Before that he was the administrator of the Soil Conservation Division for the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship. He became the Director of the Iowa DNR after his predecessor, Roger Lande, resigned on May 25, 2012.
He held a previous position as the head of the Soil Conservation Division at the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship before taking over as the director of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources following Roger Lande's departure on May 25, 2012.