Announcement January 28, 2026

2026 Water Leaders Cohort Examines Ways to Find Additional Supplies for California’s Warming Future
Rising stars in the water world chosen for highly competitive leadership program

Twenty water professionals from across California have been chosen for the 2026 cohort of the William R. Gianelli Water Leaders, a highly competitive and respected leadership program.

The cohort of rising stars includes engineers, lawyers and scientists along with resource and communication speclialists and other professionals who work at various public and private entities and non-governmental organizations. The 2026 cohort roster can be found here.

The Water Leaders program, led by Foundation Executive Director Jenn Bowles, deepens knowledge of water, enhances individual leadership skills and prepares participants to take an active, collobrative approach to decision-making about water resources. Leading experts and top policymakers serve as mentors to cohort members.

Established in 1997, the William R. Gianelli Water Leaders program is a yearlong program that selects up-and-coming leaders from diverse professional and cultural backgrounds.

The 2026 cohort will explore ways to find 9 million acre-feet of additional water through conservation, storage and other means by 2040. This goal was part of Senate Bill 72, which was signed into law last October by Gov. Newsom. The bill requires the California Department of Water Resources to quantify water-supply gaps and identify 9 million acre-feet of additional water supply by 2040 to offset losses anticipated as the climate continues to warm.

At the end of the year, the Water Leaders will outline their policy recommendations in a report and present them to the Foundation’s Board of Directors.

Four cohort members garnered scholarship funding to help them participate in the program:

The Urban Water Institute’s Wayne Clarke Young Professionals Water Education Scholarship, created in honor of its late founder, Wayne Clarke, was awarded to Itzel Vasquez-Rodriguez, small utility project manager with the Rural Community Assistance Corporation.
The John P. Fraser Water Leaders Fellowship, awarded by the Association of California Water Agencies in honor of its former long-time executive director, John P. Fraser, went to Jamie Marquez, water resource manager at Westside Water Authority in Bakersfield.
The Water Education Foundation awarded a William B. Gianelli scholarship to Vivon Sedgwick, restoration program manager at the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy, and a partial scholarship to Mari Webb, postdoctoral researcher for the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes.

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