Who We Are

Tony Willardson was named as Executive Director of the Western States Water Council in July 2009. The Council, representing 18 states, was created by western governors in June 1965, and members are appointed by their governors. Formerly the Deputy Director, Tony joined the Council in 1979. He holds a B.A. in political science from Brigham Young University and an M.S. in public administration from the University of Utah. He is a member of the National Honor Society for Public Affairs and Administration (Pi Alpha Alpha). He oversees publication of a weekly newsletter, Western States Water, which he edited for many years. He is the author of numerous articles and reports covering a wide range of water resource issues, including drought, water project financing and cost sharing, groundwater management and recharge, water conservation, water use fees, remote sensing of water use, and inter-regional water transfers. He is one of the principal authors of the Western Governors’ Association’s (WGA’s) 2006 report, Water Needs and Strategies for a Sustainable Future, and the subsequent 2008 Next Steps Report, as well as the related Western States Water Council 2010 Progress Report. He also was a contributing editor to the WGA’s December 2012 report, Water Transfers in the West: Projects, Trends, and Leading Practices in Voluntary Water Trading. He oversees development of the Council’s Water Data Exchange.

Dr. Roger S. Pulwarty is the Senior Scientist in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Physical Sciences Laboratory at the NOAA Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado. He was previously the Senior Advisor for Climate Research in NOAA’s Climate Program Office. His research and publications focus on climate, impacts assessment, and adaptation in the U.S., Latin America, and the Caribbean. Roger is a lead author on a number of national and international climate assessments, including the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction Global Assessment of Disasters and the UN International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Reports on Water Resources and on Extremes. He is a convening lead author on Adaptation Planning and Implementation in the 2014 IPCC Fifth Assessment Report. Dr. Pulwarty has acted in advisory capacities on climate, natural resources, and disaster risk reduction to several national and international agencies, including the Organization of American States, the Caribbean Economic Community (CARICOM), the Global Framework on Climate Services, the UN Development Programme, UN Environment Programme, and the InterAmerican Development and World Banks. He co-chairs the UN World Meteorological Organization Climate Services Information System implementation team and the White House Committee on Environment, Natural Resources, and Sustainability Task Force on the Water-Energy-Food nexus. Roger has provided testimonies before the U.S. Congress on climate, adaptation, and natural resources, served on science advisory committees of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and is regularly called on by media outlets, including the New York Times and the BBC. He is the co-recipient of NOAA Administrator and U.S. Department of Commerce awards for linking science and decision making, and is the recipient of the 2014 Gold Medal in Applied Sciences and Technology from the Government of Trinidad and Tobago. Roger is Professor-Adjunct at the University of West Indies and the University of Colorado, Boulder.

In her role as the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Deputy Chief Economist, Dr. Nickerson advises the Chief Economist, the Secretary, and top policy officials regarding the economic implications of programs, regulations, and legislative proposals affecting the U.S. food system and rural areas. Dr. Nickerson’s career at USDA has spanned 20 years. Prior to joining the Office of the Chief Economist, she was the Director of the Market and Trade Economics Division at USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) and earlier served on the management team of the ERS's Resource and Rural Economics Division. In these leadership roles she oversaw and influenced research on a broad range of topics related to the agricultural economy, global markets and trade, rural economy, socially disadvantaged farmers, conservation, and resources and the environment. She served on the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers in 2013–2015, where she provided economic advice on administration initiatives and regulatory actions relating to agriculture, climate change, economic development, transportation, rural child poverty, and evidence-based policymaking. She also served as CEA liaison to the White House Rural Council. Dr. Nickerson received her Ph.D. in Agricultural and Resource Economics from the University of Maryland, an M.S. in Environmental Studies from California State University, and a B.S. in Accounting from Towson University.