Since 1965, when it was created, the Water Resources Management Program has prepared more than 500 graduates for professional work in water resources planning and management. Many WRM graduates are employed in the public sector with federal agencies, state resource and water agencies, urban and regional planning departments, counties, cities, universities, interstate water authorities, international agencies, and foreign governments.
Other WRM graduates are employed in the private sector, primarily with government clients at the local, regional and state levels, and a small number of WRM graduates have gone on to careers in law. In addition, a small percentage of WRM graduates have pursued careers with nonprofit organizations. Although WRM is a professional master’s program, some graduates have gone on to complete doctorates in other programs and now hold faculty positions.
Positions Held by Our Graduates
34.8%
Government
29.9%
Private
5.2%
Faculty
4.9%
Faculty
4.7%
Nonprofit or NGO
2%
Continuing education
18.5%
Other
Types of Positions
The tables below show a sampling of the types of positions that WRM graduates have held. The information includes entry- through senior-level positions. The complete alumni directory is available in the Nelson Institute Academic Programs Office.
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Faculty Positions (5.2%)
| Position | Employer (City, State) |
|---|---|
| Adjunct (part-time) Professor | Cardinal Stritch University (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) |
| Assistant Professor Institute for Environmental Studies | Univ. of Illinois-Urbana (Urbana, Illinois) |
| Professor | University of South Florida (Tampa, Florida) |
| Professor | Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (Santa Catarina, Brazil) |
| Professor | University of Colorado (Denver, Colorado) |
| Professor | Geography Department, Darthmouth College (Hanover, New Hampshire) |
| Professor in Wetland Research | North Carolina State University, Department of Soil Sciences (Raleigh, North Carolina) |
| Professor of Environment/Glacial Geology | UW-Oshkosh (Oshkosh, Wisconsin) |
Government Positions (34.8%)
| Position | Employer (City, State) |
|---|---|
| Assistant Professor | University of New Orleans (New Orleans, Louisiana) |
| Program and Planning Analyst | WI DATCP (Madison, Wisconsin) |
| Program Analysis Officer | EPA, Region 5 (Chicago, Illinois) |
| Project Manager, Hay River Priority Watershed | Dunn County (Menomonie, Wisconsin) |
| Project Administrator | Metropolitan Sewerage District (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) |
| Project Manager | U.S. Bureau of Reclaimation (Boise, Idaho) |
| Project Manager | US Army Corps of Engineers (St. Paul, Minnesota) |
| Project Officer | Embassy of Switzerland (Bangkok, Thailand) |
| Public Utility Rate Analyst | Public Service Comm. of WI (Madison, Wisconsin) |
| Public Works Planner, Planning Section | Arlington County Department of Public Works (Bethesda, Maryland) |
| Rail Coordinator | Department of Transportation (Madison, Wisconsin) |
| Regional Groundwater Specialist | DNR-Division of Waters (Rochester, Minnesota) |
| Regulatory Branch, Project Manager | Army Corps of Engineers (Portland, Oregon) |
| Regulatory Specialist – Senior | WDHFS (Madison, Wisconsin) |
| Resource Consultant | Jefferson County Land & Water Conservation Department (Jefferson, Wisconsin) |
| Section Leader, Environmental Compliance | Los Alamos National Laboratory (Lakewood, Colorado) |
| Senior Planner | State of Maine, Planning Office (North Leeds, Maine) |
| Senior Project Manager | Great Lakes Commission (Ann Arbor, Michigan) |
| Senior Project Manager | Canada Center for Mineral and Energy Tech. (Ottawa, Canada) |
| Senior Water Resource Planner | Department of Natural Resources (Madison, Wisconsin) |
| Senior Wetland Specialist | Missouri Department of Transportation (Jefferson City, Missouri) |
| Shoreline and CZM Planner | Washington Department of Ecology-Shoreline and Coastal Management (Bellevue, Washington) |
| Soil Conservationist | USDA, Soil Conservation Service (Eureka, California) |
| Solid Waste Engineer | Dane County Public Works (Madison, Wisconsin) |
| Sr Water Resources Coordinator | Oregon Water Resources Department (Salem, Oregon) |
| State Rep. Dist #43 | Iowa General Assembly (Mt. Vernon, Iowa) |
| Supervisory Ecologist | US Army Corps of Engineers (St Paul, Minnesota) |
| Supervisory Hydrologist | U.S. Geological Survey (Madison, Wisconsin) |
| Supervisory Hydrologist | U.S. Geological Survey (Mounds View, Minnesota) |
| Supervisory Soil Scientist | Soil Conservation Service, USDA (Keshena, Wisconsin) |
| Technical Manager for Habitat Projects | U.S. Army Corps of Eningeers (Rock Island, Illinois) |
| Water Quality Biologist | Department of Natural Resources (Eau Claire, Wisconsin) |
| Water Quality Division Administration | Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (Portland, Oregon) |
| Water Quality Planner | Department of Natural Resources (Madison, Wisconsin) |
| Water Quality Specialist | Colorado Department of Transportation (Denver, Colorado) |
| Water Quality Specialist | Lake County Environmental Health Department (Waukegan, Illinois) |
| Water Resource Specialist | City of Madison (Madison, Wisconsin) |
| Water Resources Planner | U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (Boston, Massachusetts) |
| Water Resources Specialist | Lac du Flambeau Tribe, Natural Resources Department (Lac du Flambeau, Wisconsin) |
| Water Resources Specialist | Department of Natural Resources, Bureau of Water Resources Management (Madison, Wisconsin) |
| Water Supply Specialist-Water Resources | Department of Natural Resources (Madison, Wisconsin) |
| Watershed Planner | Lake County Stormwater Management Commission (Libertyville, Illinois) |
| Wetland Monitoring Coordinator | Department of Natural Resources (Madison, Wisconsin) |
| Wetlands Ecologist, Water Regulation | Department of Natural Resources (Madison, Wisconsin) |
| Wildlife Biologist | Utah State Division of Wildlife Resources (Salt Lake City, Utah) |
| Wildlife Technician | Department of Natural Resources (Middle River, Minnesota) |
Non-Profit/NGO (4.7%)
| Position | Employer (City, State) |
|---|---|
| Senior Director for Watershed Programs | American Rivers-Washington DC (Washington, DC) |
| Senior Engineer | Atlanta Regional Commission (Atlanta, Georgia) |
| Senior Environmental Engineer | Water Quality Service (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) |
| Technical Director | Water Quality Assoc. (Lisle, Illinois) |
| Vice President, Organizational Development | The Wildnerness Society (Washington, DC) |
| Water Quality Monitoring Coordinator | Lower Columbia River Estuary Partnership (Portland, Oregon) |
| Watershed Coordinator | North Santiam Watershed (Stayton, Oregon) |
Private (29.9%)
| Position | Employer (City, State) |
|---|---|
| Purchasing Manager | Valspar Corporation (Minneapolis, Minnesota) |
| Regional Sales Manager | Sentry Equipment Corp. (Oconomowoc, Wisconsin) |
| Self-Employed | Environmental Engineering Consultant (Memphis, Tennessee) |
| Senior Consultant | GeoInsight, Inc (Cheshire, Connecticut) |
| Senior Consultant | Jordan, Jones & Goulding, Inc. (Autlan, Mexico) |
| Senior Environmental Scientist | Natural Resources Consulting Inc (Middleton, Wisconsin) |
| Senior Hydrogeologist | Miller Engineering & Testing, Inc. (Manchester, New Hampshire) |
| Senior Hydrogeologist | Warzyn Inc. (Madison, Wisconsin) |
| Senior Hydrogeologist/Associate | Dames and Moore (Santa Barbara, California) |
| Senior Planner | Lehman & Getz Engineering, P.C. (Warwick, New York) |
| Senior Program Manager | Environmental Chemical Corporation (Seattle, Washington) |
| Senior Program Officer | The World Bank (Washington, DC) |
| Senior Project Manager | Mead and Hunt, Inc. (Madison, Wisconsin) |
| Senior Project Manager | Woodlot Alternatives (Topsham, Maine) |
| Senior Project Scientist | SCS Engineers (Cincinnati, Ohio) |
| Senior Project Scientist | URS Corporation (Santa Ana, California) |
| Senior Scientist | Science Application International Corp. (McLean, Virginia) |
| Senior Water Res. Engr. | Harza Engineering Co. (Denver, Colorado) |
| Senior Consultant-Hydrogeologist | Tech Law, Inc. (Minneapolis, Minnesota) |
| Software QA Engineer | Philips Medical Systems (Madison, Wisconsin) |
| Senior Project Engineer/Associate | Yaggy Colby Associates (Rochester, Minnesota) |
| Senior Vice President | Levine Fricke, Inc. (Emeryville, California) |
| Senior Environmental Scientist | Lu Engineers (Penfield, New York) |
| Senior Geological Advisor | Occidental Int. (Bakersfield, California) |
| Senior Water Resources Scientist | URS (Denver, Colorado) |
| Staff Hydrologist | Geomatrix Consultants (Denver, Colorado) |
| Technical Director | General Mills (Minneapolis, Minnesota) |
| Vice President, Manager of Wisconsin Operations | Woodward-Clyde Consultants (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) |
| Vice Presidence/Principal Hydrogeologist | Gaynor Associates (Cortland, New York) |
| Vice President | Camp Dresser & McKee, Inc. (Cambridge, Massachusetts) |
| Vice President | Dunn Corporation (Charlotte, North Carolina) |
| Vice President | Nathan D. Maier Consulting Engineers (Dallas, Texas) |
| Vice President | PES Environmental, Inc. (Novata, California) |
| Vice President of Ecological Design | North American Wetland Engineering (White Bear Lake, Minnesota) |
| Vice President, Aquatic Ecologist | Chadwick Ecological Consultants, Inc (Littleton, Colorado) |
| Vice President, Northern Region | RMT Inc. (Madison, Wisconsin) |
| Vice President-Principal Hydrogeologist | Hydrologic Consultants, Inc. (Lakewood, Colorado) |
| Vice President/Principal Consultant | Delta Environmental Consultants (St. Paul, Minnesota) |
| Water Resource Engineer | Barr Engineering (Edina, Minnesota) |
| Water Resource Specialist | Ecology and Environment, Inc. (San Francisco, California) |
| Water Resources Department Head | RUST Environment and Infrastructure (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) |
| Water Supply Engineer | Foth & Van Dyke (Green Bay, Wisconsin) |
University Staff (4.9%)
| Position | Employer (City, State) |
|---|---|
| Environ Teaching Associate | Middlebury College (Middlebury, Vermont) |
| Natural Resources Management Program | Simon Fraser University (Burnaby, Canada) |
| Nursing Assistant | UW Hospital and Clinics (Madison, Wisconsin) |
| Program Coordinator | Au Sable Institute of the Environment (Coupeville, Washington) |
| Research Geologist | Indiana Geologic Survey (Bloomington, Indiana) |
| Research Program Manager | UW-Madison Preventive Medicine/State Division of Health (Madison, Wisconsin) |
| Research Specialist | Department of Biological Systems Engineering, UW-Madison (Madison, Wisconsin) |
| Water Resource Specialist | University of Vermont-Extension (Berlin, Vermont) |