OECR Staff Profiles

OECR Staff

Ginger Ellis is the Environmental Planning Administrator for the Office of Environmental & Cultural Resources. She holds a B.S. in biology and natural resources and an M.A. in geography and environmental planning from Towson State University. She also holds a Certificate in Scientific Illustration from the Maryland Institute College of Art and has illustrated works for the Smithsonian Institution, National Wildlife Federation, the American Littoral Society and several colleges and universities. Ginger is the Governor's appointee to the Lower Western Shore Tributary Strategy Team and the Patuxent River Commission. In addition she serves on numerous state and regional advisory boards.

C. Jane Cox is the assistant county archaeologist (Planner II) and Assistant Director of The Lost Towns Project. Her principal responsibilities as a cultural resources planner include subdivision review, management of various field projects, geophysical survey, and maintaining the Lost Towns Projects’ geographic information systems. Jane holds a B.A. in Anthropology and a M.A. in American Studies, both from the University of Maryland College Park. Her many research interests include archaeological and historic sites preservation and public interpretation. In addition to conducting much of the subdivision and development review for OECR, she is currently the County’s liaison with the Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse restoration project and she is the principal investigator for a comprehensive archaeological survey of the Rhode River drainage.

Hala Flores is the Senior Engineer and Watershed Model Administrator for the OECR’s Watershed Management Program (WMP). Hala’s primary responsibility is to assist OECR’s WMP by providing administrative technical assistance to meet the requirements of the MS4-NPDES permit “Watershed Assessment & Planning” and “Watershed Restoration.” Other responsibilities include technical administration aimed at providing optimum functionality, maintenance, and support to the Watershed Management Tool (WMT). The WMT is utilized to provide technical assistance, outreach, and communication materials to the Land Use Core Group offices and the County’s stakeholders. Hala holds a B.S. and M.S. in Civil Engineering, with emphasis on Water Resources. Hala is a certified Professional Engineer by the State of Maryland and possesses approximately 10-years of diverse civil engineering experience ranging from hydrologic and hydrosystem studies, hydropower projects design and construction, project engineering and management for highway projects, and environmental regulatory review and approval.

Elinor Gawel is the Critical Area Program oversight coordinator. Elinor received a B.S. in Special Education from the University of Maryland and attended graduate school there in Natural Resource Management. She has worked with the Critical Area program since its inception in 1984. Elinor’s other duties include working with the Department of Recreation and Parks on planning efforts such as the Greenways Master Plan and County-owned park master plans. Elinor serves as the environmental public education and outreach coordinator for the Office of Environmental and Cultural Resources. She is a member of the Patapsco/ Back River Tributary Strategy Team and the Maryland Coastal and Watershed Resources Advisory Committee.

Jim Johnson is an environmental scientist in the OECR. Jim’s responsibilities include working with the County’s Forestry Program, reviewing vegetation management plans and reforestation plans, and processing the refunds of reforestation securities. In addition, Jim administers the County’s Emergent Marsh Grass Program. He also works on various environmental special projects. Jim holds a B.S. degree in Natural Resource Management from the University of Maryland at College Park and is a Maryland Municipal Tree Care Expert. Prior to employment with the County, Jim held the position of Biological Technician at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center located in Edgewater, Maryland.

Zora Lathan is an environmental specialist in the OECR. Her responsibilities include reviewing reforestation plans and approving refunds of reforestation securities, as well as review of vegetation management plans. Zora holds a B.A. degree in Photography and Film Design from the University of Illinois, and continues to take graduate-level environmental and design courses. She has over ten-years experience with the National Audubon Society where she directed the Community Greening Program and worked on multi-media PSA production and distribution. She is also the executive director of the non-profit Chesapeake Ecology Center, an outdoor environmental education center in Annapolis, Maryland. Zora has co-authored a book and written various published articles on conservation landscaping. She is a member of the Lower Western Shore Tributary Strategy Team and serves on the steering committee of the Chesapeake Conservation Landscaping Council.

Janis Markusic is the Ecological Resources Programs coordinator with the OECR. Her primary responsibilities include coordinating surface water monitoring and management activities between and among County and State agencies, managing the County’s MS-4 NPDES Permit, providing program and project support for watershed management planning, supervising activities associated with water quality monitoring, Forestry, and Critical Area programs, and providing support for Land Use Core Group activities relative to ecological resource protection and restoration. Janis holds a B.S. degree in Biology and completed course work towards an M.S. in Aquatic Ecology from Kent State University. She has over 15-years of experience in the development and implementation of surface water monitoring programs, preparation of watershed restoration feasibility and design studies, and watershed management planning, in Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Indiana, and Ohio.

Mary Searing is the Program Manager and Watershed Management Program Administrator for the OECR’s Watershed Management Program (WMP). Mary administers the program by providing technical oversight and management of staff in order to meet the requirements of the MS4-NPDES permit “Watershed Assessment & Planning” and “Watershed Restoration” and TMDLs (Total Maximum Daily Loads). She supervises the operation and maintenance of the County’s Watershed Management Tool as well as the development of Watershed Studies. Mary is also the Geographic Information System (GIS) Data Custodian for OECR. Mary is a certified Professional Engineer in the State of Maryland, and holds a B.S. and M.S. in Agricultural and Biological Resources Engineering. She is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Maryland College Park in Civil Engineering with an emphasis in Environmental Engineering and Ecological Economics. Mary has approximately 15-years of experience in the use of watershed, hydrologic and hydraulic models; Geographic Information System software; and watershed management.