Jeff serves as the National Lead and Program Manager for the US Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) Engineering With Nature® (EWN®) Program. He became the National Lead for EWN in March 2023. From the beginning of his tenure with the USACE’s Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) in 2016, Jeff has focused his efforts on building the EWN Program. He became the EWN Program Manager in 2021 when it was formally designated as a program within the Corps.

In addition to leading and managing a broad array of EWN activities and collaborative efforts, Jeff is also advancing R&D projects within the EWN portfolio. Current projects and research interest include “Developing and Optimizing Multi-Dimensional NNBF and EWN Strategies that Endure Cold Regions Environments.” https://ewn.erdc.dren.mil/research/project/developing-and-optimizing-multi-dimensional-nnbf-and-ewn-strategies-that-endure-cold-region-environments/

From 2011-2016, Jeff served as the Acting Director and Deputy Director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Hollings Marine Laboratory in Charleston, South Carolina.

From 2004-2011, he was affiliated with USACE – Savannah District, Regulatory Division as a Project Manager; Chief of the Permitting Section, Coastal Branch; Chief of the Special Projects Section, Piedmont Branch; and Acting Chief of the Coastal Branch. While in Savannah District, he also served in Planning Division and assisted with assimilation and writing the draft EIS for the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project (SHEP).

Jeff has also served as a research scientist with Westinghouse at the Savannah River National Laboratory and as a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow with the University of Georgia’s Savannah River Ecology Laboratory. He received a BS degree from Florida State University in biochemistry, a MS degree from Johns Hopkins University in clinical/environmental toxicology, and a PhD degree in environmental engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Jeff is also a registered Professional Engineer in Georgia and South Carolina.