The Water Resources Center had quite a few staffing changes including the hiring of six new employees throughout 2024. Learn about who they are and what their experiences in the WRC have been so far.
What is your role at the WRC?
Gabi Bolwerk: I am an Extension Educator in Soil Health and Water Resources
Jessy Carlson: Extension Educator, Urban Stormwater
Brenna Finley: I am an Extension Educator focused on private wells, groundwater and public health.
Bailey Tangen: I’m a Water Resources and Soil Health Extension Educator.
Tim Gieseke: Ag Water Management and my role is to bring research and educate irrigators and their technical support to use groundwater in the most efficient manner with least environmental impact. I also will be involved in agriculture drainage and work with local drainage boards and farmers on how to increase water storage and conservation drainage.
Anya Normandeau: I am a program/project specialist for the WRC.
Where do you work out of? (region of Minnesota)
Gabi Bolwerk: My work takes me statewide, but my office is in Cloquet.
Jessy Carlson: My work spans the entire state, but my office is located in St. Paul.
Brenna Finley: I work out of the Farmington office as well as the Water Resources Center in St. Paul.
Bailey Tangen: I work statewide, but I’m based in the Farmington office.
Tim Gieseke: My office is in Farmington and Mankato. Generally speaking, much of the irrigation work is in central, western, and northern Minnesota and the drainage work in central and southern Minnesota.
Anya Normandeau: I work in the St. Paul office
What is the focus of your work?
Gabi Bolwerk: I focus on increasing the soil health of agricultural lands across the state by educating farmers and other agriculture professionals. Healthy soils lead to healthy water resources and agricultural sustainability, which is good for everyone!
Jessy Carlson: I help to connect stormwater researchers with stormwater professionals, so that stormwater managers, engineers, policy makers, and others have the best science at their fingertips when making decisions about stormwater management and so that the questions professionals need answered are relayed back to the researchers doing the science.
Brenna Finley: The focus of my work is developing education and volunteer programs for private well owners and local government staff.
Bailey Tangen: I help farmers improve soil health, boost soil function, and increase profitability through practices like continuous living cover and reduced tillage. I’m especially interested in sustainable cropping systems and ways to introduce a third crop into rotations. My favorite place to talk with producers about soil health (and soil architecture) is inside a soil pit.
Tim Gieseke: Agriculture irrigation and drainage.
Anya Normandeau: I help folks across the WRC with administrative tasks, along with helping our senior communications specialist with tasks like social media, helping put together the website, and writing stories about the WRC!
What drew you to work here?
Gabi Bolwerk: I was drawn to the opportunity to work for a forward-thinking organization around a topic that I am personally passionate about.
Jessy Carlson: This job has all the things I like: 1) stormwater (it's where freshwater ecology, plants, soils, hydrology, politics, social behavior, organic and inorganic chemistry, and urban planning all come together!) 2) Extension work (translating science for decision-makers and ensuring researchers know what sort of questions need answering) and 3) great people.
Brenna Finley: I was drawn to work here for several reasons! Growing up in Minnesota, I’ve always had a deep connection to place, and the opportunity to work alongside people from all corners of the state with a shared goal to improve the health and well-being of Minnesotans was incredibly appealing.
As a public health nurse, I was drawn to the ability to provide education and support to empower people to make informed decisions about their drinking water and health.
Additionally, my love for water and the natural environment has always been a driving force. Water is not only beautiful but also vital to health and well-being. The intersection of public health and environmental health feels like a perfect fit, as the health of our communities is deeply connected to the health of our environment.
Bailey Tangen: I love working with people and tackling hands-on challenges related to water and land. The WRC gives me the opportunity to do applied work that makes a real difference. I care deeply about people, water, and the land, and I want to support sustainability in a way that’s practical and impactful.
Tim Gieseke: Throughout my career, regardless of the position, I would gravitate toward educational efforts to inform those who rely on natural resources. Most of my work involved water issues and this position fit my career objectives very well.
Anya Normandeau: I was drawn to work here for a couple of reasons. Being a University of Minnesota alumni and having worked on campus before, I have always enjoyed the support the University gave its employees, and I enjoy how campus life feels. I was also excited about being able to have a bigger role in the communications field.
What is a project that you are excited about getting started?
Gabi Bolwerk: This year I am planning an event series that will travel around the state to educate farmers on the benefits and logistics of integrating cropping and livestock systems for soil health. I'm excited to meet new people and have great conversations about soil health!
Jessy Carlson: There is a lot of interesting research happening right now on stormwater ponds and how to make sure they are working the way they are supposed to. I expect that in the near future, I'll be doing a lot more work getting that information out to the people who need it. I'm excited about becoming really familiar with what we are learning about stormwater pond dynamics, and about bringing decision-makers together to nerd out with me about pond sediments and duckweed and nutrient fluxes.
Brenna Finley: I am excited to develop a program that will provide education and support to a network of volunteers engaged with private well water quality work across Minnesota.
Bailey Tangen: I’m really looking forward to working on data visualization tools, like the Great Lakes Cover Crop Project. It’ll be an interactive platform where agronomists and farmers can explore cover crop growth in real-world conditions. I’m also excited to develop hands-on soil health education programs that make learning interactive and spark curiosity.
Tim Gieseke: When I came aboard I was given an existing program, the Minnesota Irrigation Program. It is a three-day in-person course for irrigators. I plan on taking that work and developing online courses that could reach a larger audience.
Anya Normandeau: I am looking forward to writing more stories about people and projects across the WRC and starting some photo projects as well!
What do you enjoy most about working here at the WRC?
Gabi Bolwerk: I really enjoy the supportive environment that the WRC fosters. Everyone is very helpful and friendly, which makes it a comfortable and fun place to work!
Jessy Carlson: The people. But also, our shared mission to keep our water clean, our aquatic and riparian habitats healthy, and our human communities safe.
Brenna Finley: Meeting so many people across the state who are engaged in water quality efforts. It has been a very welcoming community.
Bailey Tangen: I love working with colleagues on big-picture challenges that connect research, education, and on-the-ground farming. The WRC brings together researchers, farmers, and conservation professionals who all share the goal of building more sustainable and productive systems. I also appreciate having the resources to dig into real-world soil health and farm sustainability questions.
Tim Gieseke: It is a very supportive environment where people work together to not just achieve their goals, but work toward others being successful.
Anya Normandeau: I enjoy how employee focused the WRC is. Everyone wants to succeed in their position and there is so much support from leadership and colleagues that it really does make it a great place to work.
Fun facts
Gabi Bolwerk: In my free time I enjoy gardening, volleyball, board games, and cuddling my dogs!
Bailey Tangen: I am involved in soil judging! It’s a great hands on team activity for students to learn soil, landscape, and land use concepts in the field. I’m involved in soil judging! It’s a fantastic hands-on team activity where students learn about soil, landscapes, and land use in the field. I love all things outdoors. Also, I love water in all its forms—ice, for hockey; lakes, for boating and fishing; and water for watercoloring and other art that I do.
Anya Normandeau: Curling keeps me quite busy throughout the fall and winter months! From coaching a junior team to competing for a spot at women's nationals, I spend 3-5 nights a week out on the ice. In the spring of 2024, I coached a junior team to a national championship and traveled to Finland in December to support the team at the Junior World B championship!