Speaker Bios

NACD's mission is to serve conservation districts by providing national leadership and a unified voice for natural resource conservation.

NACD 2008 Annual Meeting • February 10 - 13, 2008 • Reno, NV

C. Stephen Allred
Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management
U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C.

C. Stephen Allred was confirmed by the United States Senate as the Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management on September 30, 2006. Steve retired as the Director of the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality on June 30, 2004, after a career which included over 40 years of public and corporate experience. He was appointed to this position by Governor Dirk Kempthorne in July 2000, having served as administrator of the Division of Environmental Quality from January 1999 until it became a state department.

An Idaho native, Mr. Allred earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Agriculture Engineering and Master of Science Degree in Water Resource Engineering from the University of Idaho.

Mr. Arlen Lancaster, Chief
Natural Resources Conservation Service
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.

Appointed as NRCS chief executive officer August 23, 2006, Arlen Lancaster heads the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the primary agency for voluntary conservation on working agricultural lands. Mr. Lancaster guides the agency in helping people help the land through locally-led, cooperative conservation programs. Under his direction, NRCS works with private landowners and partners to conserve, maintain and improve natural resources, which supports sustainable agriculture and enhances the environment.

Lancaster is a graduate of the University of Utah. He is an avid fly fisherman and outdoorsman.

Ms. Teresa Lasseter
Farm Service Agency Administrator
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington D.C.

Teresa Lasseter is the administrator of USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA). As administrator, she is responsible for overseeing the administration of farm commodity and conservation programs, farm loan programs, and certain disaster and federal crop insurance programs. Lasseter joined FSA in 1977 as a chief program assistant. She rose through the ranks, holding several management positions, and has received recognition and numerous awards for her exemplary work.

An honor graduate from the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, Lasseter holds a degree in Business Administration. She and her husband, Willard, and their two children live in Arlington, Virginia.

Mr. John McLain, Principal and Co-Founder
Resource Concepts, Inc. (RCI)
Carson City, Nevada

John McLain is Co-founder and Principal at Resource Concepts, Inc. (RCI), a multidisciplinary resource based Engineering, Environmental, Resource Management, consulting firm with offices located in Carson City, and Zephyr Cove Nevada. Mr. McLain served ten years with the USDA Soil Conservation Service in Montana and Nevada prior to entering the consulting field. He has over thirty years of professional experience in the management of natural resources, including soil surveys, reclamation/revegetation, environmental studies, and rangeland assessments.

He attended Northern Montana College and Montana State University, where he received a B.S. Degree in Range Management.

Mr. James Settelmeyer, Nevada State Assemblyman
39th District
Douglas County, Nevada

James Settelmeyer is currently a Nevada State Assemblyman, representing the 39th District. A third-generation rancher in Douglas County, Nev., Mr. Settelmeyer also serves as chairman of the Carson Valley Conservation District, vice-chairman of his FSA County Committee, and chairman of the Nevada Conservation Commission.

Mr. Settelmeyer holds a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Education from California Polytechnic State University.

Ms. Meghan Sittler, Research and Outreach Specialist
National Drought Mitigation Center
Lincoln, Nebraska

Meghan Sittler joined the NDMC in 2006. Before joining the NDMC, Meghan worked as an environmental educator for the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department, as the academic adviser for the UNL Environmental Studies Program, and as an archeological technician for the National Park Service Midwest Archeological Center. Meghan served as co-principal investigator for a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grant to collaboratively develop adaptive management projects, plans, and policies through facilitating workshops and discussions with stakeholders in the Missouri River Ecosystem.

Sittler holds a Master’s degree in Natural Resources and a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies and Anthropology from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.