Nick Aumen is Regional Science Advisor for the Southeast Region of the US Geological Survey overseeing the Greater Everglades Priority Ecosystem Sciences program. This program, involving USGS scientists from across the country, provides high quality science is support of Everglades restoration. His previous positions were with Everglades National Park and the South Florida Water Management District in West Palm Beach FL. Nick received his B.S. and M.S. in biology at the University of West Florida, and his Ph.D. in microbial ecology at Oregon State University. After finishing his Ph.D., he took a faculty position in biology at the University of Mississippi and was a tenured Associate Professor of Biology when he returned to Florida. Nick presently is an affiliate faculty member at Florida Atlantic University and the University of Florida. He also served on the national Board of Directors of the Sierra Club, a 120-yr-old environmental organization with more than 750,000 members and served two terms as its Vice-President and one as Treasurer. Nick is a past president of SFS, serves on the Freshwater Science editorial board, has helped organize several SFS annual meetings, and has been a member since 1981.