Supported by over three decades of experience in environmental conservation efforts, Robert E. Baker is an accomplished environmentalist. Presently serving as an environmental consultant for Enbridge, Inc., he has simultaneously been a member of the Office of the State Archaeologist with the Texas Archaeological Stewardship Network in Austin since 1993 and a staff member of the Maya Research Program at The University of Texas at Tyler since 1990. While pursuing these laudable positions, he also served as a senior environmental inspector for the Mexico-STFE Department of Transportation Pipe Integrity and Hydrotest Project in 2016. Likewise, he lent his expertise to academia as an adjunct instructor of anthropology and archaeology at Victoria College from 1997 to 2002 and as an adjunct instructor of anthropology, archaeology and geography at Coastal Bend College from 1996 to 2002.
Over the course of his career, Mr. Baker has also spent time on various projects, such as the Big Sandy Project, where he was the lead environmental inspector, as well as the Cactus II Project, the Cheniere Corpus Christi Pipeline Project, the Virginia Southside Expansion Project, the Hickory Bend Project, the Bison Pipeline Project and the Elba Express Project, among many others. He has notably traveled across the country as a field archaeologist for these projects and several other initiatives, having worked alongside Hidalgo and San Patricio Counties, Texas, as well as East Tennessee Natural Gas, Piedmont NG, TransCanada, Kinder Morgan, Rathborne Properties, the Mississippi Department of Transportation and Texas Christian University, where he traveled to Belize.
To prepare for his career, Mr. Baker pursued an education at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in biology and anthropology, with a minor in chemistry, in 1995. He went on to earn a Master of Arts in archaeology from The University of Texas at San Antonio in 1998. After accruing many years in the field, he attended Colorado State University and earned a Master of Science in natural resources in 2021. Currently, Mr. Baker is pursuing a doctorate in environmental sustainability at Prescott College in Prescott, Arizona. Alongside his academic degrees, he also holds several certifications in industrial compliance training, 404 permit application and compliance training and wetland delineation training.
Highlighted by the National Geographic Society, Mr. Baker maintains affiliation with the Ecological Society of America, the American Society for Environmental History and the Society for Ecological Restoration. Inducted into the Golden Key International Honour Society in 2017, he has been revered for participating in the energy sectors of 22 U.S. states. Looking toward the future, Mr. Baker intends to complete his doctorate and transition from the energy sector to academia. He is interested in teaching at the tertiary level.