Helen Brandvold (she/her)

Principal Hydrologist at Sangre Ridge Engineering · Harvard Schools Committee Interviewer

Colorado Springs, Colorado

About

I spend my days figuring out where water in southern Colorado goes, who gets it, and what happens when there isn't enough. My work spans reservoir studies on the Arkansas River, drought plans for small towns, and many public meetings in school gyms. I care about clear explanations and about the people who live with the consequences of engineering decisions. Since 2009 I've interviewed applicants from Pueblo, Colorado Springs and the San Luis Valley for Harvard. It's my favorite way to stay curious about seventeen-year-olds.

Experience

Sangre Ridge Engineering, Colorado Springs, CO Principal Hydrologist, 2016 - present - Leads water-supply and drought-resilience studies for 14 municipal and rural water districts. - Manages a team of 7 engineers and analysts.

Front Range Water Collaborative, Denver, CO Senior Water Resources Engineer, 2005 - 2016 - Built river-basin models used in interstate water-sharing negotiations. - Wrote public-facing reports on groundwater decline.

Cottonwood Environmental Consultants, Boulder, CO Staff Hydrologist, 2000 - 2005 - Fieldwork on stream gauging, mine-drainage monitoring and wetland restoration.

Education

Harvard University, A.B., Earth and Planetary Sciences, 1998 (Lowell House) - Senior thesis on snowpack and spring runoff timing in the Rio Grande headwaters.

Colorado School of Mines, M.S., Hydrologic Science and Engineering, 2000

Volunteering

Harvard Schools Committee, Southern Colorado, 2009 - present. Alumni interviewer; about 12 applicants a year.
Pikes Peak Library District, 2014 - present. Volunteer tutor for adult GED students in math.
Harvard Club of Colorado, 2018 - 2022. Board member.

Interests

Trail running and fourteeners (31 of 58 climbed). Local history and old maps. Mystery novels. Bread baking. Learning Spanish, slowly.