Board of Trustees

Chad Reed

Chad is currently the Chairman of Daggett County Planning and Zoning, Manager of Daggett Water District, Vice Chair of Daggett County Cemetery Board, and  Chair of Flaming Gorge Road and Transportation District.  He served as Daggett County Commissioner for 12 years and worked with  Daggett School District for 32 years.  Chad holds Degrees in business and accounting.  He lives in Daggett County.

Darrin Brown

Darrin has over 25 years of experience working in environmental quality and public health enforcement. He has deep knowledge of the oil and gas industry, and decades of experience solving rural and local environmental issues.  Darrin received the 2019 Utah Environmental Health Association's Pickett-Webb Memorial Award  for outstanding career achievement in environmental health. He lives in Uintah County.

Gabby Blackburn

Gabby graduated with a degree in Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning from Utah State University before returning to her hometown of Vernal. She was the Assistant City Manager/ Planning Director for Vernal City for 2 years. She is currently a land use planning consultant for Sunrise Community Development (Sunrise Engineering). Gabby lives in Uintah County.

Irene Hansen

Irene  currently serves on the Duchesne County Commission.  She has much experience with economic & community development, community projects and programs, and in building sustainable communities. She has over 20 years of experience with the Duchesne County Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Office. She lives in Duchesne County.

John Mathis

John served as a Representative in the Utah State Legislature for 10 years, as Mayor of Naples City for 8 years, and has provided local veterinary services  in the Vernal area for more than 40 years.  John graduated from Colorado State University in 1981, and was the UVMA's Veterinarian of the year in 2010.  He lives in Uintah County.

Kirk Benge

Kirk is the Health Officer and Director of the TriCounty Health Department. He has 20 years of experience in Public Health. He previously served as  Section Chief of Virology and Immunology lab at the Utah State Laboratory, and as a Transition Team Advisor for the Office of Governor Spencer Cox.  He has a BS degree in microbiology and a masters degree in public health.  He lives in Uintah County.

Seth Lyman

Seth directs Utah State University’s Bingham Research Center, and is a Research Professor in USU's Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. He has a doctoral degree in Environmental Science and Health from the University of Nevada, Reno, and his expertise is in atmospheric measurements, instrumentation, and analysis.  His research focuses on the environmental outcomes of energy production.  He lives in Uintah County.