Eric Averett is CEO of Atlas Water and has been an adjunct professor at Taft College and Bakersfield College for 20 years. Before joining Atlas Water, he was general manager of the Rosedale–Rio Bravo Water Storage District for over 14 years. He has been involved in evaluating and resolving water supply and quality challenges facing Kern County since 1991. He sits on the board of directors of the Kern County Water Agency and the California Water Data Consortium. Eric graduated from California State University, Bakersfield with a degree in environmental resource management.

Andrew Ayres is a research fellow at the PPIC Water Policy Center and an assistant professor of economics at the University of Nevada, Reno. 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 policies for 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.

Since 1987, Don has been the vice president and general manager of Terranova Ranch, Inc., located 25 miles southwest of Fresno, California. Don also owns and farms Prado Farms in Fresno County. Don has served on the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Environmental Farming Act Science Advisory Panel since 2011. In 2012, Don served on the working group for the Advisory Committee on Biotechnology and 21st Century Agriculture (AC21). Since 2014, Don has served on the California State Board of Food and Agriculture and is currently president. He also serves as chairman for the California Cotton Alliance, director and past chairman for the California Tomato Growers Association, director and chairman for McMullin Area Groundwater Sustainable Agency, and director for the Raisin City Water District. In the spring of 2020, Don was appointed to the governor’s Task Force for Business and Jobs Recovery. Don is a graduate of California State University, Fresno with a degree in biology.

Kassy Chauhan is the executive officer of the North Kings Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA), where she has helped finalize and submit the groundwater sustainability plan to the California Department of Water Resources. She also serves as special projects manager for Fresno Irrigation District, a member agency of the North Kings GSA. Chauhan has extensive experience with elected boards, public relations, and disadvantaged communities as well as local, state, and federal agency interactions. She previously served as a senior sanitary engineer with the State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water (2014–19) and the Department of Public Health (2000–14). She has been responsible for the regulatory oversight of over 370 public water systems in Fresno, Madera, Merced, Mariposa, and Tuolumne counties. She has a BS in civil engineering from California State University, Fresno and is a licensed professional civil engineer. She grew up in the agriculturally rich Imperial Valley.

Alvar Escriva-Bou is an adjunct fellow with the PPIC Water Policy Center and 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. 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.

Allison Febbo is the first woman to serve the Westlands Water District as general manager, where she is responsible for directing, coordinating, and reviewing the district’s activities and operations. She also serves as the administrative head of the district in its relations with the public, legislative bodies, federal and state governments, and local public agencies. Ms. Febbo is a hydrologist with 25 years of professional experience in natural resources, hydrology, and water operations. Prior to Westlands, she served as the general manager of the Mojave Water Agency and was the deputy operations manager for the Central Valley Operations Office for the US Bureau of Reclamation. Ms. Febbo holds a BS in earth and atmospheric science from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a MS in hydrologic science from the University of California, Davis.

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 a senior fellow with the PPIC Water Policy Center, where she holds the Ellen Hanak Chair in Water Policy. She was the center’s first director, as well as a vice president and senior fellow with the Public Policy Institute of California. Previously, she served as the institute’s research director. Under her leadership, the center became 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. 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.

Ann Hayden is vice president of the Environmental Defense Fund’s Climate Resilient Water Systems Program and leads implementation of sustainable water management approaches in the arid US, including California and the Colorado River basin. She focuses on advancing incentive-based approaches that ensure adequate water for ecosystems, improve agriculture’s resilience to climate change, and address the water needs of disadvantaged communities. For more than two decades, Ann has built broad coalitions to advance pragmatic solutions that benefit both people and the environment. She is an expert in the development and implementation of well-designed markets that strike the right balance between ecosystem protection and community prosperity. Ann is board chair of the San Francisco Estuary Institute and sits on the boards of the Water Education Foundation and Restore Hetch Hetchy. She received a BA in marine biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz and an MA in environmental science and management from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval was appointed president of Fresno State in May​ 2021. He previously served as Fresno State’s provost and vice president for academic affairs, and in that role was the university’s chief academic officer. He first joined Fresno State as a member of the faculty in 2000. Over two decades of service, he has served as a professor of Spanish and Portuguese, coordinator of the Spanish master of arts, chair of the department of modern and classical languages and literatures, interim associate dean of the College of Arts and Humanities and dean of the College of Arts and Humanities. Jiménez-Sandoval’s relationship to the Central Valley is even more deeply rooted, as he moved with his family to the area to work on the family farm as a child, and as he and his wife, Mariana, decided to raise their sons in Fresno.

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.

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.

Sonia Sanchez is a senior community development specialist for Self-Help Enterprises with over 10 years of public relations experience. With a background in integrated communications and event planning, she organizes logistics for community meetings and outreach to disadvantaged communities, develops press materials, and conducts press outreach. She currently leads the organization’s Multibenefit Land Repurposing efforts as a co-chair for the Statewide Support Entity. She also supports the organization’s efforts on drought, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, and the Integrated Regional Water Management program and provides overall support for community participation in groundwater sustainability planning.

Ashley Swearengin is president and CEO of the Central Valley Community Foundation, a charitable foundation serving the six counties of Central California and helping secure over $600 million in philanthropic and public grant funding to over 950 civic organizations over the last five years. As CEO, she is responsible for supporting the CVCF board, staff, and partners in pursuit of the organization’s vision of a Central Valley with “no barriers; just opportunity; all people.” She has nearly 25 years of experience in community and economic development in California’s Central Valley, including serving as mayor of Fresno from 2009 through 2016, where she focused her efforts on improving distressed neighborhoods, revitalizing the downtown and urban core, promoting local businesses, securing the city’s long-term water supply, addressing chronic homelessness, and stabilizing the city’s financial position. In addition, she has led the Governor’s Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley, Fresno State’s Office of Community and Economic Development, the Regional Jobs Initiative, and the Central Valley Business Incubator. She was an Aspen Institute Rodel Fellow and serves on numerous boards dedicated to inclusive economic growth, promoting democracy and civic engagement, and fulfilling America’s promise, including New America, the Urban Institute, the College Futures Foundation, California Forward, and the James B. McClatchy Foundation, as well as the PPIC Economic Policy Center Advisory Council. She holds MBA and BS degrees from California State University, Fresno.

Sarah Woolf runs Water Wise, a water management company for farmers in the central San Joaquin Valley and is a partner in Clark Bros., a farming operation and property investment company. Through Water Wise, Sarah works directly with farmers, groups of farmers, and water districts to adapt to water regulations. Between Sarah and her husband Chris, they participate in over 30,000 acres of farming operations, primarily in Westlands Water District and Fresno Irrigation District. Sarah and husband Chris have four children, Clark (20), Meg (19), George (18) & Robert (16). She earned a bachelor of science in agricultural business from California State University, Fresno.