Lisa Palazzi        Daniel Ufnar        Len Balli

Lisa M. Palazzi, CPSS, PWS

Ms. Palazzi is the president and principal scientist of Pacific Rim Soil & Water, Inc. She is a SSSA Certified Professional Soil Scientist (CPSS) and a Society of Wetland Scientists Certified Professional Wetland Scientist (PWS). Ms. Palazzi is also a member of the:

	Soil Science Society of America
	Council of Soil Science Examiners (writers of the SSSA certification exam)
	National Society of Consulting Soil Scientists (past PNW Regional Director and past Secretary-Treasurer of the PNW Chapter)
	Washington Society of Professional Soil Scientists (past Secretary-Treasurer)
	Society of Wetland Scientists
	Washington State Environmental Health Association

Ms. Palazzi has also provided assistance in writing local and state-wide legislation and model ordinances that affect regulations about stormwater and related hydrology issues.

Ms. Palazzi's university education was focused in soil science and forest ecology. She attained her Bachelor’s degree in 1985, graduating with highest honors from Montana State University with a major in Soil Science and a minor in English Composition. Her Master's thesis, completed at Oregon State University in 1989, was centered on forest science and soil physics—the study of water and heat transport in soils. Her graduate research focused on characterization of the physical processes behind seasonal changes in soil water content and its effect on soil heat storage, soil temperature changes and seedling survival and stress response.

Ms. Palazzi’s background in post-graduate research included participation in an interdisciplinary team of Oregon State University scientists studying ecosystem function of riparian systems in disturbed watersheds of Oregon's Coast Range. The research was focused on assessment and management of fisheries habitat, erosion control processes, silviculture projects, and wildlife habitat enhancement. Projects included stream reach restoration, landslide modeling, stream hydrology modeling, and extensive planting of conifer seedlings in alder-dominated riparian and upland zones. Later, working for the USFS PNW Research Lab in Olympia, Ms. Palazzi worked on statistical analysis of a large, long-term silvicultural fertilization database and on an extensive field project researching soil compaction and erosion effects in clearcut skid trails. Following that, she opened her current soil science consulting business, which has been providing expert wetlands, soils and hydrology assessment services in western Washington since 1991.

Daniel Ufnar, CPSS, APSC 

Mr. Ufnar is a certified professional soil scientist (CPSS) and an Associate Professional Soil Classifier (APSC), and is trained in wetland science. He is highly skilled at soil mapping and interpretation of soil hydrology indicators during field-level scientific assessments. He is particularly interested in application of Low Impact Development technologies. He is an excellent communicator in person and on paper. He is a member of the Soil Science Society of America.

Mr. Ufnar’s university education was focused in soil science. He attained his Bachelor’s degree in Soil Science and Environmental Conservation in 1999, graduating from the University of New Hampshire. After completing his B.S., he was hired as the lead field scientist on a team mapping soils on private forest lands in Arkansas for a couple of years. He then moved to Pullman, Washington where he went back to school and completed a Masters Degree in soil science in 2004. His graduate work was focused in applying remote sensing software to mapping land type associations on forest lands, incorporating ArcGIS mapping applications.

Since coming to work at PRSW, Mr. Ufnar has become a valuable resource in both soils and wetlands projects. He is a highly competent scientist and communicator, both in the field and in the office. He carries out onsite soils investigations, and prepares the final interpretation reports. He can delineate and characterize wetlands, and has an excellent grasp of greater site hydrologic interpretations. Mr. Ufnar is our primary staff for our site hydrology monitoring projects, which includes datalogger installation, downloading and maintenance, and preparation of technical reports.

Len Balli, Office Manager

Ms. Balli is the sole office staff in support of consulting work at PRSW. She is the backbone of the business, carrying out all of the day-to-day organizational work, such as report setup, research, phone contacts, client management and general office management. Ms. Balli also creates and tracks all contracts and billing, and provides vital support in report preparation and setup, including wordsmithing, general editing, transfer of field notes into report format, map and tables preparation and final report production.

Ms. Balli attained her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1998, graduating from The Evergreen State College with a major in 20^th Century Russian History. Ms. Balli’s has worked as office manager at PRSW since 2001. While working at PRSW, she also volunteers as a docent at the Washington State Capitol Museum.