Dave Heinemann earned his bachelor's degree in Political Science and German from Augustana College, Sioux Falls, South Dakota in 1967, and attended graduate school in International Relations at the University of Kansas. He received his Juris Doctorate from Washburn University School of Law in 1973. Heinemann was first elected to the Kansas House of Representatives from Garden City in 1968. He was Speaker pro tem of the House two terms (1985-1988) and chaired several committees including the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

After a 33-year teaching career at Washburn University’s School of Law, in 2020 David Pierce retired as emeritus Professor of Law and Norman R. Pozez Chair in Business and Transactional Law. Professor Pierce’s teaching and scholarship focused on oil and gas law, energy law, and environmental law, with an emphasis on Kansas law and policy. He also devoted substantial time to teaching these subjects to practicing lawyers.

David Pope grew up on a farm in Oklahoma and attended Oklahoma State University where he received his bachelor's and Master's degrees in Agricultural Engineering. Pope began his professional career as an Extension Irrigation Engineer in the Cooperative Extension Service at Kansas State University. He then served as Manager of Groundwater Management District No. 3 in Garden City before moving to Topeka. Pope served as Assistant Chief Engineer and Chief Engineer-Director, in the Division of Water Resources of the Kansas Department of Agriculture.

Dr. Ed Flentje, Professor Emeritus at the Hugo Wall School of Public Affairs at Wichita State University, served as Director of that School from 1999 to 2008. Flentje has a long career as both an academic and practitioner of public affairs. From 1975-1979, Flentje was a member of Governor Robert Bennett’s Cabinet and Director of State Planning and Research. During his tenure as Director of State Planning, he served on the Governor’s Task Force on Water Resources which met for two years and published its final report in 1978.

Kimberly Svaty is founder and CEO of Gencur-Svaty Public Affairs. For the last 20 years, she has been working in the field of clean energy. Svaty sees her role as a guide for developers of clean energy on how to do business in Kansas. She emphasized that "how to do business the right way means taking care of the people." She had worked for Aquila, a traditional utility before founding a transmission-only utility in 2007.

Leland “Lee” Rolfs, is a native Kansan; born in Topeka where he attended elementary and junior high school. He graduated from Hays (KS) High School. Rolfs graduated from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, and began his professional career in Chicago before returning to Kansas to pursue a law degree at the University of Kansas School of Law. He was employed as an attorney for the Kansas Water Resources Board and the Kansas Department of Agriculture and served as Special Assistant Attorney General from 1978 through 2008.

Mary Fund worked for the Kansas Rural Center (KRC) for most of its forty-year existence, serving as Executive Director since January 2015. She directed KRC's early water policy work, writing extensively on Kansas water issues. Among her publications are papers and monographs on water quality, quantity, and management published by the KRC and the Kansas Law Review. Fund is the editor of KRC's newsletter, Rural Papers, and also edits Policy Watch, KRC's legislative weekly update.