Marin Municipal Water DistrictCandidate for Director, District 2

Raised and educated along the California coast, I have always had a passion for the environment. I received my Bachelor’s degree in Biology and Environmental Studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz. The first few years of my career were spent implementing large scale riparian habitat restoration projects along the Sacramento River near Hamilton City and along the Big Sur River in Andrew Molera State Park. Inspired by these experiences, I went on to get my Masters in Science in Watershed Management from Humboldt State University and since have enjoyed a successful 25 year career in water supply and natural resource management.

For 16 years, I served as the Natural Resources Defense Council’s Senior Scientist working with diverse stakeholders to implement one of the largest restoration efforts in the nation, the San Joaquin River Restoration Project. Fundamental to every milestone I helped achieve was my ability to leverage science, foster trust, and enable productive decision-making with state and federal agencies, farmers and many of the most powerful water districts in the San Joaquin Valley and implement projects. Today, the river is coming back to life with more than six hundred million dollars spent in restoration, flood protection and water supply projects, much of which is scheduled to be completed in the next ten years.

Today I am working as a Senior Water Project Director at The Nature Conservancy.  I lead our efforts to restore the health of our Northern California rivers while increasing water supply reliability in the face of future droughts for landowners and local communities and to address the impacts of climate change on our water resources.

My career in water supply and natural resource management is driven by a love of the outdoors. As a young man, I often camped in the Los Padres National Forest. Later in life, wherever I moved for school or work, I explored nearby mountains in places like the Ventana Wilderness or kayaked rivers like the Eel, Trinity and Klamath in the Pacific Northwest. One of the main reasons why I love this area is because Marin exists side by side with nature, with amazing access to biking, hiking, and wildlife.

San Rafael is my home. I moved here 11 years ago and proposed to my wife Hilary on top of Mt Tam. Since then, we have been busy raising our 2 boys and being active in our community. I served on Bret Harte Community Association Board and continue to support our neighborhood events. I am a member of the Coleman Elementary School Dads Group and my wife, a high school teacher, serves on the Coleman PTO and together, we regularly participate in school fundraising efforts for all the students. I coach sports for my kids. I am also a member of the Marin Rod and Gun Club whose mission is conservation, preservation and propagation of fish and game in Marin County.

I have been a lifelong democrat and my entire professional career has been dedicated to wildlife conservation. My political philosophy, unsurprisingly, is liberal with an emphasis on protecting the environment and the benefits it provides for people and our communities. My approach to the politics associated with conservation have been informed by my more than 25 years as a senior environmental leader in California working collaboratively with water districts, farmers, state and federal agencies and conservation groups to restore rivers and fish populations, promote cost-effective water management policies and address the impacts of climate change on our water resources. I would summarize my philosophy and approach to the politics of conservation in the following three ways.

The first is to focus on the science. I have extensive experience collecting data and conducting studies as well as working collaboratively with the diverse stakeholders to develop flood management, river restoration and water supply plans. By focusing on the science and leveraging the best available information, parties with differing views move beyond divergent opinions and can come together to reach agreement and work together to implement projects, management actions or policies.

Secondly, take the time to listen to those with differing and work in good faith to find common ground. From my experience, this has been the most productive approach to achieve durable solutions and enduring trust.  The relationships you build with those you disagree can prove to be essential when running into areas of serious disagreement.  A personal example of this is when I was working for the Natural Resources Defense Council leading our efforts to implement a historic San Joaquin River Restoration Settlement we secured with farmers, water districts and the federal government in 2006. A few years later, the Settlement nearly collapsed when California went through one of the dries years on record in 2009. Water supply impacts were harming farms, communities and the environment and tensions were very high. But the trust we had built with stakeholders enable us to be creative and to find solutions and the Settlement persevered.  Today, the San Joaquin River is being restored, has year-round flows and the first runs of spring run salmon returning after almost 70 years.

Thirdly, my approach to conservation politics is to focus on finding multi-benefit solutions and fostering partnerships. Gone are the days of single purpose solutions that benefit a few at the expense of others. There are too many competing needs and interests surrounding virtually every resource management issue. This is a challenge on some levels, but it also can be an opportunity when stakeholder can focus on identifying solutions that provides multiple benefits. My work with floodplain management in the Central Valley is a great example. Well managed floodplains can improve public safety, provide critically important wildlife habitat, and increase groundwater supplies. Alignment of stakeholder interests can also form highly effective partnerships.  A local example of a partnership that harnesses the power of the combined interests of multiple agencies is One Tam. Each member agency benefits from working together to advance their own missions within the Mt Tam watershed.