2022 Water Leaders Class Evaluates Bay-Delta Water Quality Efforts
Rising stars in the water world chosen for highly competitive leadership program
Twenty early to mid-career water professionals from across California have been chosen for the 2022 William R. Gianelli Water Leaders Class, the Water Education Foundation’s highly competitive and respected career development program.
This Water Leaders class, which marks the program’s 25th anniversary, includes engineers, lawyers, resource specialists, scientists and others from a range of public and private entities and nongovernmental organizations from throughout the state. The roster for the 2022 class can be found here.
The Water Leaders program, led by Foundation Executive Director Jennifer Bowles, deepens knowledge on water, enhances individual leadership skills and prepares participants to take an active, cooperative approach to decision-making about water resource issues. Leading experts and top policymakers serve as mentors to class members.
Established in 1997, the William R. Gianelli Water Leaders Class is a one-year program that identifies up-and-coming community leaders from diverse backgrounds. The program deepens their water knowledge and enhances leadership skills to prepare class members to take an active, cooperative approach to decision-making about water resource issues
The 2022 class will spend the year evaluating the Bay-Delta Water Quality Control Plan – from the developing regulations to efforts to obtain voluntary agreements - and recommending solutions for Calfiornia to move forward. At the end of their year, class members will present the results of their project to the Foundation’s Board of Directors.
This year, the Water Leaders scholarship honoring the late attorney Anne Schneider was given to Jake Sahl, stewardship water associate with The Nature Conservancy.
The Wayne Clark Young Professional’s Water Education Scholarship was awarded to Andrea Abergel, senior regulatory advocate with the California Municipal Utilities Association. The scholarship was established by the Urban Water Institute in honor of its founder, Wayne Clark, who passed away in 2018.
Additionally, the John P. Fraser Water Leaders Fellowship was awarded to Kaitlyn Chow, a hydrologist with Yuba Water Agency. The fellowship was created by the Association of California Water Agencies to honor former long-time ACWA Executive Director John P. Fraser.
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