Cheryl Gilpin Biography

Cheryl Gilpin Biography by Lendon Gilpin  copyright  2013

Cheryl Gilpin first began studying algae and aquatic field ecology in the 1970s as a student at Nolan Catholic High School in Fort Worth, Texas where she was trained and mentored by biology professors at University of Texas At Arlington.  Her work earned her a Bausch and Lomb science award and two scholarships.  She earned a B.S. in Aquatic Biology with minors in Chemistry and Environmental Law from Stephen F. Austin State University and later earned a M.Sc. in Oceanography from Texas A&M School of Geoscience.  She has been a visiting scholar at universities in Japan, Canada, Italy and Iowa, and several universities in Texas.  Ms. Gilpin has been trained and obtained certifications in water and wastewater treatment, FEMA emergency management and conflict mediation.  She has done consulting work for Texas Engineering Extension Service, Brazos River Authority, Lower Colorado River Authority, UT-Pan American, U.S. Geological Survey in Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas, University of North Texas, among others.  She has also been a consultant for marine and oceanographic research projects.  Ms. Gilpin served as a Director on the Edwards Aquifer Authority Board (District 8, Comal Co) from 2002-2004. She has a Texas composite science teaching certification and formally taught middle school science.  She has experience developing and presenting workshops for science teacher training, watershed best management practices, rainwater harvesting and water conservation and has been a university teaching assistant for undergraduate classes in Botany, Environmental Law, and Photomicroscopy for Communications majors  and participated professionally in many environmental and water resource hearings.  Her plankton identification skills (taxonomy)  are sought after internationally since they are of a very rare and high level of expertise gained from over thirty years of taxonomic work in various types of freshwater and marine ecological habitats.  Her photomicroscopy skills are much sought after for scientific research and for public outreach and as fine art.  She is an author for UK- microscopy Micscape Online Magazine. She examines the tiny species that leave paleo-records and finds indicator species that  influence environmental conditions and stresses.  In between environmental consulting jobs she has  worked as an engineering tech in an aerospace company and at a Texas Transportation Instititute where she investigated pedestrian safety and High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) travel time improvements. Frequently she travels, but when she is at home she likes following water resource policy hearings and meetings related to Comal Springs in her hometown of New Braunfels, Texas,  where she has lived over 20 years.  This is an interest she shares with her husband Lendon Gilpin assistant director for nearly twenty years at the Edwards Aquifer Research and Data Center at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas.  Both Cheryl and her husband Lendon  did their masters thesis research on subjects related to the Edwards Aquifer and their son Mark Allen held  an intern  position as historian,  researching the drought of the 1950s in the Edwards aquifer region. If anyone wants to find Cheryl and talk to her they had better be prepared to get wet and become very excited along with her about  little slimy things and learn about all the ways they provide free ecosystem services that save taxpayers a lot of money.