Board of Directors
Robert J. Potts is President and CEO of the Dixon Water Foundation, a private foundation supporting sustainable watershed management. From 2004 through the summer of 2007, Potts was the General Manager of the Edwards Aquifer Authority, a regional regulatory agency created by the Texas Legislature to manage, enhance, and protect the Edwards Aquifer which spans eight counties in south central Texas, serves as the primary water source for more than one and a half million people, and supports numerous springs in the area, including the two largest springs west of the Mississippi River.
From 1993 to 2004, Mr. Potts worked at the Nature Conservancy where he held several positions including State Director of Texas and Vice President for the South Central Division, managing the conservation work in Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana. Mr. Potts previously practiced law with the firm of Baker and Botts in Houston where he focused on international and corporate issues. He earned a Juris Doctorate degree from Columbia University in 1984 and a B.A. degree from Baylor University in 1980
Clinton W. Josey, Jr. serves as Vice President and Chairman of the Board of the Dixon Water Foundation. He attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States Naval Academy, University of Texas at Austin, and Southern Methodist University and earned a B.S. degree in Petroleum Engineering and M.S. in Mathematics. Mr. Josey has worked as an independent in oil and gas exploration from 1954 to present. He bought a ranch in Cooke County, Texas in 1974 and has always been interested in good land stewardship. He became interested in Holistic Management in 1983.
When Roger Dixon died in January of 2005, Mr. Josey became Executor of his Estate and President and CEO of the Dixon Foundation. The Dixon Foundation later changed its name to The Dixon Water Foundation. In 2007 Robert Potts became President and CEO of The Dixon Water Foundation and Mr. Josey became Vice-President and Chairman of the Board.
Walt Davis is a fifth generation rancher with interests in southeastern Oklahoma and west Texas. He grew up on a Texas ranch working with cattle, sheep and goats. He attended Texas A&M College were he completed a B.S. degree in Animal Husbandry and eighteen months graduate work in animal breeding. In 1962 he took over as manager of several Oklahoma properties and established a high tech ranching operation using the best practices of soil fertilization, weed control, animal health and animal nutrition supplementation. This approach resulted in tremendous production but very poor profitability and an obvious decline in health of the local environment. In 1974 the decision was made to shift the management of the operation toward a lower input, more sustainable program. It was soon apparent that making this management successful would require a better understanding of grassland ecology, grazing management and of how forages and grazing animals interact. This started a search for knowledge and re-education that continues today. The change in management philosophy resulted in an operation that was both more profitable and more stable. The health of the soil-plant-animal complex increased with a corresponding decrease in plant and animal diseases and pest organisms. The need for pesticides of all types was greatly reduced and in most cases eliminated. No purchased fertilizer material has been used in twenty years but soil productivity continues to increase. Perhaps the greatest change is the fact that today both the people and the animals of Davis Ranch enjoy their lives.
Mr. Davis is a past president of both HRM of Texas and HRM of Oklahoma and has worked, since 1986, as a management consultant with clients in both arid and humid regions.
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Leslie Rauscher joined the Dixon Water Foundation Board of Directors in December 2007. She brings with her over eight years of environmental expertise in water resource management and public outreach. As a senior environment and development planner for a regional planning organization, she developed various public education and outreach programs ranging from storm water pollution prevention, water conservation and a host of other environmental topics. She served as project manager for the innovative e-Life watershed program with CBS KTVT-11, and the Texas SmartScape water conservation program, which was recognized with numerous awards including the Texas Environmental Excellence Award and the American Water Works Association Watermark.
Mrs. Rauscher is presently working in the external affairs division of a federal agency, and she is thrilled to be volunteering her outreach and communication skills to serve the mission of the Foundation. Mrs. Rauscher and her husband, Mark, have dedicated their careers to public service, and they are committed to practicing and promoting environmental stewardship and sustainability in the community. A graduate of Texas A&M University at College Station, Mrs. Rauscher resides in Dallas.Kathy Smyth has had a lifelong passion for wildlife and conservation, and has been involved with non-profit organizations with conservation missions. She has served on the board of the Galveston Bay Foundation, the Houston SPCA, the Bayou Preservation Association, Wildlife Rehab and Education, the Legacy Land Trust, and is currently on the advisory board of The Nature Conservancy and Texas Land Trust Council.
Mrs. Smyth grew up in North Carolina, and has a Master of Science from the University of North Carolina. She lives with her husband, David, in Houston and is the grandmother of twins.