In keeping with its dual focus on science and policy, the River Basin Center is co-directed by a Director for Policy and Director for Science, and backed by an Associate Director.
Director for Science
Seth Wenger, Associate Professor, Odum School of Ecology
Originally from Pennsylvania, Seth earned his PhD in 2006 from the University of Georgia. Seth’s current research areas include population viability analysis, conservation planning, and environmental flows, among others. Most of his work is highly applied and is intended to find practical solutions to conservation problems.
Contact Seth: swenger@uga.edu
Director for Policy
Sechindra Vallury, Assistant Professor, Odum School of Ecology
Sechindra Vallury earned his Ph.D. in 2019 from the Arizona State University. A key component of his work focuses on understanding how institutions (rules, norms, and strategies) may shape stakeholder decisions to adopt water conservation practices in agricultural communities. Additionally, his work examines the determinants of rangeland owners’ adaptation to undesirable ecosystem transitions in the American West. Trained as an interdisciplinary social scientist, his work draws on economic theory as well as studies of environmental management and social-ecological resilience. His work integrates these theories with diverse quantitative methods to provide “solutions” that may improve the equity outcomes of climate adaptation policies.
Contact Sechindra: sechindra.vallury@uga.edu
Associate Director
Krista Capps, Assistant Professor, Odum School of Ecology
Krista is an aquatic community and ecosystem ecologist. She earned a BS in biology and political science from Hope College, a MS in environmental science from the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University, and a PhD from the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Cornell University. Krista holds a joint position through the Odum School of Ecology and the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory at the University of Georgia. She works in both temperate and tropical freshwater systems, and much of her research is focused on urban watersheds and considers the ecological implications of aging and obsolete wastewater treatment infrastructure. As the Associate Director, she will support both the science and policy aims of the RBC. She will support existing and develop new educational and outreach programming, create new resources and opportunities for RBC affiliates, and help sustain existing and initiate new relationships with community and industry partners of the RBC.
Contact Krista: kcapps@uga.edu
