Barker Fariss, PhD
Executive Director
Dr. Fariss is an expert in the interpretation and implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act, National Historic Preservation Act, Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), and other regulatory statutes. Dr. Fariss is an experienced project manager who has designed and led dozens of archaeological excavations and surveys; conducted ethnographic studies and oral histories with Indigenous communities in North and South America; and coordinated the repatriation of hundreds of ancestors.
Prior to joining CEMML, he served as associate vice president for Indigenous Engagement at AECOM, a global infrastructure consulting firm, where he led the Office of Native Sovereign and Tribal Relations in the Americas. He previously served as a tribal historic preservation officer for the Osage Nation in Oklahoma; as the NAGPRA coordinator and faculty in the Anthropology Department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst; and as a lead state archaeologist for Hawaii’s Historic Preservation Division.
Dr. Fariss is originally from Oklahoma, where his family is enrolled with the Western Band Cherokee Nation. He holds a PhD in Anthropology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Bill Sprouse
Associate Director
Mr. Sprouse is an expert in inventory and monitoring data management, application development, database development, natural resources, threatened and endangered species, environmental compliance, GIS, Range and Training Land Assessment (RTLA), Land Rehabilitation and Maintenance (LRAM) and wildland fire management.
As Associate Director, Mr. Sprouse assists the executive team in developing, implementing, and upholding organization principals and guidelines. Over the course of his career with CEMML, he has managed various projects within the Air Force, Army, Army National Guard and the National Park Service. His work currently focuses on projects that support wildland fire management in the Department of Defense.
Mr. Sprouse joined the CEMML team in 1994 as a Database Analyst after having worked five years for the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, Construction Engineering Research Laboratories. He holds a master’s degree in Forest Science from the University of Illinois.
Mindy Clarke, PhD
Assistant Director
Dr. Clarke is an ecological social scientist who specializes in adaptation strategies and natural resource management. She leads CEMML’s Adaptive Management Planning Program (AMPP). She also supervises natural and cultural resource management projects at DoD installations across the continental U.S. Dr. Clarke joined CEMML as a principal investigator in 2016 after completing her doctoral dissertation research as a U.S. Fulbright Scholar.
Prior to that, Dr. Clarke spent nearly a decade in federal service where she held national-level program positions with organizations such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service. Dr. Clarke was also a Presidential Management Fellow in the federal government, an International Presidential Fellow, and a Collaborative Conservation Fellow at CSU.
Dr. Clarke holds a Ph.D. in ecology with a specialization in human-environment interactions from Colorado State University, a Master of Science in environmental policy and behavior with a concentration in conservation biology and ecosystem management from the University of Michigan, and a Bachelor of Arts in Latin American Studies and Spanish from the University of Vermont.
Jennie Anderson
Assistant Director
Ms. Anderson has been a CEMML principal investigator since 2018. She is an expert in military lands management and environmental compliance, specifically with the Sikes Act and the Endangered Species Act. Ms. Anderson oversees an Air Force-wide effort to support Integrated Natural Resources Management Plans at each installation; her team has revised and updated more than 80 INRMPs since 2016.
She is the creator of CEMML’s Early-career Development Program, providing students and early-career professionals with experiential learning in military lands management. Ms. Anderson is the Co-PI for CEMML’s Adaptive Management Planning Program (AMPP), aiding the Department of Defense in preparing for the uncertainties of ecological change.
Ms. Anderson holds a Master of Science in natural resource stewardship with a concentration in ecological restoration; a graduate certificate in sustainable military lands management; a Bachelor of Science in agricultural economics with a concentration in natural resources, and a Bachelor of Science in natural resources management, all from Colorado State University.
Chris Herron
Assistant Director
Mr. Herron has been a CEMML principal investigator since 2015. He is a natural resources specialist with nearly 20 years of experience in projects ranging from habitat restoration, ecological restoration, vegetation management and mapping, and invasive species management to erosion management, water quality sampling, and wildlife surveys. Major achievements during his time with CEMML include building and managing successful natural resource management programs at Nellis Air Force Base and the Nevada Test and Training Range (NV), Fort Johnson (LA), Vandenberg Space Force Base (CA), and on Guam in support of Naval Base Guam, Anderson Air Force Base, and Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz.
Prior to becoming principal investigator, Mr. Herron served as a CEMML natural resources specialist from 2011 to 2015, after initially joining the organization in 2009 as an assistant wildland fire planner. Over the course of his career at CEMML, he has supported most branches of the DoD and the National Park Service through a wide variety of agreements focused on natural resource management. Mr. Herron oversees an annual award portfolio ranging from $8 to $12 million.
Mr. Herron holds a Master of Science in rangeland ecology with a focus in ecological restoration, and a Bachelor of Science in rangeland ecology with a double concentration in rangeland and forest management, both from Colorado State University.