Sherry Fischer

Stream Services Program Supervisor

Phone: (573) 522-4115, Ext. 3169
Fax: (573) 526-0990
Email: Sherry.Fischer@mdc.mo.gov

Sherry Fischer is the Streams Services Program Supervisor.  She started with the Stream Team Program in1995 after working several years in the Conservation Department’s Fisheries Management Section.  Sherry’s love of streams began at an early age and she spent much of her childhood exploring area creeks in her hometown, Jefferson City.  She was most at home with her feet wet and usually had a frog, turtle, or crawdad in tow!  She also credits her father for instilling in her a deep appreciation for natural resources which the two still share as they hike together in the Colorado Rockies annually. 

Sherry has a B.S. in Fisheries and Wildlife Management from the University of Missouri-Columbia and she lives in Jefferson City with her husband and two children.

Mark Van Patten
Stream Team Biologist
St. Louis and Southeast Regions

Phone: (573) 522-4115, Ext. 3892
Fax: (573) 526-0990
Email: Mark.VanPatten@mdc.mo.gov

Mark is as a Fisheries Management Biologist for the Missouri Department of Conservation working as a Stream Team Biologist for the Southeast and St. Louis region in Missouri.  He coordinates the activities of Steam Team volunteers throughout his region empowering them to take an active stance in protecting and preserving the rivers and streams they love.  His connection to the volunteers goes beyond his professional life.  As a private citizen he founded the first Stream Team in Missouri in 1989. Mark earned his Bachelors in Biology from Lincoln University and a Masters in Education from William Woods University.  In his personal time he is a published author and hosts a national weekly PBS Television show on fly tying Called “The Tying Bench.”  Mark his wife Regina and their Jack Russell terrier, “Jake” live in Tebbetts Missouri and enjoy fly fishing, hiking, and bird watching together.  Fly Fishing is more than a personal hobby.  Mark and his wife enjoy instructing 7th and 8th graders in the gentle art of fly fishing at the school where she teaches.

Kat Lackman
Stream Team Biologist
Southwest and Ozark Regions

Phone: (573) 522-4115, Ext. 3157
Fax: (573) 526-0990
Email: Kat.Lackman@mdc.mo.gov

Growing up in the State Fair city of Sedalia, Kat's passion for the outdoors was instilled on her at an early age when she took on the role as "dad's hunting buddy" at age two. Ever since, her mom has always said "she has wanted to work for the Conservation Department since she was knee high to a grasshopper."

Kat started with the Stream Team Program in June 2008 as a Research Assistant under the Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring (VWQM) Coordinator.  Her primary responsibilities are assisting with the VWQM workshops and tending to the Missouri Stream Team web-site.

She received her Bachelors of Science in Wildlife Conservation and Management from Missouri State University and it was while working in the Ozarks for the Christian County Soil and Water Conservation District that she gained her interest into Missouri Streams.

Kat resides once again in Sedalia and when she’s not out playing in the water or plugging away at a computer, she’s usually watching something NASCAR with her husband Aaron, shooting a game of pool or playing with her menagerie of animals that include three dogs, a fish, snake, and lizard.

Naomi Gebo
Stream Team Biologist
Kansas City, Central, Northeast and Northwest Regions

Phone: (573) 522-4115, Ext. 3598
Fax: (573) 526-0990
Email: naomi.gebo@mdc.mo.gov

Naomi is the new Stream Team Biologist for the Kansas City, Central, Northeast and Northwest Regions.  In addition to coordinating activities and providing assistance to the Stream Teams in her regions, Naomi will also take over as coordinator of the Stream Team Academy and editor of the Stream Team newsletter, Channels.  Naomi has a background in wetland ecology, with experience ranging from research to restoration.  She has also worked on river research and advocacy projects in New York, British Columbia and Hawaii.  Since moving to Missouri in 2009, Naomi has worked with the University of Missouri as a research technician on Hinkson Creek and a permit writer in the Water Protection Program of the Department of Natural Resources.  She is excited to begin her new career with the Department of Conservation, helping citizens gain access to the tools and knowledge necessary to make them powerful and effective defenders of their water resources.

Naomi grew up in the beautiful Hudson Valley of New York State, spending much of her time exploring the diverse creeks, lakes and mountains the glaciers left behind.  She went on to earn a B.S. in Natural Resources from Cornell University and an M.S. in Ecology from Penn State University.  No matter where she is, one thing is for certain – wet feet and muddy hands always put a smile on her face.

Chris Riggert
Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Coordinator

Phone: (573) 522-4115, Ext. 3167
Fax: (573) 526-0990
Email: Chris.Riggert@mdc.mo.gov

Chris knew he was destined to work in the outdoors when as a youngster he out-fished his dad on his first fishing trip (three keeper crappie for the boy and none for the dad).  Growing up in the small town of Lexington, Missouri he logged many miles peddling to and from several local farm ponds with his fishing rod and tackle box strapped to his bicycle. 

When it was time to choose a school, it was an easy decision to head east to Columbia.  In addition to studying Fish and Wildlife Management at ‘Ol Mizzou, Chris began working for MDC as an hourly employee at Research (now Resource Science) in 1994.  It was while working on the “crayfish crew” in the Ozarks he found his new love…Missouri’s streams. 

Chris currently lives in Boonville, has worked with the Stream Team Program since 1999 and is the Stream Team VWQM Coordinator in Jefferson City.  He works primarily with Missouri Stream Teams, educating citizens about how streams function. 

His hobbies still include fishing, watching waterfowl being lured in by plastic decoys, and attempting to harvest his first turkey (the mythical animal that stands in fields mocking him).

Amy Meier
Stream Team Biologist
Kansas City, Central, Northeast and Northwest Regions
State Wide Water Quality Monitoring

Phone: (573) 522-4115, Ext. 3166
Fax: (573) 526-0990
Email: Amy.Meier@mdc.mo.gov

Amy began with the Stream Team Program in January of 2008, and is responsible for providing litter bags to canoe outfitters in Missouri for the Stash Your Trash program, as well as assisting with Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring workshops and ordering replacement water testing equipment for volunteers.  Graduating from Kansas State University in 2001 with a degree in Wildlife and Fisheries and a minor in Entomology, she has worked for the Missouri Dept. of conservation since 2004 as an aquatic invertebrate taxonomist. When she is not kicking up critters in Missouri streams for water quality assessment, she is spending her free time at the roller rink, refereeing for the CoMo Derby Dames of Columbia.

Tyler Bax
Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Resource Assistant

Phone: (573) 522-4115, Ext. 3593
Fax: (573) 526-0990
Email: Tyler.Bax@mdc.mo.gov

Growing up in Central Missouri, Jefferson City has always been home for Tyler. He started hunting and fishing with his Father at a very young age and always knew that he wanted to work in the outdoors.
Tyler started with the Stream Team Program in August 2011 assisting with Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring (VWQM) Program. Tyler has a B.S. in Wildlife Conservation and Management from Missouri State University (formerly SMSU) and knew that he wanted to work with the Missouri Department of Conservation after a Summer Internship with the Department in 2010.
If you don’t see Tyler in a river, stream, or creek near you he is most-likely sitting in his deer stand or turkey blind where he enjoys the rest of Missouri’s bountiful treasures.

Missouri Department of Natural Resources

Mail:
Missouri Dept. of Natural Resources
Water Protection Program
PO Box 176
Jefferson City, MO 65102

URL: http://www.dnr.mo.gov
Email: StreamTeam@dnr.mo.gov

Susan Higgins

Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Coordinator

Phone: (573) 526-1002
Fax: (573) 522-9920
Email: Susan.Higgins@dnr.mo.gov

Suzy started working for DNR in the Water Quality Monitoring Program in January of 2008. Prior to that, she worked 7 years serving people with disabilities. She has a B.S. in Animal Science and an M.S. in Veterinary Science from the University of Arkansas. Growing up in Northwest Arkansas, Suzy developed a great love of the outdoors and a deep appreciation for Ozark streams where she spent hours playing as a kid.

Suzy met and married her husband Todd, an Army officer, and spent the next 25 years as a military wife. Along the way, they had two sons and she eventually added the titles “Hockey Mom” and “Eagle Scout Mom” to her resume.

Now it seems that life has come full circle. Both boys are attending college in Rolla and Suzy is out playing in the streams again. For fun, she loves to spend her free time at the lake riding her Jet Ski or just reading good books. She lives in Jefferson City with Todd and their new kid, “Murphy the Wonder Dog.”

Anna Nowack

Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Coordinator

Phone: (573) 526-3406
Fax: (573) 522-9920
Email:Anna.Nowack@dnr.mo.gov

Anna Nowack is the newest addition to the Stream Team program and is always excited about receiving data.  She started her career with DNR in 2008 working on Water Quality Standards policy under the Clean Water Act.  Learning the importance of policy but that they work better when citizens are involved and there is data to support them she quickly stated her desire to work with the Stream Team program.   Then in her free time she joined “the good fight” as a Master Naturalist and nature center volunteer where she focused on stream team activities.
                                                                                                              
As a young’n Anna played in the streams in Bourbeuse Valley and went on long walks with her grandmother.  This led her to discover two of her life loves, water and hiking.  But, Anna first knew she wanted a career in protecting water quality after attending a presentation on the dead zone in the Gulf.  She started her pursuit in 2004 as an intern at Meramec State Park and graduated from Northland College with a BS in Environmental Science in 2006.  From there she headed west to play in the water while working for the Forest Service.  The mountains were beautiful but, Anna knew she belonged back in the Ozarks.

Now immersed in the water quality community for her career Anna’s free time once again includes rebuilding her 1988 Mustang, drag racing and traveling to visit family and friends.