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.

Erica Brand is a project manager with the California Energy Commission’s land use and infrastructure planning unit. Previously, Ms. Brand served as director of the California energy strategy at The Nature Conservancy, where she worked on state and regional policies related to clean electricity and land conservation. She led a team that focused on decarbonizing the electricity grid, providing science and policy analysis to state and federal regulatory agencies that develop and implement clean electricity policies. Erica previously served on the Board of Directors of the Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies (CEERT). Before joining The Nature Conservancy, she worked as a senior environmental policy specialist at Pacific Gas & Electric Company, focusing on utility operations and habitat and species protection. Erica holds a master of science degree in environmental management from the University of San Francisco and a bachelor of science degree in biological sciences from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.

Daniel Kim is principal and vice president of governmental and regulatory affairs for Golden State Clean Energy, the developer and operating partner of the Westlands Solar Park, LLC. Westlands is the largest master-planned renewable energy project in California, covering more than 20,000 acres in Kings County. Prior to joining Golden State Clean Energy, Mr. Kim served as a senior policy advisor to members and committees in the California State Legislature and as a government affairs manager for PG&E. At PG&E, Mr. Kim was instrumental in getting the utility to support AB 32 (California Greenhouse Gas Reduction Program) and helped to pass the acceleration of the California Renewable Portfolio Standard program in SB 1478 (Sher) in 2006. In the legislature, Mr. Kim served as a senior policy advisor on a range of issues. He attended the University of Redlands.

Rey León is the mayor of Huron, California and the founder and executive director of The LEAP Institute (Latino Equity Advocacy & Policy), a valley-based Latino nonprofit organization. He was born in Fresno and raised in the Huron area. Currently based in Fresno County, he focuses on economic, environmental, transportation and climate justice, clean energy, green jobs, and community development. He has been working to ensure that environmental justice principles are advanced in the region’s institutions and culture. He is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley where he obtained a BA in Chicano studies with an emphasis in public health.

Lorelei H. Oviatt, AICP, is director of the Kern County Planning and Natural Resources Department in California and has worked in both the public and private sector of land development. She has years of professional planning experience in the public and private sectors, focusing on project managing large scale, multiagency planning and moving extremely complex projects through the system under accelerated timeframes. She has permitted over 18,896 MW of renewable energy wind and solar projects with over 4,100 MWh of battery storage in operation and 2,000 MWh in progress of permitting. She is a member of the American Planning Association (APA), the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP), and American Society for Public Administration and past President of the California County Planning Directors Association (CCPDA). She has a bachelor of arts from Baldwin Wallace University in Ohio and a masters of public administration from California State University, Bakersfield, where she is an adjunct lecturer.

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.

Annabelle Rosser is a research associate at the PPIC Water Policy Center. Her research interests include drought mitigation and adaptation, environmental land use planning, and urban water management. Previously, she worked on projects assessing the vulnerability of low-income housing and community water systems to extreme heat and wildfire, and evaluating green infrastructure development incentives. Prior to joining PPIC, she worked as a graduate student researcher at the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation. She holds a master’s degree in urban and regional planning from the Luskin School at University of California, Los Angeles, and a BA in international studies from the University of Chicago.