The Water Forum is pleased to announce the selection of Jessica Law as its new Executive Director.
The Water Forum is a diverse group of local governments, environmentalists, water managers, businesses and others working together to balance the coequal goals of providing reliable water supplies for the Sacramento region and preserving the environment of the Lower American River.
Law brings more than 15 years of experience in water and environmental resource management, public process, and land use planning. For the past 13 years, she has been heavily engrossed in working closely with experts in water management, fisheries biology, ecosystem restoration, engineering, environmental law and economics to guide decisions on complex projects and programs.
“Jessica’s expertise in the field of water and the skill sets needed to be successful in the Executive Director position are unmatched,” said Tom Gohring, who will be retiring as Water Forum Executive Director in 2021.
Law is currently serving as the Chief Deputy Executive Officer of the Delta Stewardship Council, established by the California legislature in 2009 to advance the state’s coequal objectives of water supply reliability and ecosystem health in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
For the past five years, she has led critical conversations and strategic planning to strengthen the Council’s partnerships with state and federal agencies. Law has successfully increased the amount of funding for state agencies and non-profit groups to plan for and create permitting efficiencies for ecosystem restoration projects. Through the Council’s partnerships with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the U.S. Geological Survey, she supported the Council’s efforts to issue over $25 million in competitive funding for science over the past two years. Her focus also has included tackling critical issues like climate vulnerability and equity and bringing together diverse interests around a common cause.
“It is my privilege to be joining the Water Forum at such a critical juncture in its history,” Law said. “Over the past 20 years, the Water Forum has accomplished a tremendous amount of work to achieve the coequal goals of water supply reliability and ecosystem health. As climate change accelerates, not only will there be a new set of obstacles to navigate, but those obstacles will be coming at us faster, and in unpredictable ways.
“I am committed to bringing the best available science to the table in order to understand the obstacles and the depth of their risk, and to working diligently, creatively, and with a sense of urgency to implement solutions that will make real change,” Law said.
Law holds a bachelor’s degree in Biology (Ecology) from Connecticut College and a master’s in Regional Planning from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
The Sacramento Water Forum is a diverse group of business and agricultural leaders, citizen groups, environmentalists, water managers and local governments working together to balance two co-equal objectives: to provide a reliable and safe water supply for the Sacramento region’s long-term growth and economic health; and to preserve the fishery, wildlife, recreational, and aesthetic values of the lower American River. Learn more at waterforum.org.