administration and over the course of almost 30 years as a consultant has coordinated millions of dollars of fisheries ecology related work. Mike has a successful track record of project implementation, coordination and facilitation, and is able to work effectively with a wide variety of people and disciplines. He thinks outside the box when needed, or within a client’s constraints, to find answers in the areas of adaptive management, hydroelectric project impacts on fisheries, watershed assessments and fisheries restoration.
KEITH VAN DEN BROEK
Vice President / Senior Fisheries Ecologist
B.S. Marine Biology, M.S. (abd) Fisheries Ecology
Keith has a diverse range of experience working as a project manager on a broad range of fisheries, environmental and natural resource programs in freshwater, marine/estuarine and terrestrial environments of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, Australia and the Middle East. He has specialized in the population ecology of Pacific salmonids since 2004. He is highly skilled in remote project management, fisheries policy analysis, physical and biological sampling methodologies, project development, study design, technical writing and editing. His passion lies in the integration of traditional and emerging technologies for the advancement of science to solve highly complex natural resource management challenges.
DR. SHUBHA PANDIT
Quantitative Research Biologist
B.S. Biology, M.S. Zoology, M.S. Geo-Information Science, Ph.D. Biology, majoring in Ecology and Bio-statistics.
Shubha is a quantitative biologist who possesses a broad set of technical skills in biostatistics, GIS, programming languages, and developing statistically sound study designs. His experience ranges from environmental monitoring at hydroelectric projects to assessing biodiversity dynamics to detect the impact of climate change on diversity. He has worked in both the industrial sector and as a post-doctoral researcher. An expert in population and community dynamics, life cycle modeling and analyzing large, noisy, and complicated datasets, Shubha’s work has been widely published and he has been a recipient of various prestigious fellowship awards.
STEVE FORTNEY
Fluvial Geomorphologist
B.S. Geology, M.S. Watershed Science
Steve has worked in a diverse range of aquatic environments from the Pacific Northwest to the American Southwest. He has experience producing, analyzing and managing large geospatial databases. His areas of technical expertise include GIS analysis (including aerial photographs, remotely sensed data, stream network data and topographic survey data), sediment transport analysis, dendrogeomorphic analysis, geologic mapping, and hydraulic and hydrologic modeling, and soil analysis. Steve is an experienced project manager and ensures that a project succeeds from the design phase through to the publication of results. He is also experienced in monitoring fish populations, which gives him the knowledge to work on projects that bridge geomorphology and aquatic ecology.
RUEBEN MILLER
GIS Analyst
B.A. Geography & GIS
Rueben has in-depth knowledge and cutting-edge skills in the collection, processing and analysis of habitat data, especially in GIS, and is able to troubleshoot any problems that arise with processing geospatial data. Using ArcGIS, Rueben creates stylistic and informative maps, and can query and process geospatial data to solve complex problems. He is an experienced and respected crew lead who understands the connection between the quality of the data that is collected in the field and the subsequent credibility and certainty of the data analysis results. He ensures that high quality data are collected and rigorous QAQC procedures are followed.
ADAM PFLEEGER
Quantitative Ecologist
M.S. Fisheries Science, B.S. Environmental Science
Adam has diverse experience in the applied science field, from water chemistry analytics to remote field sampling, coupled with a strong discipline in quantitative ecology. He has developed monitoring protocols and lead field crews on projects ranging from post fire effects in forests through the PNW, forestry stand exams, carbon sequestration in mangrove swamps in Micronesia, mercury bioaccumulation in remote alpine lakes in Olympic National Park, to barrier assessments and fish capture on the east side of the Cascade range. With his unique experience, Adam knows how to develop and implement projects with efficiency as well as the ability to manage large datasets, run complex statistics, produce publication quality graphics, and summarize complex results into meaningful reports.
FIELD STAFF
Terraqua is proud to retain many of its seasonal staff from year to year, resulting in highly efficient and experienced teams. Our crew leaders are experts in a wide range of ecological disciplines, including standard and non-standard habitat and fish sampling protocols, and our high rate of returning field technicians means Terraqua is ready to hit the ground running each field season with very little ramp up time needed for training new crew members. Our crews are well integrated and have an incredible work ethic, putting in long hours when needed to get a job completed.
