Meet the IDEM Watershed Specialists

Click Here for a State Map Identifying Watershed Specialists by Region

Region 1
Leanne Whitesell, Northwest Indiana / 317.308.3119 / lwhitese@idem.in.gov
Leanne has a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Messiah College in Grantham, Pennsylvania.  She focused her studies on environmental stewardship and education.  Leanne completed her student teaching for a high school biology class at Central Dauphin High School in Harrisburg, PA, an internship in environmental education at Au Sable Institute for Environmental Studies in Mancelona, Michigan.  After four years of teaching general science and environmental education, she began to focus on water quality and watershed management.  Prior to serving as a watershed specialist, Leanne was a watershed educator in southeastern Indiana, a Hoosier Riverwatch volunteer instructor, and spent four and a half years as a grants project manager in IDEM’s NPS program.  When not at work, Leanne enjoys camping, hiking, and kayaking with her two dogs.        

Region 2
Joe Schmees, Northeast Indiana/ 317.308.3194 / jschmees@idem.in.gov
Joe was born and raised in Loveland, Ohio, just outside of Cincinnati. After receiving a Bachelor of Science in biology and a Bachelor of Arts in chemistry from Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, Joe began work with IDEM. From early 2007 to 2011, Joe worked in the Surveys Section and Probabilistic Monitoring Section at IDEM, monitoring different aspects of water quality including pathogens, algae/nutrients, water chemistry, habitat, and fish community. He has been the Secretary of the Indiana Water Resources Association, a state affiliate of the American Water Resources Association, since late in 2008. He began as a Watershed Specialist in July of 2011.

Region 3
Josh Brosmer, Southwest Indiana/ 317.308.3190 / jbrosmer@idem.in.gov
Josh grew up near Shoals, in southwestern Indiana. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in biology from Indiana University in 2004 and shortly thereafter began his career at IDEM as a laboratory technician.  He was soon promoted to Environmental Scientist and worked in this position for seven years. Although his responsibilities consisted primarily of fish community and fish tissue sampling, he also performed a wide variety of other types of water quality sampling during his tenure.  He moved into his current position of Watershed Specialist in July of 2011.

Region 4
Kathleen Hagan, Southeast Indiana / 317.308.3197 / khagan@idem.in.gov

Kathleen has been in her current position as a watershed specialist since the winter of 2007.  She has been with IDEM since 1999 (except for a brief leave of absence she took to do watershed restoration work with the Nez Perce Tribe in Idaho for a summer).  She has worked as a 319 project manager in the NPS program and as a naturalist aide in the Water Assessment Branch/Surveys Section.  She has a B.S. in geology from the University of Dayton and an MS in Environmental Science from Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs. 

About the Watershed Specialists

The IDEM watershed specialists are part of Indiana's Nonpoint Source Program (NPS). The program focuses on the prevention of NPS water pollution. The NPS program also provides for assessment, education and outreach. Indiana's NPS Program relies on the communication and coordination of many programs at the federal, state and local level.

Each watershed specialist serves as a liaison between different state and local initiatives and officials to facilitate watershed planning and total maximum daily load (TMDL) development activities.

The Watershed Specialists work in partnership with the Indiana Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts (IASWCD) and the IASWCD's conservation development specialist, Janice Bullman. The goals of this partnership are to:

  • Create awareness about IDEM's watershed initiative among conservation stakeholders at the local, regional and state levels,
  • Develop recognition on the importance of watershed planning and implementation, and
  • Draw a solid line from effective community watershed planning and implementation to thriving Indiana urban and rural communities.

For additional information contact Janice Bullman, IASWCD, 317.692.7514.