We are thrilled to announce that senior scientist and climate resilience expert Letitia Grenier will join PPIC as the next director of the Water Policy Center. Letitia is currently the Resilient Landscapes Program director at the San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI). She will assume her new role on September 25, 2023.

Grenier brings a wealth of expertise to the organization, as well as a deep commitment to finding collaborative solutions to California’s most pressing water issues. At SFEI, Grenier has led rigorous, independent scientific research that aims to help decision makers improve management of California’s natural resources. For nearly two decades, she has fostered long-term relationships with a broad range of stakeholders. Grenier also has extensive experience with team management, organizational development, and fundraising. At SFEI, she led a team of over 30 scientists, designers, planners, and landscape architects with an annual budget of around $5 million.

“I’m honored to further the PPIC Water Policy Center’s mission, and excited to continue fostering dialogue among diverse stakeholders to collaboratively address problems and generate novel solutions,” said Grenier. “This is the only way we are going to tackle the many challenges California faces.”

Grenier is particularly well-versed in the value of multi-benefit projects as a means of developing greater resilience in both the natural and built environments, and she has robust relationships with water managers, technical experts, policymakers, communities, and tribes across the state.

Grenier has already been a valuable partner for the PPIC Water Policy Center: she was the 2020–21 PPIC CalTrout Ecosystem Fellow, and she showed herself to be an insightful, collegial teammate and an able communicator. Her report on smarter permitting filled important gaps in our understanding of how to expand the pace and scale of restoration efforts; she has been an adjunct fellow with the center since 2021.

In her new role, Grenier will spearhead a refresh of the PPIC Water Policy Center’s strategic plan, refine priorities, and work to further grow the center’s partnerships, influence, and impact in building a sustainable future for California.

Outgoing center director Ellen Hanak will remain with the center as a senior fellow. She is delighted to use her years of expertise to support her successor and the PPIC Water Policy Center through this exciting transition.