Joe joined the board in 2015. After a career working for state agencies and corporations, he utilizes his educational and professional experience to compile and analyze data to assist in our programmatic goals.
Our Team
Jordan Macha
Executive Director & Waterkeeper
Jordan Macha is the Executive Director and your Bayou City Waterkeeper. An inside-the-loop Houston native, Jordan advocates for healthy waters throughout the Galveston Bay watershed, working on wetland protection, urban water management, and supporting community efforts to improve water quality.
Prior to joining Bayou City Waterkeeper, Jordan worked for the Gulf Restoration Network and the Sierra Club advancing restoration priorities for the Gulf region. She received her Master’s of Public Administration with an emphasis on Urban Water Management and Policy from Texas State University, and graduated from the University of the South in Sewanee, TN with degrees in Russian and Political Science.
You can reach her at: jordan@bayoucitywaterkeeper.org, 713 309 6683 (direct)
Kristen Schlemmer
Legal Director
Kristen Schlemmer joined Bayou City Waterkeeper in July 2018. As its Legal Director, Kristen oversees the organization’s legal program, coordinates and implements legal activities to advance Bayou City Waterkeeper’s programmatic goals, and represents the organization in litigation and administrative proceedings.
Before joining Bayou City Waterkeeper, Kristen was a trial lawyer at Susman Godfrey, specialized in environmental and wildlife litigation at Irvine & Conner, and clerked for two federal judges. She received her JD from Tulane Law School with high honors in 2010, and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with Linguistics & History degrees. Kristen grew up in the northernmost pocket of Houston in Kingwood, Texas after spending her early childhood in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
As a complement to her work for Bayou City Waterkeeper, Kristen serves on the Executive Committee of the Houston Regional Group of the Sierra Club and is certified as a Texas Gulf Coast Master Naturalist.
You can reach her at kristen@bayoucitywaterkeeper.org,
281 901 0182 (direct)
Board of Directors
Jen Powis
Jen currently serves as Board Chair and general counsel to the organization, having joined the board in 2014. Founder of the Powis Firm, she specializes in environmental advocacy services and provides strategic direction for campaigns and programs for a variety of Gulf Coast nonprofits.
Dr. John Jacob
John serves as Vice-Chair, having served on the board since 2008. As Director of the Texas Coastal Watershed Program at Texas A&M University, he provides education to local governments on the impact of land use on water quality and watershed management.
Martin Hamilton
Marin serves as Treasurer and began serving on the board in 2014. A Houston native and retired teacher, Martin spent time swimming in the upper part of Buffalo Bayou in his youth and has sailed Galveston Bay most of his life.
Joe Liggio
David Popken
David Popken has been a Texas resident for nearly 40 years, joining the Board in 2018. An avid fisherman and sailor, David and his wife live on Galveston Bay in Seabrook, where he serves as a member of the Seabrook Open Spaces and Parks Committee, Galveston Bay Cruising Association, Sierra Club, and Audubon Society.
Sharron Stewart
Sharron began serving on the Board in 2009. She is a coastal advocate and educator based in Lake Jackson, and has worked with many national, state, and local agencies to preserve and protect the coastal environment, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in its effort to protect the Columbia Bottoms hardwood forests in Texas.