About the Upper Midwest Section

Serving Environmental Professionals for over 35 Years

For over 35 years, the Upper Midwest Section (UMS) of the Air & Waste Management Association (A&WMA) has provided a forum for Association members who live in Minnesota, Western Wisconsin, and the Dakotas to meet, learn, and network. Approximately 200 environmental professionals representing industry, government, and consultants are members of the UMS.

The Mission of A&WMA is to assist in the professional development and critical environmental decision-making of our members to benefit society.

The core Purpose of A&WMA is to improve environmental knowledge and decisions by providing a neutral forum for exchanging information.

Upper Midwest Section Chapters

UMS Chapters

There is currently one chapter in the Upper Midwest Section.

Learn More

Contact Details

Miranda Mair

Chair

HDR Engineering
1601 Utica Avenue South, Suite 600
Minneapolis, MN 55416
763-278-5903 (office)

Miranda is a Meteorologist / Air Quality Specialist with HDR Engineering, working in the areas of air permitting and dispersion modeling. Miranda has seven years of consulting experience and has been an A&WMA member since 2014. She has served as the Young Professional Chair and Membership Chair for the UMS Chapter and was recently elected as Chair for 2022.
Joseph Carlson

Vice Chair/Program Planning Committee Chair

Braun Intertec Corporation
1826 Buerkle Road
Saint Paul, MN 55110
651-318-5065

Joe is a Project Engineer at Braun Intertec Corporation with over five years of experience in air and environmental permitting and compliance. Prior to serving as Vice Chair and Program Planning Committee Chair, Joe served as A&WMA-UMS Secretary from 2020-2021.
Phil Fish

Treasurer

Barr Engineering
4300 Market Pointe Drive, Suite 200
Minneapolis, MN 55435
952-842-3643 (office)

Phil is a Chemical Engineer at Barr Engineering Company. He has worked in environmental consulting for 10 years, primarily focusing on air quality permitting and compliance. He has been serving as the A&WMA UMS Treasurer since 2017.
Liam Brady

Secretary

Stantec Consulting Services Inc.
2080 Wooddale Drive, Suite 100
Woodbury MN 55125
218-491-0549

Liam is a Chemical/Environmental Engineer at Stantec Consulting Services Inc. He has three years of environmental engineering experience. Liam has been involved with the Upper Midwest Section since becoming a member in 2019. He served as the YP Committee Chair since 2020 and was recently elected to Secretary in 2022.
Shelley Koehn

Past Chair

3M Company
3M Center, 225-1N-22
St. Paul, MN 55144-1000
612-816-1247

Shelley is a Senior Environmental Engineer within 3M’s Air Permitting and Compliance group. Prior to her work at 3M, Shelley worked as an air quality consultant. Shelley has been involved in the A&WMA Upper Midwest Section since 2015, and served as the Section Chair in 2020 and 2021 and currently serves as the Past-Chair and Membership Committee Chair.
Patti Leaf

Director

Xcel Energy
414 Nicollet Mall (401-2)
Minneapolis, MN 55401
612.964.1176

Patti is a Regulatory Policy Specialist at Xcel Energy. She has over 20 years of experience in the air quality field and has been involved in regulatory and legislative review and impact analysis, control technology research, permitting and compliance, externalities and project management. She has also been involved with the permitting of wind facilities. She has been an AWMA member nearly 20 years and was elected to the board in 2020.
Hassan Bouchareb

Director

Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
520 Lafayette Rd N
Saint Paul, MN 55155
651-757-2653

Hassan is an engineer in the Air Policy unit at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA). He has worked at the MPCA since 2011, previously in the air permitting group, but now works primarily on mercury emissions reduction efforts and Regional Haze planning for Minnesota's state implementation plan, but also spends time on air quality rulemakings, technical analyses, and other air program initiatives.
Bill Norge

Director

3M
Jess Keller

Communications Committee Chair

Xcel Energy
13999 Industrial Blvd
Becker, MN 55308
763-261-3670

Jess is an Environmental Analyst at Xcel Energy's Sherco Plant. She has worked in the environmental field for over 15 years, primarily focusing on air and water permitting and compliance, as well as hazardous waste compliance. She has held positions in industry, government and consulting throughout her career. She has served as the Communications Chair for the UMS Chapter since 2018.
Sam Helal

Young Professional Committee Chair

Stantec Consulting Services Inc.
7500 Olson Memorial Highway, Suite 300
Golden Valley, MN 55427
763-252-6896

Sam is an Environmental Engineer at Stantec Consulting Services Inc. She has 3 years of environmental consulting experience that primarily focuses on air permitting and compliance. She began her role as the YP Committee Chair in 2022.
Shelley Koehn

Membership Commitee Chair

3M Company
3M Center, 224-5W-03
St. Paul, MN 55144-1000
612-816-1247

Shelley is a Senior Environmental Engineer within 3M’s Air Permitting and Compliance group. Prior to her work at 3M, Shelley worked as an air quality consultant. Shelley has been involved in the A&WMA Upper Midwest Section since 2015, and served as the Section Chair in 2020 and 2021 and currently serves as the Past-Chair and Membership Committee Chair.
Aisha Balogh

Education Committee Chair

Barr Engineering Company
4300 Market Pointe Drive, Suite 200
Minneapolis, MN 55435
952-842-3649

Aisha Balogh is a Senior Environmental Scientist at Barr Engineering Company. She specializes in assisting industrial clients with multi-media environmental compliance and permitting. She began her role as the Education Committee Chair in 2022.
Adam Driscoll

North Dakota Regional Environmental Conference Committee Chair

Barr Engineering Company
Minneapolis, MN

952-832-2791

Adam Driscoll is a Senior Air Quality Consultant at Barr Engineering Company. He has 14 years of experience in environmental engineering, having worked both in consulting and in industry.
Roger Clarke

Landfill Operators Conference and Arrowhead Conference Committee Chair

Xcel Energy
414 Nicollet Mall, 2nd Floor
Minneapolis, MN 55401
612-280-6061

Mr. Clarke has 36 years of experience as an environmental professional. Mr. Clarke’s is currently a Principal Environmental Scientist within Xcel Energy’s Environmental Services Department. His responsibilities include the development and implementation of compliance programs to facilitate compliance with RCRA, TSCA, CERCLA, the Clean Water Act and the EPA’s Coal Combustion Residuals Rule.
Kathryn Anderson

Conference on the Environment Committee Chair

Stantec Consulting Services Inc.
2080 Wooddale Drive, Suite 100
Woodbury, MN 55125
651-294-4593

Kathryn is a Senior Associate and Environmental Scientist at Stantec Consulting Services Inc. She has 20+ years of environmental consulting experience that primarily focuses on air permitting and compliance. Kathryn is also a past Chair of the AWMA-UMS and Conference on the Environment.