Sandi Matsumoto

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.