Brian Steed leaving Utah’s DNR to return to USU

Brian Steed speaks at the release of the first Report to the Governor on Utah's Land, Water & Air in 2021. Steed has been named executive director of the Janet Quinney Lawson Institute for Land, Water & Air.

LOGAN – Utah State University graduate Brian Steed, who has been leading Utah’s Department of Natural Resources, is leaving DNR to become the first Executive Director of Utah State University’s Janet Quinney Lawson Institute for Land, Water and Air.

He reports July 1 to take over at the Institute, which is a new creation.

“We’re really grateful for the Janet Quinney Lawson family for their willingness to help stand it up,” Steed says. “But there is a real need.

Utah State has been at the forefront of doing a ton of great research and what this institute hopes to do is connect that great research with the policy makers and deciders at the state level and at the local level and even at the national level to make sure we get the best policy possible.”

Steed will report directly to President Noelle Cockett which indicates the importance USU is placing in the new institute.

“I think that’s right and I appreciate President Cockett’s vision when it comes to this,” adds Steed. “Ultimately, if you’re going to look at some of the major problems we face as a state going forward, I think that some of the biggest three are going to be how we manage our land, our water and our air. And how we best meet the needs of our growing population with those limited resources that we have.”

Brian Steed has been involved with the work of the institute, as he served as co-chair on its external advisory board last year alongside Chris Luecke, dean of the S.J. and Jessie E. Quinney College of Natural Resources at USU.

Steed will join Anna McEntire on the institute’s leadership team. McEntire serves as associate director for the institute while continuing her role as executive director for research communications within the Office of Research, a position she has held for nearly 20 years.

Steed is a Logan native who was an economics professor at USU before leaving to become Utah Congressman Chris Stewart’s chief of staff for four years before assuming leadership of the Utah DNR in 2019.

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