TAGD Officers

President – David Bailey, Mid-East Texas Groundwater Conservation District

David Bailey currently serves as the General Manager for the Mid-East Texas Groundwater Conservation District serving Madison, Leon and Freestone counties and has held that position since 2010. Mr. Bailey is a lifelong resident of Madison County and graduated from Madisonville High School in 1978. After receiving a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Finance from Sam Houston State University in 1982, he began working in various positions with the Madison County Appraisal District until 1998. He then worked for 11 years at the Walker County Appraisal District until accepting employment with Mid-East Texas GCD in 2009. As part of his duties as General Manager, Mr. Bailey serves the District as the voting member for Groundwater Management Area 12 and as the GMA 12 representative on both the Region C and Region H Water Planning Groups. He has also served on the Budget and Finance Committee for TAGD.

Vice President – Doug Shaw, Upper Trinity Groundwater Conservation District

Doug began his current position as the General Manager for the Upper Trinity Groundwater Conservation District, which encompasses the four counties immediately west of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex (Hood, Montague, Parker and Wise Counties), in 2015. Doug serves as the District Representative for GMA 6 and GMA 8 as well as serving as a voting member on Region C and an alternate member on Regions B and G. Prior to taking on his current role with the UTGCD, Doug spent nine years working for the Texas Water Development Board. At the TWDB, Doug began as a staff economist and was an author on several socioeconomic impact studies; additionally he was responsible for helping create 3 separate State Water Plans.  He also served as the first Ombudsman for the Agency, a position that provided him with the opportunity to work with people in all aspects of the water industry across the entire state. Doug has a B.S. and M.S. in Agriculture Economics from Tarleton State University where he has since been recognized as a Distinguished Alumni.

Treasurer – Janet Guthrie, North Plains Groundwater Conservation District

In 2023, Janet became the general manager at North Plains Groundwater Conservation District. She has 22 years of general manager experience from Hemphill Underground Water Conservation District in Canadian, Texas. Among her many accomplishments, Janet was responsible for establishing offices in Canadian as well as establishing a well permitting and registration system for their district. Janet said her goals for the district include, “bringing forward my experience with efficiency and budget management so that we get the most out of every taxpayer dollar and I would also want to see all user groups expand on their knowledge of the many measures of groundwater conservation that the North Plains Groundwater District has established and promotes. North Plains Groundwater District has done some fantastic work and it is my pleasure to be associated with it”.

Secretary – Stephanie Keith, Middle Trinity Groundwater Conservation District

Stephanie Keith came on board with Middle Trinity Groundwater Conservation District as the first Education and Public Relations Coordinator in 2017.  Since her start, she has provided groundwater education programs to public and private schools throughout the district, professional development for fellow educators, and various adult programs such as realtor workshops.  Stephanie currently serves on Texas 4-H Water Ambassador Advisory Committee and has served on the TAGD Education and Information Committee the past few years. Keith’s newest endeavor with the district is the construction of The Ditch Water Discovery Center.  The center will be a hub for groundwater education.  In her spare time, Stephanie enjoys volunteering for the local Master Naturalist chapter as the Volunteer Service Coordinator and thrift store shopping.  Most of all, she enjoys riding horses and mules with her two daughters, Tilly and Pacey, and husband, Brian.  Stephanie is a graduate of Tarleton State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science, Bachelor of Science degree in Wildlife Management, and a Master of Education degree in Curriculum and Instruction.

Parliamentarian – Kelley Cochran, Guadalupe County Groundwater Conservation District

Kelley began her career with the district in 2014 as the Executive Administrator and was promoted to General Manager in 2018. She holds a B.S. and Master of Applied Geography – Resource and Environmental Studies from Southwest Texas State University. Kelley serves as Administrator of GMA 13 since September 2021 and is the TAGD Area Representative for the Edwards Carrizo area. She is a 2021 graduate of the Texas Water Leaders Program, past Chairwoman and first female Chair of the Groundwater Science Division of TGWA, and recipient of the Texas Ground Water Association’s ‘Ground Water Science Person of the Year’ award January 2023.

Past President – Amber Blount, Sandy Land Underground Water Conservation District

Amber began her work with Sandy Land Underground Water Conservation District (SLUWCD) in 2007 as the office secretary. She quickly advanced to oversee well permitting and water quality services for the District. While continuing to act in that capacity, she served as Education & Outreach Coordinator for the multi-groundwater district education cooperative before being named SLUWCD General Manager in 2015. Amber grew up south of Dallas and obtained her B.S. degree from Tarleton State University in Stephenville, but now calls West Texas home. Amber is married to Tanner and the mother to three boys – Helee, Cross & Krew. Her family resides in Yoakum County, where they own and operate their family business, raising show pigs, cattle and dorper sheep on their property west of Plains.