Brian
C. Roberts, director of the Water Resources Learning Center, Fairfax,
VA, has an extensive background in hydrology, hydraulics and stormwater
management. He has held significant water resources and engineering
positions in the public (federal and local), private, industry and non-profit
sectors. He has taught literally hundreds of workshops throughout the
United States and abroad. He most recently served as Executive Director
of a Washington, DC trade association, a position he accepted after
heading his own firm which specialized in training and technical support
services throughout North America.
During his service in the public sector, Roberts was the chief of the Hydraulics Branch, Eastern Federal Lands Highway Division, Federal Highway Administration responsible for hydraulic design and water quality programs in the Eastern half of the United States. As a workshop instructor and project manager for state highway agencies throughout the nation, he was responsible for keeping these agencies fully informed via publications and instruction sessions of FHWA activities and technical advances. Roberts developed water quality monitoring programs, erosion control policies and authored the FHWA manual “Best Management Practices for Erosion and Sediment Control.”
On the county level, he was project manager, Stormwater Management Branch, Fairfax County, VA Department of Public Works responsible for planning and implementing regional stormwater management programs. Presenting these sessions involved coordination on technical and institutional issues with engineers, developers, county agencies and attorneys. He designed and managed storm drainage and flood control projects for the County. Later he served on the County’s Environmental Quality Advisory Council.
Roberts holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA. He has held professional engineering licenses in Virginia and Maryland. He is past Chair of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Committee on Hydrology, Hydraulics & Water Quality. He currently Chairs the ASCE EWRI Climate Change Committee.