IEDRO Volunteers
IEDRO is run by volunteers. If you appreciate our work, please join us in our effort to rescue important environmental data before it’s too late.

Persons listed in bold type have been our most active volunteers for over a year through regular attendance on our conference calls or working behind the scenes on IEDRO tasks.

IEDRO Administration and Principal Volunteers

Dr. Elbert W. Friday, Jr., who joined IEDRO’s Advisory Council in the fall of 2008, is a Professor Emeritus of Meteorology at the University of Oklahoma and Commissioner of the American Meteorological Society (AMS) Weather and Climate Enterprise Commission. He has been Director of the Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate at the National Academy of Sciences, Director of NOAA Research and Director and Deputy Director of the National Weather Service. He served as U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nation’s World Meteorological Organization for ten years. Dr. Friday is the recipient of the Presidential Rank Award of Meritorious Executive. The Federal Executive Institute Alumni Association selected him as the 1993 Federal Executive of the Year. He received the 1997 Cleveland Abbe Award from the American Meteorological Society.

As chief management officer for the Government Printing Office, IEDRO Board Chair Janet Sansone oversees GPO’s support operations, including human capital, finance and administration, information technology and systems, and acquisitions. She serves on the boards of directors of several organizations.
email Janet Sansone

After thirty-two years, IEDRO Executive Director Rick Crouthamel D.Sc, retired in 2005 from the National Weather Service, where he had been a manager in international activities. For the past ten years, he has concentrated on locating and rescuing historic weather observations worldwide and providing those data to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s world database. Under his leadership, more than 300,000 upper-air observations from Africa and more than 700,000 surface observations from South and Central America have been rescued.
email Richard Crouthamel

Pennell “Penny” Paugh has been manager of public relations at IEDRO since June 2008. She is working with a team of volunteers who are redesigning the IEDRO website, writing grant and foundation proposals, and developing conference displays and marketing materials. She has been a writer for more than twenty years and a manager for more than nine years.
email Penny Paugh

Ed Root D.Sc, is a sustainable earth visionary with a love for math and science and five decades experience in information systems, aerospace science, and operations research. His work in scientific computing includes systems analysis, programming, architectural design, mathematical modeling, maintenance, and building computers from the vacuum-tube/transistor to the integrated-circuit level. Over the past three years, Ed has singlehandedly constructed a computer program to digitize analog hydro-meteorological charts.

Larry Nicodemus recently retired from the position of Technical Manager at International Environmental Data Rescue Organization, Larry brings his experience as a Meteorologist at the National Climatic Data Center to help IEDRO develop and maintain its rescue projects. He has been helping Ed Root in his development of software that will aide IEDRO more rapidly digitize historic data.
email Larry Nicodemus

Director of Technology Requirements Jean-Paul Miller has been a volunteer with IEDRO since 2005. A computer scientist and web-based video game programmer in PHP and AS3, he currently is a C++ Programmer/Database Analyst. Recently, he has been addressing infrastructure issues at the corporate headquarters of IEDRO.

For nearly five years, Martin Mwanangwa Munkhondya has been Senior Assistant Meteorologist for the Malawi National Meteorological Service. Thanks to the generosity of the Service’s Director, Mr. Donald Kamdonyo, Martin has been our project manager for data rescue and digitization efforts in Africa. In this capacity, Martin has established and maintained data rescue sites in Kenya, Mozambique, Niger, Senegal, Tanzania and Zambia in addition to the ongoing project in his home country, Malawi. Through Martin’s efforts over 300,000 upper-air observations have been rescued from Africa.

Susan Callis joined IEDRO in March 2010 as Manager of Operations.
      She retired from the federal government after 36 years of service, 29 of those with NOAA. While with NOAA, Susan worked for the National Weather Service (NWS) as an operational meteorologist, for the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) as a research meteorologist, and for the Systems Acquisition Office (SAO) as a program manager acquiring and deploying major weather systems for the NWS, FAA, and the U.S. Navy.
      Susan began her career as a forecaster at the NWS Forecast Office in St. Louis, MO, where she grew up. After ten years, she moved to Columbia, MO, where she worked for a National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) Modeling Office. In 1989, she moved to the D.C. area when she started work for the NWS Headquarters in Silver Spring, MD. Susan began her management experience in SAO for the NEXRAD (weather radar) and ASOS (surface observations) programs.
      After leaving NOAA, Susan worked in the field of Information Technology as a Chief Information Officer and Chief of Staff for the Department of Commerce and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. After retiring from government service, Susan joined I.M. Systems Group as a program manager for the Science and Technology Program of a NESDIS office that researches and develops applications of satellite data. Currently, she is working in Camp Springs, MD, in the World Weather Building.
      Susan has a Masters degree in Atmospheric Science from the University of Missouri. She lives in Silver Spring, MD, during the week and in Annapolis, MD, on weekends. She has four cats. When not working, Susan’s favorite things to do are kayaking, gardening, photography, decorating her houses, going to the theater and concerts, refinishing furniture, reading, writing, and spending time with good friends.