When Lucas Gregory, Ph.D., joined the Texas Water Resources Institute in 2006, he never expected that his first job out of college would become a 20-year career.
Over the past two decades, Gregory has grown alongside the institute, taking on new responsibilities, developing expertise in water quality and watershed management, and eventually joining TWRI’s leadership team.
“Every time I turned around, I just got more and more opportunities here,” Gregory said. “So here we are, 20 years later.”
Today, Gregory serves as a TWRI associate director and research assistant professor in the Texas A&M University Department of Soil and Crop Sciences.
Finding his way to TWRI
Gregory first connected with TWRI while completing his master’s degree in water management and hydrological science at Texas A&M.
The university’s water program partnered with TWRI to co-host a water resources conference in Fort Worth, and Gregory volunteered to help with conference logistics. The opportunity gave him his first chance to meet and interact with TWRI staff.
Several months later, Gregory came across an opening at TWRI while searching for his first job post-graduation. He interviewed for the position and was soon hired as a project manager.
“I was told after the fact that it was them interacting with me at the conference that made them say ‘we need to hire this guy,’” Gregory said.
His initial responsibilities focused primarily on coordinating projects and deliverables with principal investigators and professors.
“We didn’t write watershed plans at that time. We didn’t collect data at that time. We didn’t analyze data at that time,” he said.
That changed when a watershed planning project needed someone to write the watershed protection plan. Gregory stepped in and began to learn the process as he went.
“I started writing that watershed plan before the first watershed planning short course was even delivered, so it was kind of a learn-as-you-go type thing,” he said.
That experience opened the door to more watershed planning work and, eventually, to water quality monitoring and other technical projects.
Throughout the years, working with him, I’ve learned so much from him. He’s our in-house watershed expert, and so anything watershed-related, I go to him, or any Institute-related questions at this point. He’s great to collaborate with because we’ve both been here a while, but things change. So it’s great to have someone who knows the history and has been around to bounce ideas off of, thoughts, questions, all the things. He’s been a great coworker as well as friend throughout the years, and I’m thankful to work with him and have him on our team
We’ve seen each other through a lot. While I wasn’t at his wedding, he was at mine. We’ve seen each other through first children, next children, and now kids growing up and getting older and all the things
Growing with the institute
As Gregory’s responsibilities have grown, so has the institute.
Danielle Kalisek, TWRI assistant director, who joined TWRI a year before Gregory, has worked alongside him throughout his entire career at the institute and has seen his role evolve firsthand.
“He’s our in-house watershed expert, so anything watershed- or project-related, I go to him,” Kalisek said. “He’s great to collaborate with because we’ve both been here a while. It’s great to have someone who also knows the projects and their history and has been around to bounce ideas off of, thoughts, questions, reminders, all the things.”
“We still do a fair bit of the project management type stuff, but we do a lot more of the actual work now too,” Gregory said. “We’re doing the science, we’re collecting the data, we’re writing the report and the literature and all of that stuff.”
Gregory became increasingly involved in water quality monitoring and quality assurance and earned his Ph.D. in water management and hydrological sciences while continuing his work at TWRI. His career has gradually shifted from managing projects to helping lead and advise on the work being done across the institute.
“Now, I mean, the role’s not that much different. I just do more advising on all the things as opposed to doing the things,” he said.
For someone who describes himself as a “doer,” the change has taken some getting used to.
Still, he said one of the most rewarding parts of reaching this point in his career is seeing the team TWRI has built.
“We’ve got a fantastic team that does all the things,” Gregory said. “I don’t have to go to the field or anything like that. So that’s nice to be able to rely on everybody that we have around us.”
Looking ahead
After 20 years at TWRI, Gregory is looking toward the future with the same willingness to take on new challenges that has shaped his career.
For TWRI, he hopes the institute continues to build on its reputation as a trusted resource for water in Texas while expanding its expertise as new water challenges emerge.
“We’re not the expert in all the things, but we’re experts in a lot of things, and I hope that stays that way,” he said. “Also, hope that we work to expand that area of expertise.”
For Gregory personally, the next chapter includes a new opportunity to teach a course on critical water resource issues at Texas A&M. While he has previously given guest lectures, this will be his first time teaching an entire course.
After two decades at TWRI, Gregory’s career has come a long way from his first role as a project manager. He has watched the institute grow, taken on new responsibilities and helped build the expertise and teams that allow TWRI to take on an increasingly diverse range of water resources challenges.
And while he may not have known 20 years ago where the opportunity would lead, Gregory looks forward to seeing what comes next.
Gregory through the years
