LAS VEGAS – (January 8, 2026): The DRI Foundation, the non-profit arm of DRI, is pleased to announce new members to its Board of Trustees. The DRI Foundation Board of Trustees work in close collaboration with DRI President Kumud Acharya and the Office of Advancement to engage and build relationships with new and existing supporters to further DRI’s work across Nevada and around the world.
The following new board members were formally approved by the Nevada System of Higher Education Board of Regents in November 2025 and will each serve a four-year term beginning January 1, 2026:
- Michael Blum, Co-Founder & President, Hedgeye Risk Management
- Nancy Fennell, CEO, Dickson Realty
- Jesse Murray, Sr Vice President of Energy Delivery, NV Energy
- Maggie Rougier-Chapman, Founder & President, Footprint Bioadvisors
The new board members will serve with current DRI Foundation board members:
- Beth Campbell, CEO, Campbell House (Chair)
- Lisa Gallagher, Head of Casualty Initiatives, Moody’s Corporation (Vice Chair and Treasurer)
- Yolanda King, Principal Consultant, King Strategies, LLC (Secretary)
- John Zimmerman, General Manager, Truckee Meadows Water Authority (Officer-at-Large)
- Kristin McMillan Porter, Senior Advisor, Porter Group, LLC (Past Chair)
- Marybel Batjer, Partner, California Strategies
- Linda Faiss, Founder and President, Faiss Foley Warren Public Relations and Public Affairs (ret.)
- Betsy Fretwell, Principal Consultant, C4WARD Strategies
- Robert Gagosian, Ph.D., President Emeritus, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute
- Julie Gilday-Shaffer, CEO, The JGS Group
- Nora James, Community Member
- Stephanie Kruse, Founder, Steph Kruse, LLC
- Zane Marshall, Director of Water Resources, Southern Nevada Water Authority
- Ronald Smith, M.D., Ph.D., Clinical Professor of Community Medicine, UNR School of Medicine
- Clark Wood, Independent Board Member, Everus Construction Group
“We are excited to welcome these new trustees to the DRI Foundation,” said DRI President Kumud Acharya. “We are deeply grateful to Kristin McMillan Porter who served as Chair for three years and made a tremendous impact including leading the launch of the AWE+ events. We extend our thanks and appreciation to our outstanding current trustees, and look forward to continuing our work with Beth Campbell, our 2026 Chair.”
“We have some incredible new trustees joining the DRI Foundation board in 2026 – I can attest that they will add to our already stellar committed Board of Trustees as we continue to fill our board’s mission of showcasing the impact of DRI, attracting followers, supporters and donors, and expanding the fundraising capacity of DRI,” said DRI Foundation Chair Beth Campbell.
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About the DRI Foundation
The DRI Foundation serves to cultivate private philanthropic giving in support of the mission and vision of the Desert Research Institute. Since 1982, DRI Foundation trustees have worked with DRI benefactors to support applied environmental research to maximize the Institute’s impact on improving people’s lives throughout Nevada, the nation, and the world. For more information about the DRI Foundation or DRI, please contact Kristin Burgarello (Kristin.Burgarello@dri.edu) or Julie Mathews (Julie.mathews@dri.edu).
About DRI
We are Nevada’s non-profit research institute, founded in 1959 to empower experts to focus on science that matters. We work with communities across the state — and the world — to address their most pressing scientific questions. We’re proud that our scientists continuously produce solutions that better human and environmental health.
Scientists at DRI are encouraged to follow their research interests across the traditional boundaries of scientific fields, collaborating across DRI and with scientists worldwide. All faculty support their own research through grants, bringing in nearly $5 to the Nevada economy for every $1 of state funds received. With more than 600 scientists, engineers, students, and staff across our Reno and Las Vegas campuses, we conducted more than $59 million in sponsored research focused on improving peoples’ lives in 2025 alone.
At DRI, science isn’t merely academic — it’s the key to future-proofing our communities and building a better world. For more information, please visit www.dri.edu.
Media Contact
Detra Page
Communications Manager
Detra.Page@dri.edu
702.862.5597
