The Water Education Foundation marked it 40th Anniversary at the Sterling Hotel in Sacramento. The celebration was kicked off with a reunion reception celebrating the 20th anniversary of our popular Water Leaders program.

The program featured talks by:

• Rita Schmidt Sudman, the Foundation’s former Executive Director, speaking on highlights of the past 40 years.
• Mike Chrisman, former California Natural Resources Secretary and Foundation Board Member, speaking about his father, Ira “Jack” Chrisman, the Foundation’s founding president.
• Scott Morris, Foundation Vice President and graduate of our Water Leaders class in 1998, speaking about the impact of that popular program 20 years later.
• Grant Davis, Director of the California Department of Water Resources, speaking on the importance of water education.
• Jennifer Bowles, the Foundation’s current Executive Director speaking on what’s to come in the future.

The Foundation opened its doors in 1977 when California was in the second year of a major drought. The Foundation’s articles of incorporation were filed on Feb. 27 of that year, creating a nonprofit, nonpolitical, tax-exempt educational organization.

Today, the Sacramento-based Foundation remains a vital source of nonpartisan, in-depth information about water resource issues in California and the West.

Taking a steady pulse of the water world, the Foundation provides a vast repertoire of educational materials, products and services such as our water tours, lectures, our flagship quarterly magazine, Western Water, and Project WET (Water Education for Teachers).