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Career History and Highlights: Ms. Gundersen has been with the USGS for 29 years. Before becoming the Acting Eastern Regional Director, Ms. Gundersen was the Chief Scientist for Geology since 2001, supervising the geologic hazards, resource, and landscape programs of the USGS, and from 2005 to 2006, she served an 18 month detail as the Associate Director for Geology. In 1998, she became Associate Chief Geologist for Operations, and in 2000, she served on detail to the USGS Director to implement a major reorganization of the USGS. In 1995, she became the Program Coordinator for Energy Resources and in 1996 became the Program Coordinator of the Mineral Resources Program. She served on the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Risk Assessment of Exposure to Radon in Drinking Water from 1997 to 1999.

She has conducted research and directed diverse projects in the fields of geochemistry and ore deposits and assessments of the geologic radon potential of the United States.

She has received the DOI Superior Service and Meritorious Service Awards, the Unit of Excellence Award, the Secretary of the Interior's Bronze Executive Leadership Award, and is a Geological Society of America Fellow. She has published over 65 papers and presented over 200 talks in the fields of geology, geoinformatics, and science management.

Education: Ms. Gundersen's academic background is in structural geology and geochemistry, and she has done graduate work at the University of Colorado-Boulder and has a bachelor's of science from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.