Staff

Phone: (775) 887-7456

Ed James has a B.S. in soil and water science from University of California Davis, an M.S. in civil engineering from University of Colorado Boulder, and an M.B.A. from the University of Phoenix.

Ed started his professional career working for the Denver Water Department negotiating and purchasing water rights. He then worked for the Chino Basin Municipal Water District in Southern California managing the Chino Groundwater Basin and was responsible for imported water deliveries from Metropolitan Water District. In 1994, Ed became general manager for the Jurupa Community Service District in Southern California. Ed has been general manager for the Carson Water Subconservancy District since August 1998. Ed is married to his high-school sweetheart, Christie, and has three grown kids. In his free time, he enjoys rafting, golfing, softball, table tennis, and snowboarding.

Phone: (775) 887-9005

Brenda Hunt began working with the CWSD in 2011. Brenda has more than 25 years of environmental employment experience with nonprofits and local and regional governmental organizations in the U.S. and Australia. Past employment experience includes working as the land steward with The Nature Conservancy in upstate New York; as an open space and conservation planner with the City of Hume near Melbourne, Australia; and as an environmental planner with the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency. Brenda lives in Carson City with her husband and son. She earned her B.S. in natural resources from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a M.A. in environmental science from Monash University located near Melbourne, Australia. Brenda is a native Minnesotan and enjoys a good book, hiking, biking, playing ultimate frisbee, skiing, camping and traveling with her friends and family.

Catrina Schambra joined CWSD in January 2019.

After a career with the American Federation of Teachers in Southern California, she was looking for a new adventure. She sure found it with us! New to river rafting, her first month she floated the Carson River five times, and two of those were through Trainwreck, a Class III rapid!

She moved to the area to be closer to her family and has settled into her new home, right in the heart of the watershed. Catrina is totally taken with the charm and adventure of living here. She is excited to be part of our team and we’re lucky to have her! You can reach her at catrina@cwsd.org.

Phone: (775) 887-1260

Deborah Neddenriep adores nature and the Carson River Watershed. She was inspired to attend college after her children grew up and she learned about the various aspects of water resources at Carson Water Subconservancy District (CWSD). She quickly realized working in water and with water people is a delight. Deborah earned her B.S.B.A. degree in business marketing management in 2016. Prior to her work at CWSD, Deborah enjoyed a rewarding career as a stay-at-home wife and mom, women’s ministry leader, homeschooler, and community volunteer. Deborah transferred her knowledge, abilities, and unique perspective to her career as a water resource specialist and certified floodplain manager. Deborah’s floodplain management work focuses on management of FEMA Cooperating Technical Partner grants from cradle to grave. As a native Nevadan, she is passionate about building resilience in her community and state. Deborah revels in the outdoors and relishes opportunities to ride her mountain bike, hike all over her watershed, swim in area lakes and rivers, or explore the Nevada wilderness with her husband, Chris, and yellow Labrador Golden Poppy. Her children are so old they are now her siblings, and she is training her three granddaughters as future water resource professionals.

Phone: (775) 887-7450

Phone: (775) 887-7450

Originally hailing from the San Francisco Bay Area, Kelly graduated with a B.A. in Communications from the University of Washington and has lived and worked throughout the U.S., including stints in Austin, Tex.; Hagatña, Guam; New Orleans; and Flagstaff, Ariz. Kelly moved to Carson City in 2019 and became the administrative assistant for the nonprofit Muscle Powered, which advocates safe walking and biking in Carson City. While there she not only gained awareness of local transportation and recreation issues but also learned trail-building skills and honed her Leave No Trace practices.

When Kelly hiked the Pacific Crest Trail in 2022, the need to protect and support rivers and lakes became shockingly apparent to her, and she wanted to get involved. After serving back-to-back AmeriCorps service terms with CWSD she became its newest staff member in November 2024.

Kelly holds a Wilderness First Responder certification, is completing her Master Gardener internship, and recently became a member of Carson City’s Community Emergency Response Team. She enjoys gardening, reading, making a mess in her kitchen, and Type-2 fun in the mountains and on the trails with her partner, Bret.