Andrew Ayres is a research fellow at the PPIC Water Policy Center. He is an environmental and natural resource economist focused on questions related to the design, development, and effectiveness of legal and economic institutions for managing the environment. His work often involves applied economic modeling and econometric analysis. Previously, he worked in Germany and the United States on projects to inform policy-making related to topics such as climate change, energy, river restoration, and water pricing. He holds a PhD in economics and environmental science from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a BA in economics from Pomona College.

Thaddeus L. Bettner has served as general manager of the Glenn-Colusa Irrigation District (GCID) since 2006. He has worked for water agencies in the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys and has 31 years of experience with irrigation and water agencies on the local, state, and federal levels. Mr. Bettner serves on the board of the US Committee on Irrigation and Drainage, the Power and Water Resources Pooling Authority board, and as an alternate board member to both the Colusa and Glenn groundwater authorities. He is actively engaged in the development of Sites Reservoir and has previously chaired the Sites Reservoir Committee. He has published several papers on agricultural water use efficiency and irrigation systems efficiencies. He is a registered civil engineer with the state of California and holds a BS in agricultural engineering from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.

The Honorable Michael L. Connor is the assistant secretary of the Army (Civil Works) and serves as the principal advisor to the secretary of the Army on all matters related to the Army’s Civil Works Program. In this role, he establishes policy direction and supervises programs for conservation and development of the nation’s water and wetland resources, flood control, navigation, and shore protection. Prior to his confirmation, he was a partner at the WilmerHale law firm, focusing on natural resources, renewable energy development, environmental compliance, and Native American law. Previously, Mr. Connor served as the Deputy Secretary of the Interior and Chief Operating Officer; he was the first person of Native American descent to serve in that position. Mr. Connor also served as commissioner of the US Bureau of Reclamation and counsel to the United States Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. He started his career with the Department of the Interior in 1993. Mr. Connor has a law degree from the University of Colorado Law School and a bachelor of science in chemical engineering from New Mexico State University.

Alvar Escriva-Bou is an assistant professor with the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department and the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability at the University of California, Los Angeles. He’s also an adjunct fellow with the PPIC Water Policy Center. Before that, he was a senior fellow at the PPIC Water Policy Center, where his research explored integrated water, energy, and environmental resources management. While at PPIC, he examined the options and consequences of transitioning to groundwater sustainability in the San Joaquin Valley, analyzed California’s water accounting system, studied urban drought resilience, and investigated energy and climate policies related to water use, among other things. Previously, he worked as a civil engineer, managing and developing large infrastructure projects for local and regional governments and consulting firms in Spain. He holds a PhD and MS in water and environmental engineering and a BS in civil engineering from the Polytechnic University of Valencia in Spain, as well as an MS in agricultural and resource economics from the University of California, Davis.

E. Joaquin Esquivel was appointed to the State Water Resources Control Board by Governor Jerry Brown in March 2017 and designated as chair by Governor Gavin Newsom in February 2019. Previously, he served as assistant secretary for federal water policy at the California Natural Resources Agency in the governor’s Washington, D.C. office, where he facilitated the development of policy priorities between the agency, the governor’s office, the California congressional delegation, and federal stakeholder agencies. For more than eight years prior to that he worked for US Senator Barbara Boxer of California, most recently as her legislative assistant covering the agriculture, Native American, water, oceans, and nutrition portfolios, in addition to being the director of information and technology. He brings this experience to the PPIC Water Policy Center Advisory Council. He was born and raised in California’s Coachella Valley. He holds a BA from the University of California, Santa Barbara in English.

Aaron Fukuda is general manager of the Tulare Irrigation District, where he oversees the district’s day-to-day operations while continuing to promote the conjunctive use operations of the district and its growers. Mr. Fukuda also was recently appointed interim general manager of the Mid-Kaweah Groundwater Sustainability (MKGSA) agency, where he coordinates water activities with surrounding jurisdictions, including the development of the groundwater sustainability plan for the MKGSA. Previously, he worked for Tulare Irrigation District as the district engineer and spent six years as an associate engineer specializing in agricultural hydraulic design at Summers Engineering. He is a registered professional engineer with the state of California. Mr. Fukuda obtained his bachelor of science in civil engineering from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo in 2000 and his masters in public administration from California State University, Fresno. He was born and raised in Hanford, California.

Ellen Hanak is vice president and director of the PPIC Water Policy Center and a senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California, where she holds the Ellen Hanak Chair in Water Policy. Under her leadership, the center has become a critical source of information and guidance for natural resource management in California. She has authored dozens of reports, articles, and books on water policy, including Managing California’s Water. Her research is frequently profiled in the national media, and she participates in briefings, conferences, and interviews throughout the nation and around the world. Her other areas of expertise include climate change and infrastructure finance. Previously, she served as research director at PPIC. Before joining PPIC, she held positions with the French agricultural research system, the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, and the World Bank. She holds a PhD in economics from the University of Maryland.

Bill Hasencamp is the manager of Colorado River Resources for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, where he develops and manages water supply programs to augment Metropolitan’s Colorado River supplies. He has been with Metropolitan for 20 years, negotiating transfer agreements with irrigation districts, negotiating exchange agreements, and funding new water supply projects to augment Metropolitan’s Colorado River Supplies. Bill is one of California’s representatives to the Colorado River Salinity Control Forum. Bill’s hobbies include long distance bicycle touring, which led him on a three-month bicycle ride across the United States.

Kyle Jones is the policy & legal director with Community Water Center, which acts as a catalyst for community-driven water solutions through organizing, education, and advocacy in California. He was previously an associate attorney with Adams, Broadwell, Joseph & Cardozo, where he practiced law under the California Environmental Quality Act, and a policy advocate with Sierra Club California, where he led California water advocacy. He serves on the PPIC Water Policy Center Advisory Council, and he holds a juris doctorate from University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law and a bachelor degree in philosophy from California State University, Sacramento.

Sandra L. Kerl is general manager of the San Diego County Water Authority. She joined the Water Authority as deputy general manager in November 2009 and served as acting general manager in 2019 before being appointed by the Board of Directors to her current post. As general manager, Kerl’s priorities include enhancing relations with the Water Authority’s member agencies, minimizing rate increases, concluding the long-running litigation with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, and ensuring long-term water supplies for the semi-arid San Diego region. Kerl led the effort to secure financing for the nation’s largest seawater desalination plant, and she has more than 35 years of experience in municipal management. Kerl currently sits on the board of the Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank and the California Urban Water Agencies, which represents the water suppliers that serve more than two-thirds of California’s population. Kerl received her bachelors of political science from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and her masters of business administration from the University of Redlands.

Sandi Matsumoto is director of The Nature Conservancy’s California Water Program. She leads a multi-disciplinary team focused on securing a sustainable and resilient water future for California. The Water Program is working to secure the wintering grounds of the Pacific Flyway, to revive healthy rivers to sustain salmon, and to advance sustainable groundwater management that ensures drinking water for people and supports nature. During her 18 years with TNC, she has worked at the nexus of water and agriculture across the state, including by launching BirdReturns and TNC’s efforts to implement the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. She was raised in Central Valley. In 2017, she was appointed by Governor Brown to serve as a board member on the Sacramento‒San Joaquin Delta Conservancy. In 2022, she was appointed to the California Water Commission. She is also a member of the first cohort of the Water Solutions Network. She brings this experience to the PPIC Water Policy Center Advisory Council. She holds an MBA from the Anderson School at UCLA and a BA from Yale University.

Jeffrey Mount is a senior fellow at the PPIC Water Policy Center. He is an emeritus professor of earth and planetary sciences and founding director of the Center for Watershed Sciences at the University of California, Davis. A geomorphologist who specializes in the study of rivers, streams, and wetlands, his research focuses on integrated water resource management, flood management, and improving aquatic ecosystem health. He has served on many state and federal boards and commissions that address water resource management issues in the West. He has published more than a hundred articles, books, and other publications, including the seminal book California Rivers and Streams (UC Press). He holds a PhD and MS in earth sciences from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Karla Nemeth is director of the California Department of Water Resources (DWR), where she oversees 4,000 employees. Nemeth focuses on preparing the department and state to adapt to more extreme weather as a result of climate change—investing in aging and green infrastructure, better management of groundwater supplies, and programs to improve local water resilience. Nemeth is committed to providing programs and services that meet the needs of California’s diverse population. Prior to joining DWR, Nemeth worked at the California Natural Resources Agency as Governor Brown’s deputy secretary and senior advisor for water policy. She was the Bay Delta Conservation Plan project manager from 2009 to 2014. She received a bachelor’s degree in political science and Latin American studies from the University of California, San Diego, and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Washington.

Caitlin Peterson is associate director and research fellow at the PPIC Water Policy Center. She is an agroecologist whose research spans climate-smart agriculture, soil health, diversified cropping systems, agroecosystem resilience, and multi-benefit agricultural landscapes. In her previous work, she explored irrigation and soil ecosystem functions in California almond and tomato systems, crop-livestock integration in Brazilian soybean-beef systems, and small farmer adaptation to climate change in Colombia, Tanzania, and Ghana. As a consulting agroecologist, she led programs linking farmers across the US to emerging soil carbon marketplaces. She holds a PhD in ecology and an MS in international agricultural development from the University of California, Davis.

Julie Rentner is president of River Partners, where she has successfully secured over $100 million in state and federal grant funding to acquire conservation properties and implement riparian and floodplain habitat restoration along major California rivers statewide. Additionally, Julie has developed and led stakeholder processes supporting the integration of flood control and ecosystem enhancement at the regional level, resulting in the development of several on-the-ground multi-benefit projects as well as the Mid San Joaquin River Regional Flood Management Plan. She joined River Partners in 2008 as a restoration ecologist based in the San Joaquin Valley. She completed the California Agricultural Leadership Program in 2015. She is also the President of Reclamation District 2092, and she completed her BS in Forestry at the University of California, Berkeley and received an MS from the University of Hawaii, Manoa.

Michael Tognolini joined East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) in 1996 and has served as director of water and natural resources since 2018.  His responsibilities include the planning and development of EBMUD’s supplemental water supply portfolio, including water transfers, regional partnerships, and recycled water programs. He also oversees watershed stewardship for over 50,000 acres of EBMUD watershed land in the Sierra foothills and East Bay, protection of fisheries and wildlife, and management of trails and recreation areas.  Mike received a BS and MS in Civil Engineering from Stanford University and has over 30 years of experience in the water industry.