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Joseph Grindstaff, General Manager, Inland Empire Utilities Agency
Inland Empire - At the Board Meeting of the Inland Empire Utilities Agency (IEUA) on Wednesday, April 17, 2013, the Board of Directors unanimously appointed Mr. Joe Grindstaff as its General Manager. Mr. Grindstaff has thirty years of experience in management and planning in the field of water, wastewater and resource management.
Mr. Grindstaff has served as Interim General Manager of IEUA since January 2013. Prior to that, he served as the Executive Officer for the Delta Stewardship Council from 2010 to 2012, where he organized the Delta Stewardship Council and helped establish the Delta Conservancy. From 2005 to 2010, Mr.Grindstaff served as Director of the California Bay-Delta Authority and also served as Deputy Secretary for Water Policy for the Natural Resources Agency from 2006 to 2010. As Deputy Secretary for Water Policy, Mr. Grindstaff took part in the historic 2009 legislative reform package, coordinated water policy, supported Delta Vision, helped CALFED transition to the new paradigm of co-equal goals and oversaw many resource management activities for the State.
Mr. Grindstaff has served in various management positions including General Manager for the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority, General Manager of Monte Vista Water District, Assistant Operations Branch Manager for Eastern Municipal Water District, Wastewater Systems Manager for the City of Riverside and Wastewater Plant Operations Manager for Salt Lake City.
“The Inland Empire Utilities Agency manifests innovation and environmental stewardship and is well respected for securing grant funding for projects that aid in obtaining a quality water supply,” stated Mr. Grindstaff. “I am looking forward to continuing to work with the Board of Directors and staff to accomplish the goals and objectives IEUA has set forth.”
“We are honored to have Mr. Grindstaff as General Manager for IEUA. His extensive knowledge and experience in water and resource management will be increasingly valuable in maintaining IEUA’s mission and vision,” stated IEUA Board President Terry Catlin.
The Inland Empire Utilities Agency covers 242-square miles, distributes imported water, provides industrial/municipal wastewater collection and treatment services, and other related utility services to more than 850,000 people. The Agency’s service area includes the Cities of Chino, Chino Hills, Fontana, Montclair, Ontario and Upland, as well as the Cucamonga Valley Water District, Monte Vista Water District, and Fontana Water Company.
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| Celeste Cantu, General Manager, (SAWPA) Celeste Cantú, General Manager, for the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority (SAWPA) has been working on the crest-to-coast, corner-to- corner Integrated Regional Watershed Management Plan called, One Water One Watershed (OWOW) that addresses all water-related issues, joins all entities and hundreds of stakeholders seeking to create a new vision of sustainability for the Santa Ana River Watershed. SAWPA owns the Inland Empire Brine Line, a utility that collects salt from the upper watershed groundwater to improve water quality in the Santa Ana River and benefits the lower watershed.
Celeste served as the Executive Director for the California State Water Resources Control Board, which is responsible for water rights and water quality for the State.
During the Clinton Administration, Celeste served as the USDA Rural Development State Director for California.
Celeste was born and raised in Calexico to a pioneer family. There she served first as Planning Director for her hometown, Calexico, and later as Executive Director for the Imperial Valley Housing Authority. Celeste has a BA from Yale in Urban Planning and Policy and a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. She lives in Temecula with her husband, Dr. Barry Stampfl, an English Professor at SDSU, Imperial Valley Campus. They have two adult sons.
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| Roger Turner, President, Roger Turner & Associates, Inc. Roger Turner is President of Roger Turner & Associates, Inc., a California based environmental, water resource management and planning firm, managing regulatory permitting, environmental assessment projects (CEQA/NEPA) for water resource improvements, capital improvement projects and urban planning projects. Roger has 36 years experience in Urban Planning, Environmental Public Policy development, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and CEQA with special expertise in water resource management, cumulative effects analysis, and federal environmental regulations, such as the Clean Water Act, National Historic Preservation Act, and Threatened and Endangered Species Act. His education includes a BS in Environmental Science from the University of California, Riverside with special studies in Soil Science. Roger is active in the Association of Environmental Professionals (AEP). National Association of Environmental Professionals (NAEP) and is currently the California Liaison representing the California AEP Chapter. He also chairs the International Committee for NAEP working to develop international relationships with fellow environmental professionals around the world.
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| Aaron Ferguson, Attorney, Somach, Simmons & Dunn Mr. Ferguson joined the first as an associate attorney in 2011. Mr. Ferguson's emphasizes water rights, water quality, land use, natural resources, and public agency law. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Ferguson worked as a water resources consultant, providing strategic water planning advice to water districts, local governments, conservation and is a member of the State Bar of California. |
| Jim Moose, CEQA Attorney, Remy Moose Manley A 1985 graduate of the Boalt Hall School of Law, Jim Moose is a senior partner in Remy, Moose Manley, LLP, where he has practiced for nearly 28 years, with a focus on advising public and private clients with respect to issues arising under the California Environmental Act (CEQA), the Planning and Zoning Law, and various other state and federal environmental laws. He not only advises clients during the administrative process, but also lectures frequently on CEQA issues and has been involved in litigation resulting in numerous significant CEQA precedents in the Courts of Appeal and California Supreme Court. Along with his partner Whitman F. Manley and former partner Tina A. Thomas, he is co-author of Guide to the California Environmental Quality Act, a respected legal treatise frequently cited by the appellate courts. Over the last two decades, he has also participated in drafting amendments to CEQA and the CEQA Guidelines. |
| Elizabeth Patterson, CA DWR Ms. Patterson is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners and has been a Planning Director for two Bay Area towns. Elizabeth has been involved in several regional and local issues using conflict resolution to reach a consensus for planning and managing urban and natural resource assets. She was Executive Director of the Partnership for Regional Livability, a project for the White House Task Force on Livable Communities during the Clinton/Gore administration. Elizabeth is a founding member of the Sierra Madre Environmental Action Council and the founder of the 1000 Friends of Contra Costa. She lives in Benicia where she has served on task force committees, boards, commissions and elected to the city council in 2003 and as mayor in 2007 and reelected in 2011.
Elizabeth is a state staff environmental scientist serving in that capacity at the California State Lands Commission where she was project lead for the development of the Delta Protection Commission as well as numerous governor task force committees on flood plain management and Delta issues. Ms. Patterson has also worked before and within the State Senate. She is retired from the California State Department of Water Resources, and currently works part-time on land use and water supply benefits for the California Water Plan.
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| Kamyar Guivetchi, Statewide Water Planning Manager, CA DWR Kamyar Guivetchi was appointed Manager of the Division of Statewide Integrated Water Management in August 2008 with the California Department of Water Resources (DWR); and before that managed DWR’s Strategic Water Planning since November 2000. During his 36 years with DWR, Kamyar has worked on many technical and planning projects with the North-Central Region Office, Division of Planning, Bay-Delta Office, and the Division of Environmental Services as Manager of the Suisun Marsh Program. More recently, Kamyar managed DWR staff work and coordinated the participation of numerous government agencies, Native American Tribes, stakeholders, and public to prepare the California Water Plan Updates 2005, 2009 and 2013 using a collaborative and consensus-seeking approach. He now chairs the 28-member State Agency Steering Committee for Water Plan Update 2013 and co-chairs the California Biodiversity Council’s Executive Committee.
Kamyar has a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and completed post graduate work in Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Davis; and is a California-registered Civil Engineer.
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| Denise Landstedt, Sr. Water Resources. Planner, Rancho CA WD
Currently a Senior Water Resources Planner at the Rancho California Water District, Denise is responsible for a variety of water planning efforts, including the preparation and updating of the District’s Urban Water Management Plan and its Agricultural Water Management Plan, and is currently assisting with the development of the District’s Blueprint for Water Use Efficiency and recently updated the District’s Water Shortage Contingency Plan. Denise is also the District’s Grants Coordinator, responsible for acquisition and management of grant funding for the District, currently at more than $11 million over the past 7 years. She also leads the Upper Santa Margarita Watershed Integrated Regional Water Management Program and recently completed an update of the region’s IRWM Plan. As the IRWM Program Manager, she is responsible for acquisition and management of the Region’s IRWM grant funding, so far securing nearly $7 million in IRWM funding. In addition to her current work, as a water resource consultant for more than 14 years, she prepared more than 50 grant applications with 75% success, prepared 24 urban water management plans and commented on another 12, and has prepared 10 water supply assessments.
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| Jennifer Pierre, BDCP PM, ICF Jennifer Pierre is a water practice leader at ICF international, specializing in California Environmental Quality Act CEQA), National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and Endangered Species Act (ESA) compliance for water-related projects, such as water supply, infrastructure, restoration, and levee improvements. She works primarily in the San Francisco Bay-San Joaquin Delta region, helping clients to address the complexities of major water Project operations, model integration and analyses, fisheries analyses, overlapping regulatory requirements, and inter-agency coordination. Jennifer has extensive knowledge of Delta resources, State Water Project and Central Valley Project (CVP) Operations, and regulatory processes, as well as the application of modeling efforts in developing analyses. She is currently the project manager for the Bay-Delta Conservation Plan, and works specifically on the effects analysis for aquatic species and the development of operational criteria. |
| Keynote Lunch Speaker Joanne Marchetta, Executive Director, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Joanne Marchetta is the Executive Director of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, and has held that position since 2009. Prior to that, she served as TRPA’s General Counsel for four years. She has a long history of managing complex land use issues including environmental waste clean-up negotiations and comprehensive planning updates. Joanne has worked for a variety of organizations such as the U.S. Department of Justice, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Presidio Trust in San Francisco where she managed the comprehensive planning update to transition the Presidio from a military base to public parkland by leveraging revenue generated through rehabilitation and redevelopment of its buildings. |
| Panel Speakers Karin Edwards, Sustainable Communities Program Manager, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Karin Edwards is the Sustainable Communities Program Manager at the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency. She recently led the development of the Lake Tahoe Region’s Sustainability Action Plan and Sustainability Indicators Project. Prior her work in sustainability, Karin was the Environmental Improvement Program Coordinator, a $1.7 billion partnership of over 50 federal, state, and local agencies, private interests, and the Washoe Tribe. Before moving to Lake Tahoe, she was a senior policy analyst for the City of San Francisco’s Recreation & Park Department and Mayor’s Office. Karin received her Masters of Public Policy from the Goldman School at UC Berkeley and a Bachelor’s in Environmental Policy from the University of Colorado – Boulder. In her spare time, Karin races for the Liv/Giant-Northstar California mountain bike team. |
| Steve Frisch, CEO, Sierra Business Council Steven Frisch is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Sierra Business Council (SBC), a regional business based non-governmental organization. SBC fosters thriving communities through “on-the-ground” projects that promote, develop and amplify the benefit of the regions social, environmental and economic capital by applying the principles of sustainable business and entrepreneurship. Over the last 20 years the business council has leveraged more than $140 million of direct investment in the Sierra Nevada; led the development of a $1.3 billion initiative to protect habitat and species while allowing for appropriate development in Placer County, California; trained more than 550 community leaders; and protected more than 120,000 acres of working farms, ranches and forests. The Sierra Business Council network includes more than 4,000 community champions linked through social media and communications dedicated to the future of the region. Steve is a former small business owner and hospitality industry executive. Steve serves on the board of the California Stewardship Network, the Large Landscape Practitioners Network, the National Geographic Geo-tourism Council, Capital Public Radio, and Leadership For Jobs and a New Economy. Steve is also a Fulbright Exchange Program Fellow, sharing information and knowledge gained in the Sierra Nevada in China and Mongolia. Steve is a graduate of San Francisco State University with a B.A. in Political Science, and the California Culinary Academy. |
| Kim Carr, Sustainability Specialist, Sierra Nevada Conservancy Kim Carr is a natural resource planner and economist focused on achieving collaborative and integrated forest project planning connecting policy, science, education and financial resources. She has worked on sustainability issues for nearly 25 years and in the Sierra Nevada for the last 15 years. Kim has been with the Sierra Nevada Conservancy for 7 years and currently serves as the Sustainability Specialist. In this capacity, she implements innovative concepts and programs that help to demonstrate sustainable models. She focuses on forest, fire, water, climate change and local economic development issues. More recently, she’s been leading the Bioenergy Team to implement small scale biomass energy facilities. Kim also leads the Conservancy’s Ecosystem Services program area. The primary focus is developing investment strategies in Sierra watersheds to diversify and increase restoration funding. She received her M.A. in Natural Resource Planning from the University of British Columbia and a Bachelors degree in Business Administration. Before moving to the Sierra, Kim worked for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Washington D.C. |
| Arlan Nickel, Senior Project Manager, Bureau of Reclamation Mid-Pacific Region Arlan Nickel is a Senior Project Manager responsible for project management and coordination of the Mid-Pacific Region’s SECURE Water Act Basin Study Program. He is responsible for obtaining funding under the competitive Basin Study program for the MP Region’s 3 Basin Study Projects: the Truckee, Klamath and the combined Sacramento-San Joaquin River Basin. Other project management responsibilities include supporting the San Joaquin River Flow Modification Project and the Shasta Enlargement Project. His prior Federal experience includes holding a Senior Planner/Team Leader position with U.S. Coast Guard’s Shore Infrastructure and Logistics Command (SILC) in Oakland, CA. Responsibilities included management of teams assigned to investigate relocations of USCG facilities ranging from Kodiak, Alaska to San Diego and working with base commanders and local governments to resolve USCG facility issues and concerns. Prior to his federal service, he held several senior management positions with corporations and local governments spanning more than 25 years. Arlan received his Bachelor’s in Landscape Architecture from California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo, with a minor in City & Regional Planning. He received his Professional Licensure as a Landscape Architect in California in 1978. |
| Jerry Bird, Klamath Basin Coordinator and Regional Forester Liaison for Ecological Restoration, US Forest Service Jerry Bird’s career began with the Forest Service in 1999. Early in his career, he worked on grassland (Dickinson, North Dakota) and forest (Emmett, Idaho) ranger districts as a GIS Specialist and district hydrologist. Later, he worked as a hydrologist and eventually as team leader for a hydropower and water-system easement team based in Salt Lake City. Jerry worked on this inter-regional team, supporting forests in four regions spanning 12 states in the interior west, for over eight years. Since 2011, he has worked as the Klamath Basin Coordinator, beginning in Yreka, CA in a position supporting forests in both the Pacific Northwest and Pacific Southwest Regions. In 2012, Jerry relocated to Sacramento and added additional duties in the Pacific Southwest Region as the Regional Forester Liaison for Ecological Restoration. While in Sacramento, Jerry facilitated the state-wide Biomass Working Group for nearly two years and works with partners and stakeholders in issues surrounding forests, carbon, and water. Jerry holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Geology from the University of Oregon, Eugene; and a Master’s Degree in Earth and Planetary Science from the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. Prior to finishing his education and joining the Forest Service, Jerry worked in the retail grocery business for over 15 years, including supervision and management of stores in Redding, CA; and Eugene, Springfield, and Cottage Grove, OR. |
