Dr. Kelly A. Rusch is the Associate Chair and Professor in the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering at North Dakota State University (NDSU) and Executive Director of the North Dakota EPSCoR State Office (Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research). As Associate Chair, Dr. Rusch leads the new B.S. Environmental Engineering program. As Executive Director of North Dakota EPSCoR, Dr. Rusch oversees the state office, the efforts of the NSF EPSCoR Track-1 award and CIRCLES Alliance, and the development and implementation of activities that support statewide STEM education and workforce development, diversity, partnerships and collaborations, and public communications. From 2013-2018, Dr. Rusch served as the Vice President for Research and Creative Activity at NDSU during which time she oversaw the full spectrum of research administration and integrity services (including research development, communications, and corporate partnerships) and served on the Boards of Directors for the NDSU Research Foundation and the NDSU Research and Technology Park. Dr. Rusch is a former member of the Northern Plains Unmanned Aerial Systems Authority, the North Dakota Economic Development Foundation Board of Directors, and the executive committee of the Council of Research – APLU. Prior to her roles at NDSU, Dr. Rusch was a faculty and administrator at Louisiana State University. She served in numerous leadership positions, including Associate Dean of the College of Engineering, Interim Chair of the Department of Construction Management and Industrial Engineering, and founder and Director of the Institute for Ecological Infrastructure Engineering. She led a research group focused on microorganism system design, development, and modeling; wastewater treatment and surface water quality; industrial waste stabilization and reuse; and, engineering education. Rusch has more than 150 refereed articles, technical papers, reports, and published columns. She earned her bachelor's degree in biology and chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (1986) and her master's degree (1989) and doctorate (1992) in civil engineering with an emphasis on environmental engineering at Louisiana State University. Kelly is a registered professional engineer in Louisiana and a board certified environmental engineer.