Board of Directors

President

Lauren Burokas

BEC Environmental

Lauren Burokas is an environmental planner and completed her Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science & Policy from Chapman University. Lauren is an emerging professional with two years of experience. Lauren began her career at the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California as a land management and planning intern practicing public real estate. She then moved on to a private consulting firm, NV5 Inc., and is developing a wide variety of skillsets in environmental planning. Her projects include developing environmental documents in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). She also has experience in drafting Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessment, researching, conducting surface and subsurface investigations, providing environmental compliance to surface mines throughout Arizona, and utilizing geographic information systems (GIS). She is new to Arizona and has been active with AZAEP since 2022. As a member at large, she wants to help AZAEP to bridge the gap for emerging professionals and recent graduates.

Vice President

Melinda Jones

City of Phoenix

Melinda Jones has 27 years of experience as an environmental professional specializing in NEPA compliance. She has a technical background in geology with an emphasis on hydrogeology and geoarchaeology. She has extensive experience working on environmental clearances for a wide range of public and private projects throughout Arizona and Nevada and has worked closely with many federal land management agencies, including BLM, BIA, and USFS. Melinda currently works for the City of Phoenix and serves as the Environmental Review Officer for the Neighborhood Services Department. In this role she is responsible for ensuring NEPA compliance on all HUD-funded programs. These programs range from housing revitalization and blight removal to neighborhood enhancement and infrastructure improvements. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time outdoors and traveling with her husband and two teenage boys. One thing on her bucket list is to see all nine Van Gogh sunflower paintings. She has seen four so far and has plans to see two more this year.

Secretary

David L. McIntyre

McIntyre Environmental

Mr. McIntyre has a master’s degree in Geography from San Diego State University and completed his bachelor’s degree in History from the U.S. Naval Academy. David has over 18 years of professional experience as a project manager/environmental planner. He started his career at the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground before spending several years with EDAW in San Diego, CA. He moved to Ecology and Environment and started their San Diego office before moving to Tucson, AZ. Mr. McIntyre spent 2.5 years with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) as a planning and environmental coordinator before leaving to start his own firm with his wife, Elizabeth. His expertise includes conducting impact analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). He has extensive experience preparing NEPA documents for the U.S. Army, Navy, and Marine Corps as well as preparing NEPA and CEQA documents for a variety of renewable energy and transmission projects in California, Nevada, and Arizona. He has also worked extensively on land use planning documents for the BLM as well as NEPA documents for several tribes. 

Mr. McIntyre was very active in the San Diego County AEP from 2001 to 2011 and joined AZAEP in 2017. 

Member at Large

Alexandra Permar

Kakapo Konsulting

Alexandra is a professional biologist, ecologist, writer, communicator, content developer, and project manager with over 20 years of experience. She has degrees, trainings, and certifications in biology, anthropology, ecology, conservation science, English, geographic information systems (GIS), data analysis, computer programming, and project/business management. She is an experienced project manager and educator.

Alexandra’s biological and ecological experience includes organismal biology, community ecology, and sociobiology. She researches and surveys ecosystems to understand biological and ecological processes with a focus on common, endemic, rare, endangered, sensitive, and threatened species. She has worked on a variety of projects across disciplines such as forestry, ornithology, soil science, riparian restoration, riparian geomorphology, rangeland management, plant endemism, wetland ecology, and ecosystem change.

Alexandra uses geographic information systems and remote sensing applications to map species, sites, and to detect changes in landscapes through time. Alexandra has experience creating map products such as national land cover analyses, vegetation classifications, and characterizations of Waters of the United States (WOTUS).

Alexandra has professional training and experience developing technical and creative communication products to reach diverse audiences. She is practiced at translating jargon into plain language to help people learn and understand new content. She enjoys helping others and making the world better.

You can learn more about Alexandra at her professional website and her LinkedIn profile.

Past President

Jennifer Jennings

Tierra ROW

I am a Tucson resident with a husband, a 12 year old daughter, and 2 dogs (one is a puppy that I am convinced is part piranha). I love being in my back yard with the plants and various projects. I have worked in the environmental field for over 28 years. As a Biologist, I was responsible for collecting and analyzing data and preparing supporting documentation and findings in regulatory documents.

As a Planner, I have worked works closely with archaeologists, biologists, GIS specialists, landscape designers, hazardous material specialists; and resources specialists from the BLM, USFS, BIA, state agencies, and local

municipalities across the western United States. As a Project Manager, I prepare budgets (and try to stick to them!), keep up on deadlines and submissions as well as work closely with accounting and support staff. During my time as an At-Large Board Member for the AZ AEP, I enjoyed the ability to share the knowledge of some extremely talented and experienced professionals that work across our environmental disciplines. 

As the President, I look forward to expanding the reach of AZ AEP to all areas of our state through an increase in virtual networking opportunities and on-line sharing of monthly presentations. As the Scholarship Committee Chair, I was honored to coordinate the selection process with committee members who are dedicated to their professions and to honor a woman who was clearly loved and respected by everyone she worked with. I look forward to growing our scholarship fund so that AZ AEP can continue to assist deserving up-and-coming environmental professionals.