Hub Staff

David W. Dickson, National NEMO Network Coordinator
david.dickson@uconn.edu

Dave Dickson is the coordinator of the National NEMO Network. As coordinator, he works with each of the NEMO Network programs nationwide and strives to facilitate the open exchange of resources, expertise, educational materials and war stories between the programs. He also assists non-member states seeking to start a NEMO program and join the Network.

Dave has both a J.D. and a Masters of Public Administration from the University of Colorado, where he served as a notes and comments editor of the Colorado Journal of International Environmental Law and Policy. Dave is also a UCONN alum, with a BA in Anthropology and Political Science. His pre-NEMO professional experience includes: coordinating environmental policy and education projects for the National Association of Local Government Environmental Professionals (NALGEP), representing municipalities before Congress and federal agencies, serving as a liaison between the University of Colorado and both the state legislature and Congress and coordinating an international project that sought to uncover unethical marketing practices in developing countries.

Kara M. Bonsack, National NEMO Network Communicator
kara.bonsack@uconn.edu

As the NEMO National Network Communicator, Kara Bonsack's responsibilities include the design and production of new websites and publications including fact sheets, brochures, posters and flyers. Kara is responsible for maintaining and updating the NEMO and National NEMO websites. She also designs and distributes electronic publications and communications including presentations, logos, multimedia CDs and e-news updates via email. Kara assists the National Coordinator with yearly conferences and training sessions, the CT NEMO Coordinator with program marketing and communications and the Geospatial Technologies Program Coordinator with website and materials design. Kara is also considered the primary designer for the Center for Land Use Education and Research (CLEAR).

Kara is a graduate of the University of Connecticut with a bachelor of Fine Arts, specializing in graphic design.

Chester L. Arnold, Jr., NEMO Program Co-Founder
CLEAR Program Co-Director
Water Quality Educator
chester.arnold@uconn.edu

Chester Arnold is a Water Quality Educator for the University of Connecticut Department of Extension, and the Associate Director of UConn’s Center for Land Use Education and Research (CLEAR), established in 2002. Since 1991, Mr. Arnold has been Co-Director of the NEMO Program, a national award-winning effort that uses remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS) technology to educate local land use decision makers about the relationship between land use and water resource protection.

From 1987 to 1994, Chester led the public outreach program of the Long Island Sound Study National Estuary Program. He has authored numerous publications, including national award-winning journal articles and a newspaper column entitled On Long Island Sound. Chester has a B.S. in Environmental Sciences from Wesleyan University and a M.S. in Oceanography from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

C. James Gibbons Jr., NEMO Program Co-Founder
Land Use Educator
james.gibbons@uconn.edu

Jim Gibbons is a Land Use and Natural Resource Program Coordinator with the University of Connecticut Cooperative Extension System. Jim is a professional land use planner who has been on The University of Connecticut faculty for over 25 years. Prior to his UConn appointment, Jim was employed as a private land use planning consultant for 10 years, developing land use plans and regulations for communities throughout the northeast. Jim served on the Durham Planning and Zoning for 14 years. In 1996 he was asked by Governor Weicker to serve on the Connecticut Greenways Committee. He has also served on a number of state advisory boards dealing with open space and natural resource protection. Each year Jim conducts an average of 80 workshops reaching approximately 5,000 local land use officials.

The author of numerous articles on natural resource based land use planning, Jim has received awards from the American Planning Association, American Society of Landscape Architects, Soil and Water Conservation Districts, The Nature Conservancy, The Rivers Alliance of Connecticut, The Rockfall Foundation and the Connecticut Greenways Council.

John S. Rozum, Connecticut NEMO Program Director
john.rozum@uconn.edu

John Rozum is the director of the Connecticut NEMO program. As director, he delivers workshops and training to Connecticut's 169 towns, assisting them to implement land use practices that protect water resources.

John is a certified planner (AICP) with a M.S. in Land Use Planning and a M.S. in Ecology both from the University of Arizona. He has professional experience in land use planning, scientific research, and ecological field science. As a planning consultant, he prepared land use and watershed plans, wrote regulations, and completed technical reports for numerous municipalities. John served on his town's planning and zoning commission and the board of directors of the East Haddam Land Trust.

Emily Wilson, Geospatial Educator, NEMO Program
emily.wilson@uconn.edu

Emily Wilson is the Geospatial Technology Specialist for the NEMO program. Since joining UConn in 2000, her role has been to provide GIS remote sensing information and support to the NEMO project, the Geospatial Technology program and other related research and outreach efforts. She also does a significant amount of web work with the goal of providing easy access to geospatial information and maps. 

Emily is a graduate of Connecticut College with a BA in environmental science and botany. She received her M.S. in forestry and remote sensing from the University of Maine.

Sandy Prisloe, Geospatial Technology Specialist
michael.prisloe@uconn.edu

Sandy Prisloe, CT's Geospatial Extension Specialist, is responsible for the development of the Cooperative Extension System's Geospatial Technology Program. It is designed to serve two target audiences, National NEMO Network partners and local CT land use decision makers. The program provides hands-on classroom training on geographic information system, remote sensing, and global positioning system technologies and researches and publishes on the Internet information about public domain spatial data.

Sandy has an extensive background in geospatial technologies. He managed the initial deployment of GIS for the Connecticut Dept. of Environmental Protection, founded and operated a GIS consulting firm and has designed and taught a number of graduate-level GIS courses at the Universities of Connecticut and New Haven. He holds a BA in Biology from Colby College and an MS in Environmental Science from the University of New Haven.

Cary B. Chadwick, Geospatial Technology Analyst  
cary.chadwick@uconn.edu

Cary Chadwick joined the UConn team in 2006 as a member of the Geospatial Technology Program. As the Geospatial Technology Analyst, her role is to contribute to the hands-on technical training classes offered by the program on the use of geographic information systems and global positioning systems. Cary is also actively involved in a number of collaborative research projects that integrate geospatial technologies to better manage and understand natural resource systems.

Cary is a graduate of Gettysburg College with a B.S. in Environmental Studies. She also holds a M.S. in Environmental Science from the University of New Haven.