Tim DeGraff serves as Regional General Manager for the Western states for RES. Tim is a certified professional wetland scientist with experience in wetland habitats throughout the United States with extensive experience in California. Before joining RES, Tim was CEO of WRA, Inc., a California-based professional consulting services firm focusing on plant, wildlife, and wetland ecology and regulatory compliance.

Tim has conducted over one hundred wetland delineations and has taught the wetland delineation certification class through San Francisco State University for ten years. His specialty is complicated projects involving large wetland impacts, endangered species consultation, complex mitigation requirements, and interagency negotiation. Tim was also the lead scientist and led the effort to entitle the largest wetland mitigation bank in California, the first stream mitigation bank in California, and several innovative conservation banks, including the first amphibian conservation bank involving translocation.

Mandi serves as the Regional Client Solutions Manager for RES’ West Region. She recently joined RES in 2022 with a broad range of experience in the environmental industry from previous positions as Business Development Director at SWCA, Inc. and Department Head at Epsilon Systems Solutions, Inc. With projects and business development connections in Hawaii, Alaska, California, the Pacific Northwest, and the Southwest, she has over 20 years of experience providing environmental solutions to clients. With a focus on the transmission, renewable energy, and Federal sectors. Mandi’s varied background in management and project execution includes large-scale prairie and wetland restoration in the Midwest and the construction of Pennsylvania’s largest-ever stream restoration project.

Mandi earned her BS from California State Polytechnic University Pomona in 2001 and her MA from New Mexico State University in 2005.

Dave Meurer serves as Director of Community Affairs, West Region. Dave previously served as the primary media and public affairs contact for the Klamath River Renewal Corporation (KRRC) as it planned for the largest dam removal and river restoration project in U.S. history. This important but often misunderstood project benefitted from Dave’s 28 years of experience working in Congressional and State Senate offices in Northern California. Dave has navigated many contentious issues and built numerous relationships over many years. He enjoys engaging with local, state, and federal officials, building consensus, and getting results.

Dave is especially passionate about solving chronic water challenges in California and the Pacific Northwest and seeking win-win outcomes for rural communities in Northern California and Southern Oregon. Dave earned a BA in Communications & Political Science from CSU, Chico, and resides in Redding, CA.

Daniel Chase serves as Director, Fisheries, Aquatics and Design for the Western Region. Prior to RES, for the past 14 years Dan worked as a fisheries and wildlife biologist focusing on threatened and endangered species and their habitats in California. Dan’s regional experience includes active and passive species surveys, population monitoring and genetic sampling techniques, habitat evaluation, fish passage evaluation, stream and wetland restoration, species and habitat monitoring, state and federal Endangered Species Act permitting, and mitigation.

His education includes a BS from the University of California, Berkeley in Conservation and Resource Studies and a MS in Physiology and Behavioral Biology from San Francisco State University. Dan has been an invited speaker to domestic and international science conferences, published research, and is an Endangered Species Act Federal Recovery 10(a)(1)(A) Permit holder for tidewater goby. At RES, Dan will serve as the lead fisheries biologist for the Western Region, based in the San Francisco Bay Area, and will be involved with developing and growing the technical practice in the region.

Kenneth Sanchez serves as Regulatory Manager for the Western Region for RES. Ken is a national expert in Section 7 Endangered Species Act (ESA) consultation and conservation banking. He started his wildlife career in northern California and eastern Oregon working on marine fisheries data collection and management, timber management, and spotted owl research. Ken went on to work in Alaska, North Dakota, and Montana on impact assessments for timber harvest, oil & gas development, coal mine reclamation, and Missouri River operations.

Ken has a BS in Wildlife Management from Humboldt State University and subsequently spent 30+ years in State and Federal government service, working for the California Department of Fish and Game (now called Fish and Wildlife), the U.S. Forest Service, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). In addition to his significant field work and regulatory experience, Ken has lectured and taught a variety of audiences on ESA consultation and conservation banking.

AJ serves as the Credit Sales Manager for RES’ West Region. He joins RES with extensive experience managing federal regulatory compliance for ecological restoration projects throughout all 50 states, Guam, American Samoa, and Puerto Rico. With a passion for developing sustainable funding strategies for restoration-focused organizations, he has maintained a diverse client base that includes federal agencies, tribal governments, non-governmental organizations, and units of state and local governments. Most recently, AJ developed the federal regulatory compliance program for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s America the Beautiful Challenge, a half-billion dollar grant program focused on implementing large-scale restoration and conservation initiatives throughout the United States.

In 2024, AJ earned a Masters of Natural Resources Stewardship (M.N.R.S.) from Colorado State University, with an emphasis on ecological restoration.

Darrel comes to RES with extensive expertise in real estate and property management. He is dedicated to creating solid business relationships that reap rewards and benefits for all involved parties. Prior to RES, Darrel was the REO Assets Manager and later Vice President of Real Estate Assets for Owens Financial Group, Inc. in Walnut Creek, CA. He supervised, leased, and disposed of a large portfolio of commercial and residential real estate.

Bebe is an experienced Business Development Manager focused on the Gulf Coast region. She has a proven history of building strategic partnerships and driving revenue growth. In her role, she regularly participates in client meetings, community events, and conferences.

Bebe has a solid understanding of market trends and excels in creating tailored solutions to meet the needs of her clients. She is an effective communicator, and her dynamic approach to business development has consistently contributed to the success of the federal, state, and local clients she serves.

Prior to joining RES, Bebe gained extensive experience as a business development manager focusing on water resources and civil and environmental projects across the country. She earned her degree in Business Administration and Marketing from Mississippi College with honors.

Zach is an accomplished Client Solutions Manager focused on supporting clients in Texas and Oklahoma. He advocates for clients within the fields of oil and gas, renewable energy, and public/private construction. With a solid background in ecology, environmental science, and data analysis, he specializes in helping clients navigate projects related to Section 404 mitigation, coastal restoration, stormwater, and vegetation management.

Prior to joining RES, Zach gained experience through his role with the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) facilitating the development, review, and implementation of the state’s comprehensive Coastal Master Plan. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography from the University of Texas in 2009 and a Master of Arts degree in Marine Resource Management from Texas A&M University in 2012.

Zach is a Certified Floodplain Manager (CFM) through the Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFPM). He received his Coastal Marine Spatial Planning Certification from Duke University. He is a certified Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) Rescue Diver, an American Academy of Underwater Sciences (AAUS) Certified Diver, a National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI) Master Diver, and a National Speleological Society-Cave Diving Section (NSS-CDS) Cavern Diver.