Workshop Participants

With more than 30 years experience with solar energy research, I'm now interested in various concepts for dual use of land involving solar, especially, agrivoltaics.

Roshni is the Senior Data Specialist in the Water for the Future Program at Sustainable Conservation. Her interest in land repurposing developed during the completion of her master’s in which she studied land retirement under SGMA and potential repurposing options for landowners. Her current work at Sustainable Conservation focuses on the watersheds of the San Joaquin Valley, and assessing how groundwater recharge can help water managers adapt to a changing climate while achieving diverse benefits.

Sarah Castle is a Senior Scientist at Sustainable Conservation working at the intersection of soils and water. She holds a PhD from the University of Montana in Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences and an MS in Geological Sciences from the University of Colorado.

Michael Kiparsky is the founding Director of the Wheeler Water Institute within the Center for Law, Energy & the Environment at the UC Berkeley School of Law. Under his leadership, the Institute has grown into a widely recognized voice on a range of California water issues. Dr. Kiparsky has worked on technical and policy aspects of water resources management for 20 years, and his primary interest lies at their intersection. He has published scholarly articles and technical reports on a range of topics including governance and policy of complex water systems, climate change impacts and adaptation, water innovation, and science for decision-making. Through his engagement activities, his work is regularly used by state and local decision-makers. He was previously on the faculty at the University of Idaho, and has experience in consulting, non-profit, and agency settings. Dr. Kiparsky earned an A.B. in Biology from Brown University and a Ph.D. from U.C. Berkeley’s Energy and Resources Group, where he was an NSF Graduate Research Fellow, a Udall Scholar, a CALFED Science Scholar, and the first ACWA Steve Hall Water Law & Policy Scholar.

At the Central Valley Partnership, my work involves coalescing a blue-green alliance of labor unions, environmental organizations and community leaders. I also serve in an array of other capacities, including on the San Joaquin River Conservancy's governing board, and on California's 30x30 Partnership Coordinating Committee.

Esther Conrad manages the research program at the Bill Lane Center for the American West at Stanford University. Current water-related projects include governance and incentive design for land repurposing in California and the West, and an analysis of California’s groundwater adjudications in relation to sustainability and equity in collaboration with researchers at UC Santa Cruz. Through her PhD studies at UC Berkeley and postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford’s Water in the West program, Esther’s research has focused on collaborative governance in the context of water management and climate adaptation, particularly in the context of groundwater in California.

Esther has worked for over 20 years in the environmental field, with a focus on environmental policy and governance in the context of water and climate change adaptation in California and internationally. Previously, Esther worked at Stanford’s Haas Center for Public Service, Columbia University’s Earth Institute, and the United Nations Development Programme. 

Amanda Fencl is a Western States Senior Climate Scientist for the Climate & Energy program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. Dr. Fencl is social scientists with expertise in water governance, climate adaptation, and environmental justice issues with an emphasis on research that informs equitable policy solutions. Their research at UCS focuses on the risks and opportunities from climate change in the Western United States.

Alvar Escriva-Bou is an assistant professor with the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at the University of California, Davis. His research uses systems approaches to explore integrated water, energy, food and environmental resources management. Specifically, he focuses on the integration of the human dimension in these socio-environmental systems, linking engineering and economic models to assess drought impacts, improve urban and agricultural resilience, or analyze policy outcomes and tradeoffs. Prior to joining UC Davis, Alvar was an assistant professor at UCLA, and earlier a senior fellow at the Water Policy Center of the Public Policy Institute of California where 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 strategies, and investigated energy and climate policies related to water use, among other things. Previously, he worked as a civil a civil engineer, managing and developing large infrastructure projects for local and regional governments and consulting firms in Spain. Alvar 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.

San Joaquin Valley Habitat Restoration Project Manager, The Nature Conservancy

I am currently a Water Intern with the Environmental Defense Fund working on maps and tools to support MLRP planning, decision-making, and outreach with a focus on justice and equity. I am also a graduate student at CSU Fullerton studying Environmental Engineering and I am interested in pursuing a PhD in Earth Sciences focused on land restoration and water systems.

Humberto is a PhD candidate in the Environmental Systems Graduate Group at the University of California, Merced. His research examines the socioeconomic tradeoffs involved in multibenefit land repurposing, with a particular focus on groundwater recharge. He employs electromagnetic geophysical methods to assess recharge suitability and identify colocated areas for integrated multibenefit uses.

Helen E. Dahlke, Ph.D., is a Professor in Integrated Hydrologic Sciences at the University of California, Davis and leader of the UC ANR Strategic Initiative on water quantity, quality, and security. Dr. Dahlke obtained a PhD degree in Environmental Engineering from Cornell University. Helen's current research interests include understanding flow and contaminant transport processes in the unsaturated zone, surface water – groundwater interaction, and water resources management. One of her main research efforts focuses on testing the feasibility of using agricultural fields as recharge sites for groundwater banking. 

In The Nature Conservancy’s California Chapter, Scott is the Lead Scientist for Land Program, including for the Protection and Stewardship and Restoration Strategies. Scott is also the Lead Scientist for the Strategic Restoration Strategy in the San Joaquin Valley and TNC’s Lead for participation as a Managing Partner at the Carrizo Plain National Monument. Scott led editing of a book for Island Press, Rewilding Agricultural Landscapes: A California Study in Rebalancing the Needs of People and Nature, on TNC’s vision for increasing groundwater sustainability, recovering 20+ threatened and endangered species, and improving water and air quality by working with farmers to rewild retired farmlands in the San Joaquin Valley. 

Ashley Larsen is an associate professor of landscape and agricultural ecology at the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, UC Santa Barbara. Much of her research focuses on how landscape composition and configuration influence biodiversity and ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes. She holds a PhD in ecology and a master's in economics, both from UCSB.

Director, California Institute for Water Resources & UCANR Cooperative Extension Specialist

My name is Yelenka Nunez, I am an Environmental Systems PhD student at UC Merced, under the supervision of Dr. Thomas Harmon. I have been working on building a geospatial tool to evaluate the suitability of land to transition from agriculture, under the context of the Multi-benefit Land Repurposing Program (MLRP). 

Spencer Cole is a Research Associate with the Water Policy Center at the Public Policy Institute of California. He studies a range of topics centered around water and land management, although most of his focus is on groundwater sustainability issues. He holds a B.S. in Environmental Engineering and an M.S. in Environmental Systems both from the University of California, Merced. 

Pablo Ortiz is the Director of Innovation and Collaboration within the Office of Science and Innovation. He previously served as Senior Climate and Water Scientist for the Climate & Energy program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. In his current position, he is responsible for removing barriers to innovation and expanding collaborations within the organization and with external partners. He focuses on fostering a culture of innovation, facilitating the development and implementation of new ideas to enhance the organization's mission impact, and strengthening scientific engagement. His expertise spans multiple areas, including climate change, environmental justice, science communication and education, partnership building and community-based research and outreach.

I work for the SocioEnvironmental and Education Network (SEEN) as the Participatory Science Director. My work is to engage underserved rural communities in addressing environmental issues and participating in climate justice initiatives. I conduct environmental monitoring with community science and education programs for children and adults, as well as provide technical support regarding scientific topics of air and water quality, cropland repurposing, and ecological systems. 

Vicky Espinoza is a research associate at Jet Propulsion Laboratory/UCLA JIFRESSE. Before joining JPL, she served as a project manager at The Nature Conservancy, where she led water and land use management projects and developed equitable community engagement strategies in the San Joaquin Valley. Vicky's prior research experiences at Argonne National Laboratory and NASA JPL, focusing on energy-water systems and climate change impacts on atmospheric and hydrologic systems, contribute to her research expertise. She aims to combine remote sensing, geospatial analysis, and community engagement to develop locally tailored and representative climate change resilience strategies for water and land use management in California and beyond.

Partner on Tule and Kaweah MLRP projects, overseeing MLRP mapping "toolkit".

Joy Baccei is the Director of the Merced Vernal Pool and Grasslands Reserve (MVPGR) and the SCICON (Science and Conservation) Field Station, as part of the UC Merced Natural Reserve System. In these capacities, she directs and implements land stewardship, research, education, and outreach activities. She has been with UC Merced for almost 5 years. Prior to employment with UC Merced, which began in March of 2020, she worked at Yosemite National Park for 18 years, in several capacities, including ecological restoration and plant ecology, and wilderness watershed management. 

I’m Yu Cai, a postdoctoral scholar at the Water System Management Lab at UC Merced since August 2024, working with Prof. Josue Medellin-Azuara. I obtained my Ph.D. from Northwest A&F University in agricultural resource economics. My research focuses on water resource management, economic assessment, climate change impacts and adaptation strategies.

Josué Medellín-Azuara is an Associate Professor of Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Merced. He is also an Associate Director of the UC Agricultural Issues Center, and an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California. His areas of expertise include the development of large-scale hydro-economic models for water supply, the economics of agricultural, environmental and urban water uses, adaptation to climate change, integrated water management, and consumptive water use. He has a special interest in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and other areas of California. Josué’s expertise also includes economic impact studies with an emphasis on the agriculture-related sector. He has experience working for industry and as a consultant for government agencies, NGOs, industry, and academia including the Natural Heritage Institute, the Stockholm Environment Institute, The World Bank, the Catholic University of Chile and the University of Rio Grande do Sul. Josué has served as an official for the California Water and Environmental Modeling Forum since 2013. Josué has degrees in engineering, business and economics, and he obtained his Ph.D. from the University of California, Davis with a dissertation on managing water in the Colorado River.

Ellen Bruno is an Assistant Professor of Cooperative Extension in the Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics at UC Berkeley. Her research addresses economic issues at the intersection of agriculture and the environment, with a particular focus on the potential and effectiveness of water-related policies. Her work is motivated by climate change and the need for strategies that mitigate the economic costs of drought. As an extension economist, she works with state and local government agencies, as well as nonprofits and practitioners, to improve the management of California's water supplies. Dr. Bruno received her Ph.D. in Agricultural & Resource Economics from UC Davis and her B.S. degree in Management Science from UC San Diego. 

Steve Blumenshine is the Executive Director of CSU-WATER, moving from the Directing the Research & Education Division of the California Water Institute at Fresno State University. CSU-WATER (Water Advocacy for Education and Research) develops and strengthens water research and scholarships in the CSU in collaboration with external partners and other water stakeholders. These efforts focus on critical impacts of stressed water resources on agricultural, urban, and environmental water allocations, with an awareness and application of the governmental and societal roles in the allocation of overprescribed and stressed water resources.

Fellow working for Sustainable Conservation, focusing on understanding how regenerative agriculture practices can be implemented into water allocations. 

Samuel Sandoval is a professor and extension specialist in water resources at UC Davis – UC ANR. He is a water resources scientist interested in improving water management for human and environmental needs in California, considering the economic, environmental and social justice aspects for long term sustainable strategies. He works with a wide range of people, from farmworkers delivering training on how to prevent contamination of water due to pesticides applications (in English and Spanish), to water resources managers and decision makers developing basic research to determine environmental flows. He is the founding member of the Water Management Lab. Dr. Sandoval is a collaborator in several institutions: he is the co-host of the Water Talk Podcast, and the academic advisor for the non-profit organization Water Education for Latino leaders; a scientific collaborator of the California Institute for Water Resources, the associate director of the Permanent Forum of Binational Waters, and a policy expert for the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute.

As senior manager of water policy, Taylor’s role is focused on ensuring birds and ecosystem benefits are considered in water policy, Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSPs) under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) and  implementation of SGMA. Taylor is leading Audubon's work under the Department of Water Resources (DWR) Technical Assistance Program on groundwater dependent ecosystems and Audubon's work on the Tule Subbasin Multibenefit Land Repurposing Program (MLRP). Taylor brings expertise in groundwater that was developed through working with farmers, Irrigation Districts, and GSAs to encourage the widescale adoption of recharge practices that are mindful of crop health and drinking water quality concerns. She also has a background in geospatial analysis and data science that was used to develop geospatial decision support tools that help water managers identify ideal geological conditions for recharge opportunities and identify field-scale models of surface-water irrigated agriculture in much of the San Joaquin Valley. Prior to working on water issues, Taylor earned her master's at Purdue University and specialized in bioacoustics. 

Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe is a Professor of Soil Biogeochemistry and Falasco Chair in Earth Sciences and Geology at the University of California, Merced. She previously served as the Director of the US Department of Energy’s Office of Science. Her research interest lies at the intersection of soil science, geochemistry, global change science, and political ecology. Prof. Berhe’s work seeks to improve our understanding of how the soil system regulates the earth’s climate and the dynamic two-way relationship between soil and human communities. 

Dr. Yarnell is an Associate Professional Researcher in the Center for Watershed Sciences at University of California Davis. Her research integrates the traditional fields of hydrology, ecology, and geomorphology in the riverine environment. She is currently conducting research that applies understanding of river ecosystem processes to managed systems throughout California, with a focus on the development and maintenance of riverine habitat in a changing climate. She collaborates closely with government resource agencies and the private sector to assess the impacts of environmental flows on aquatic biota and provide recommendations for flow and habitat restoration that improve the functioning of river ecosystems. 

Bill Eisenstein is the Director of Planning for River Partners, a non-profit organization that has restored over 18,000 acres of floodplain and riparian land in the Central Valley since 1998.

Angel S. Fernández-Bou is a Western States Senior Climate Scientist for the Climate & Energy Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. In his role, Dr. Fernández-Bou, who is bilingual in English and Spanish, works on multidisciplinary projects such as strategic cropland repurposing to preserve resources and habitat for society and nature, with a focus on socioeconomic and environmental approaches.

Dr. Fernández-Bou co-founded the SocioEnvironmental and Education Network, a 501c3 nonprofit focused on serving rural disadvantaged communities of California’s San Joaquin Valley. Prior to joining UCS, Dr. Fernández-Bou was a scientist with the Sierra Nevada Research Institute at the University of California, Merced, where he worked on climate change, sustainability, and socioenvironmental analyses in California's San Joaquin Valley.

Hannah Ake is a Senior Program Manager at the California Water Data Consortium and uses her background in hydrology, biology, and data science to solve interdisciplinary problems statewide, while furthering the Consortium’s goal of using data and data stewardship to foster sustainable long-term water resource planning in California.

Robyn is the CEO and President of the California Water Data Consortium. Her career focuses on bringing diverse perspectives and institutions together to fill critical research, decision-support, and other information gaps to enable more sustainable land and water management practices across the Western United States.

Before joining the Consortium, Robyn served as Senior Director of Applied Research and Innovation for Climate Resilient Water Systems at Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). While at EDF, Robyn helped lead the OpenET consortium, working with partners at NASA, the Desert Research Institute, Google Earth Engine, a dozen other organizations, and a wide range of stakeholders on the development of an online open platform for estimating consumptive water use.

Robyn holds a Ph.D. in Hydrologic Sciences and MA in Geography from the University of California, Davis, and a BA in Economics and Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Joliette Li is a third-year PhD student at University of California, Merced studying Environmental Systems. Her research interests include life cycle assessment (LCA) of sustainable food-energy-water systems, focusing on energy. She is currently exploring the environmental impacts of solar canals, an innovative sustainable energy solution that connects water conservation and renewable energy.

Dr. Safeeq Khan is an Associate Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering at University of California, Merced. His research broadly focuses on understanding interactions between climate, regolith, and terrestrial ecosystem in the Earth’s critical zone with an emphasis on developing nature-based climate solutions. He has worked extensively with state and federal land managers, water agencies, NGOs, and other stakeholders on co-producing practical scientific solutions for building water and watershed resilience. 

I am the Executive Director of Tulare Basin Watershed Partnership, and TBWP is operating under a sub-award agreement for the Lower Tule Sub-Basin MLRP for Planning and Outreach with Ag Innovations.  Also, I am operating under a Transformative Climate Communities (TCC) planning grant awarded by the Strategic Growth Council focused on the Agricultural Economy and Workforce of the Future.

I am Anushka Perera, and currently, doing my Ph.D.  in Civil Engineering at New Mexico State University. I am originally from Sri Lanka and finished my Master's in Civil Engineering at New Mexico State University last year. My research centers on studying the evapotranspiration of young pistachio trees in the Mesilla Valley, New Mexico. Through my work, I aim to improve irrigation efficiency and promote sustainable water use in agriculture.

I am an Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Nevada, Reno. I also maintain a position as a Research Fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California.

My main areas of research include environmental and natural resource economics, institutional economics, applied econometrics, and water economics and policy. The primary line of investigation considers how institutions (rules, norms, and regulation) are agreed upon and subsequently influence human behavior and resource conditions in river basins. My current work examines legal and economic institutions for the management of groundwater resources, with a focus on water marketing and managing impacts from fallowed lands.

Marie Grimm is an Environmental Policy Research Fellow at the Wheeler Water Institute within the Center for Law, Energy & the Environment at UC Berkeley. Her current research addresses enabling institutional settings for multi-benefit projects, focusing on the funding of a levee setback project in the Central Coast. Marie holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in Environmental Policy and Planning from TU Berlin, where her work focused on conservation banking in California, energy transitions and permitting.   

Bradley Franklin is a research fellow at the PPIC Water Policy Center. He is an agricultural and environmental economist who focuses on ways to inform the design and implementation of public policy in natural resource management. His research covers a range of topics, including the use of market instruments to secure water for environmental use, sustainable groundwater management, irrigated agricultural production, water recycling and urban water markets, urban heat islands, and climate change adaptation in fisheries. He has worked on water resource issues in a number of places, including California, Australia, and India. He holds a PhD in economics from the University of California, Riverside.

I was a Biology/Ecology Professor at College of the Sequoias for 35½ years from August 1985 to May 2021, I served as president of a land conservation NGO called the Tulare Basin Watershed Partnership for 17 years from May 2005 to February 25, 2022, and I have been owner and principal biologist of Hansen’s Biological Consulting for 37 years from April 1987 to the present.

Laljeet Sangha is a Community Water Systems Advisor for Kern, Kings, and Tulare counties. He leads an integrated extension education and applied research program focused on water resource management and community development to enhance water resilience in the rural areas of the Southern San Joaquin Valley. His work includes supporting water system consolidations and helping communities meet regulatory goals such as SGMA and ILP. He addresses questions about the impact of environmental stressors on water systems and explores strategies to increase community resilience. 

Laljeet holds a PhD in Biological Systems Engineering from Virginia Tech and MS in Biosystems Engineering from Auburn University Alabama.

I'm a First year PHD student at UC Merced  Environmental program and working on Agrivoltaic system.

I'm a Ph.D. Student and Graduate Research Assistant at the University of California Merced, working in the Forest Ecohydrology & Watershed Systems (FEWS) Lab supervised by Professor Safeeq Khan. Passionate Hydrologist & Water Resource researcher dedicated to understanding, protecting, and sustainably managing our precious water resources, with a special emphasis on the Western United States. Utilizing advanced techniques to analyze complex water systems and contribute to innovative solutions for a water-secure future. My research work focuses on Modeling Surface Water and Groundwater Interactions in Endorheic Tulare Basin under a Changing Climate.