DCNR Leadership

James A. Settelmeyer

Director, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

James A. Settelmeyer was appointed as Director of the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (NDCNR) by Governor Joe Lombardo on January 6, 2023. Settelmeyer is a fourth-generation Nevada rancher with over 25 years of public policy experience spanning all aspects of natural resources and agriculture at the state and local level. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Education/Agricultural Science from the California Polytechnic State University in 1994. He was a Nevada legislator for 16 years and held several leadership roles on multiple committees and subcommittees throughout his tenure. Prior to becoming an elected representative, Settelmeyer served as the Chair of the Carson Valley Conservation District, as well as Chair of the Nevada State Conservation Commission. Additionally, he was on the Small Business Administration Ombudsman as a representative for Region IX from 2008-2012.

Dominique Etchegoyhen

Deputy Director, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

Dominique Etchegoyhen became a Deputy Director in 2017. Prior to working for the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Dominique co-founded a land use consulting firm dedicated to protecting and enhancing natural and cultural resources in Nevada. He is licensed to practice law in Nevada and California, and served as a law clerk to Judge Howard D. McKibben in the U.S. District Court, District of Nevada. Dominique is a graduate of the University of Colorado and Golden Gate University School of Law, where he was a Member and Editor of the Law Review, and received the Faculty Award for Academic Excellence in Environmental Law. Prior to his legal career, Dominique worked in Washington, D.C., as a Legislative Aide to U.S. Senator Richard H. Bryan.

Chad J. Stephens

Deputy Director, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

Chad Stephens joined the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources as a Deputy Director in April 2023. Chad started his state service in 2004, and has managed  a wide range of environmental compliance, conservation, and sustainability programs for the State of Nevada Office of the Military and the Nevada System of Higher Education. Chad is a Certified Environmental Manager and Certified Hazardous Materials Manager, holds a B.S. in Environmental and Natural Resource Science from the University of Nevada, and a M.P.H. from Tulane University.

Jennifer L. Carr P.E.

Administrator, Division of Environmental Protection

Jennifer Carr was appointed administrator of the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection in 2023. She has been with the NDEP since 1996 in various programs and capacities, including eight years as Deputy Administrator with oversight of the agency's water quality programs, eight years as the Bureau Chief for Safe Drinking Water, two years as Chief for the Bureau of Air Quality Planning, and many years working and supervising within the Bureaus of Water Pollution Control and Corrective Actions. She is a Nevada Registered Professional Engineer in Civil Engineering, is a Nevada Certified Public Manager, a Nevada Certified Environmental Manager, holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Montana State University, and an A.A.S. in Architecture and Building Engineering Technology from Vermont Technical College.

Adam Sullivan, P.E.

State Engineer, Nevada Division of Water Resources

Adam Sullivan has been with the Division of Water Resources since 2009, and was appointed State Engineer in December 2020. He is a licensed Professional Engineer with a Master’s degree in Hydrology from the University of Nevada, Reno and has been working in the water resources management field since the early 1990s. As State Engineer, Adam's role includes working on the many critical water quantity issues and policies that affect all Nevadans, including the increasing demand for limited water resources, proactive management of over-appropriated and over-pumped groundwater basins, impacts of floods and prolonged drought, enhancing dam safety, and sustainment of our wetlands and freshwater ecosystems; all within the over-arching context of Nevada’s growing population and the current and future impacts of climate change.

Kacey KC

State Forester/Firewarden, Nevada Division of Forestry

Kacey KC was appointed State Forester/Firewarden in 2018.  After college, she became a Peace Corps volunteer, spending two years doing community forestry work in Nepal. Kacey started her career with the Nevada Division of Forestry in 2002 as a seasonal for the nursery and seedbank program, then moved to the resource program as the Staff Specialist for Community Protection. She spent more than ten years working collaboratively with state, local and federal partners in the fuel reduction program before moving into the Sagebrush Ecosystem Program. There, she worked with partners, landowners and other industry to find a collaborative and sustainable approach to sagebrush ecosystem management in Nevada. Kacey went back to Forestry in 2015 as the Deputy Administrator of Operations, managing the natural resource, wildland fire, aviation and conservation camp programs.  

Charles Donohue

Administrator and State Land Registrar, Nevada Division of State Lands

Charles Donohue has served as the Administrator and State Land Registrar since his appointment in 2014. He started his state service in 2001 with the Conservation Districts Program, prior to joining the Nevada Tahoe Resource Team in 2003. Charlie was the Water Quality Program Specialist on the team and later the Tahoe Program Manager, coordinating the implementation of the Environmental Improvement Program (EIP) for Nevada. He has conducted resource inventory and restoration work from southern Vermont and New Hampshire to the Eastern Sierras. Charlie relocated to Nevada in 1999 from Kenya, East Africa, where he worked as a Natural Resource Consultant.

Robert Mergell

Administrator, Nevada State Parks

Robert Mergell was appointed as the Administrator for Nevada State Parks in January 2019. He began as a seasonal Park Aid at Floyd Lamb State Park near Las Vegas while attending college, and after serving in the United States Marine Corps, he worked at Glacier National Park before becoming a Park Ranger at South Fork State Recreation Area in 1995. Since then, Bob has worked as a Ranger at Lahontan State Recreation Area, as a Park Supervisor at Wild Horse State Recreation Area, as Nevada State Park’s Northern Regional Manager, and most recently, as the Deputy Administrator before becoming Acting Administrator in October, 2018. 

Rebecca Palmer

Administrator, State Historic Preservation Officer

Appointed in 2013 to the position of Administrator and State Historic Preservation Officer, Rebecca Palmer has also served as both the Deputy and as the Review and Compliance Officer for the State Historic Preservation Office since 1994. In those two prior positions, Rebecca consulted and coordinated with 38 federal agencies, state agencies and governmental divisions, municipalities, regional authorities, and private property owners to assist those parties in complying with federal laws and regulations (primarily the Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966), state statutes and, in select instances, with regional planning ordinances around Nevada. Prior to her employment with the State, Rebecca worked for the U.S. Forest Service as an Assistant Forest Archaeologist at the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in Nevada for two years, and managed the cultural resources program for the Eldorado National Forest for five years.  

Jamey McClinton

Administrator, Division of Natural Heritage

Jamey McClinton joined the Nevada Division of Natural Heritage in 2022 as Supervisory Botanist. During this tenure, she secured over half a million dollars in grant funds to support expanded monitoring and seed collection by utilizing her published research on the threats faced by Nevada's critically endangered rare plants. Jamey was appointed Administrator of the agency in 2023. She holds a B.S. in Ecological Management and Restoration from the University of California, Davis, an M.S. in Natural Resources and Environmental Science from the University of Nevada, Reno, and has authored several peer-reviewed publications. In her role as Administrator, McClinton leads NDNH’s efforts to support the needs of diverse planning, conservation management, research, education, and economic development activities by maintaining biodiversity data for Nevada’s at-risk plants, animals, and ecological communities. 

Kelly Williams

Administrative Officer IV

Kelly Williams began her career with the State of Nevada at the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection in March of 1998. Kelly has worked in multiple areas within the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, including the Division of Environmental Protection (Bureau of Waste Management, Bureau of Mining Regulation and Reclamation, Bureau of Water Pollution Control, and the Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund program), the Division of Forestry, and the Director’s Office. Kelly took a three year detour to the Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs before coming back in August 2014 to her current home in the Director’s Office as the Chief Fiscal Officer for the Department.