2024 Napa County Watershed Symposium Agenda Packet
2024NAPA COUNTY WATERSHED SYMPOSIUM
HOSTED BY:
WELCOME
Bruce Barge, Board of Directors President
Napa County Resource Conservation District
KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Managing Water Resources for Sustainability and Resilience
Kamyar Guivetchi, Executive Advisor of Water Innovation & Technology
California Department of Water Resources
NAVIGATING WATER CHALLENGES IN URBAN SPACES
Navigating Water Challenges in Urban Spaces: Green Stormwater Infrastructure
Peter Schultze-Allen, EOA, Inc.
American Canyon’s Resilient Watersheds: Collaborative Approaches to Restoration and Climate Adaptation
Janelle Sellick, American Canyon Community & Parks Foundation
Jason Holley, City of American Canyon
Community Engagement + Collaborative Partnerships in Watershed Management
Monica Stafford, Suzanne Whelan, & Luis Reyes, One Tam
Q&A Panel
8:30AM
9:00AM
9:30AM
View Exhibits from our Sponsors BREAK 9:30 AM 9:45 AM 10:00 AM
GOING WITH THE FLOW: NAPA’S WATERWAYS ABOVE AND BELOW
Assessing Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems and Interconnected Surface Water in the Napa Valley Subbasin
Christian Braudrick, Stillwater Sciences
Napa River Flood Protection Projects
10:30AM
Rick Thomasser, Napa County Flood Control District 11:00 AM 11:15 AM
Napa River Watershed Restoration Projects Jeremy Sarrow, Napa County Flood Control District
ROOTS TO RIVERS: ENHANCING
Dry Farming Vineyards in Napa
Lauren Pesch, Chavez & Leeds Family Vineyards
Ivonne Socolar, UC Berkeley Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management
Incentivizing Water Use Efficiency
Duncan MacEwan, ERA Economics
Thinking Beyond the Vineyard Footprint
Tod Mostero & Gretchen Hayes, Abuelitos Foundation
Q&A Panel
CLOSING
REMARKS
NO HOST RECEPTION
Mention the “2024 Napa County Watershed Symposium” for $5 off at the Wine Bar at Copia
BRUCE BARGE, NAPA RESOURCE CONSERVATION DISTRICT
Bruce is an organizational psychologist and executive coach who has worked with client companies and leaders to improve performance and impact. He earned a PhD in industrial/organizational psychology from the University of Minnesota and worked as a consultant and business leader with Fortune 500, public sector, and non-profit organizations for over 30 years For Napa RCD, Bruce has chaired the Governance subcommittee and was elected in 2022 as President of the Board Given the environmental challenges in Napa County and Napa RCD’s strong capabilities, Bruce is committed to advancing Napa RCD’s role in forest health, watershed restoration, regenerative agriculture and community-based environmental education.
KAMYAR GUIVETCHI, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF WATER
Kamyar Guivetchi [KAHM-yahr Gi-VEH-chee] is an executive advisor on water innovation and technology at the California Department of Water Resources (DWR). Beginning his 46 years with DWR as a student assistant, he has worked on data and modeling studies, project planning, program management, environmental stewardship, and division leadership.
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From 2000, Kamyar led matrix teams and collaborative engagement with numerous government agencies, California Native American Tribes, and communities of interest and place in preparing California Water Plan Updates 2005/2009/2013/2018/2023.
Kamyar has a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and completed post graduate studies in Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Davis; and is a registered Civil Engineer in California.
PETER SCHULTZE-ALLEN, EOA, INC.
Peter Schultze-Allen has been with EOA, Inc since 2013 assisting municipal staff around the SF Bay Area with stormwater permit compliance. He has extensive experience in the environmental field, specializing in the integration of public and private green stormwater infrastructure, active transportation, zero litter & waste programs, regenerative landscaping, and urban forestry practices. Previous to EOA, he managed the environmental programs for the City of Emeryville for eleven years.
JANELLE SELLICK, AMERICAN CANYON COMMUNITY & PARKS FOUNDATION
Janelle Sellick, M.S. is Founder and Executive Director of the American Canyon Community and Parks Foundation (Parks Foundation). She earned her BS degree in Recreation Management from CSU Chico, and a MS Degree from CSU Sacramento in Recreation Administration She has worked in the nonprofit sector for over 25 years in a variety of board, staff, and leadership positions. Janelle is a skilled and innovative leader who excels at program development, policy implementation, partnership development, strategic planning, and resource development.
Under her leadership, the Parks Foundation has spearheaded numerous environmental and youth education initiatives including the Outdoor Connection Mobile Classroom, Napa River Ecology Center, and Community Watershed Education. In 2023 she was named Climate Crisis Champion of Napa County by Congressman Mike Thompson Janelle and her husband Mike have lived in American Canyon for over 20 years and have four daughters. In her free time Janelle enjoys running along the Wetlands, hiking, reading, and spending time with her family and dogs.
JASON HOLLEY, CITY OF AMERICAN CANYON
Jason Holley became American Canyon’s City Manager in October 2017 after serving four years as Public Works Director. During his tenure, American Canyon has fostered economic growth through new development and housing production. While these efforts help ensure American Canyon’s fiscal stability, they are carefully aligned with infrastructure investments and enhanced public safety all against the backdrop of sustainability and environmental stewardship.
Jason lives in Napa with his wife, Robin, and their two children. Away from City Hall, he enjoys coaching youth sports, camping, skiing and, most of all, spending time with his family
MONICA STAFFORD, ONE TAM
Monica Stafford has spent over 20 years connecting people to parks through community engagement and leading efforts to restore and protect Bay Area open spaces. She has built volunteer-supported programs to revitalize native landscapes, spearheaded fundraising for the One Tam partnership, and now serves as the Senior Program Manager of Community Engagement for the Parks Conservancy and One Tam. In this role, Monica connects people with parks as a naturalist, operates the mobile visitor center known as the 'Tam Van,' and interprets and educates the public especially those from underserved communities on science and climate resilience efforts on park lands, advocating for this essential work through inclusive community engagement She holds an M S in Rangeland Science and Management from U C Berkeley
SUZANNE WHELAN, ONE TAM
Suzanne grew up in Boston as a city girl. She found her love for nature in the mountains of Colorado, where she first experienced camping, hiking, and a slower pace of life. Later, she moved to San Francisco, working in diverse fields from accounting to gallery design and gardening. Her commitment to social and environmental justice led her back to nature, earning a master’s in environmental education while living outdoors on “the bus ” After organizing greening initiatives with Friends of the Urban Forest, Suzanne became an ecologist and volunteer coordinator for Marin Water in 2009. She leads public engagement and stewardship programs on Mt Tamalpais, building community through a sense of place and scientific inquiry. Her goal is to connect as many people as possible to their watershed and to each other –so they can have meaningful roles as contributors to environmental solutions.
LUIS REYES, ONE TAM
Luis Reyes graduated with a B.S. in Environmental Studies Natural Resource Management & Conservation and a certificate in Climate Change Causes, Impacts, and Solutions from San Francisco State University's School of the Environment Luis is a passionate environmentalist and advocate for forest resiliency, restoration, and education. Deeply committed to combating climate change, they focus on fostering resilience within ecosystems and communities. Their work combines science-driven restoration efforts with community education, cultivating a shared sense of stewardship for the natural world. Luis thrives on building bridges across diverse groups, inspiring collective action to create a sustainable and just future for all.
CHRISTIAN BRAUDRICK, STILLWATER SCIENCES
Christian Braudrick is a fluvial geomorphologist has worked on rivers and floodplains for 25 years as an environmental consultant and researcher. Dr. Braudrick uses mechanistic understanding of river processes to better understand how rivers respond to environmental changes to inform land use decisions and stream restoration planning. He has conducted evaluations of sediment transport following dam removal, assessed floodplain habitat function, developed habitat enhancement plans, and integrated hydrologic and ecologic data to assess groundwater dependent ecosystems throughout California.
RICK THOMASSER, NAPA COUNTY FLOOD CONTROL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT
Rick Thomasser is the Deputy Director of Public Works overseeing the Flood and Water Resources Division for Napa County. He responsibilities include serving as the District Manager for the Napa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District. Rick is a Hydrogeologist by education having graduated from the University of Minnesota. He is a California Registered Geologist and has nearly 40 years of experience in environmental remediation, restoration and flood control infrastructure planning, design, construction, Operations and Maintenance
JEREMY SARROW, NAPA COUNTY FLOOD CONTROL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT
Jeremy servers as the watershed and flood control operations manager at the Napa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District where he oversees operation and maintenance of the Napa River Flood Protection Project and several large-scale restoration and monitoring projects and programs within the Napa River watershed. Jeremy has over 20 years of experience managing, monitoring, and overseeing the implementation and design for a wide variety of multi-disciplinary projects including floodplain and wetland restoration, fish passage barrier removal and other watershed restoration efforts with the common goal of enhancing and improving ecosystem function
LAUREN PESCH, CHAVEZ & LEEDS FAMILY VINEYARDS
Lauren Leeds Pesch is a 4th generation grape grower based in Rutherford, California. Having grown up on one of the first organically certified vineyards in the Napa Valley, Lauren has witnessed the quality benefits derived from working in concert with the vine. She shares these experiences with her consulting clients through her viticulture consulting company, Leeds & Pesch Viticulture. She is an outspoken proponent of both organic and dry farming practices and believes them to be a cornerstone to unlocking the potential of many vineyard sites
Lauren lives with her husband, Joe, and their sons, Tommy, Danny and JJ in Rutherford. When she is not out the vineyard, Lauren can be found hiking in the hills around Napa, rooting for the Giants, spending time with her husband, and chasing her three sons.
YVONNE SOCOLAR, PHD. RESEARCH SCIENTIST, UC BERKELEY
Dr. Socolar's research interests lie at the nexus of agroecology and climate resilience. Her doctoral work explored how diversified management practices influence plant-soil-microbe interactions to promote farms’ ecological and economic well-being, particularly in the face of water limitations She has worked extensively with farmers on California’s Central Coast, doing interviews and developing participatory research projects to better understand dry farming as an agroecological transition, and is thrilled to now be continuing that work in vineyards.
DUNCAN MACEWAN, ERA ECONOMICS
Duncan MacEwan is an economist and co-founder of ERA Economics. At ERA Economics, he and his team work with water managers and agricultural businesses to provide economic analyses that support the agriculture and water industries. Duncan is assisting Napa County's Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) in implementing components of its Groundwater Sustainability Plan to ensure long-term groundwater sustainability.
TOD MOSTERO, ABUELITOS FOUNDATION
& DOMINUS ESTATE
Tod Mostero has been Director of Viticulture and Winemaking at Dominus Estate in Yountville since 2007, and founded the Abuelitos Foundation in 2022 with a vision to nurture every farm into a vital ecosystem. Tod earned a Master of Architecture in 1992 from Tulane University and a Diplome National d’Oenologue in 2000 from Bordeaux University. A dry farming advocate with a global vision of ecological balance, Tod endeavors to empower farmers and land stewards to employ naturebased solutions to nourish farmlands and stabilize the climate for all generations
GRETCHEN HAYES, ABUELITOS FOUNDATION
Gretchen Hayes brings over 30 years of experience in environmental planning, field geomorphology, and ecosystem restoration project management to her role as the Inaugural Executive Director of the Abuelitos Foundation. She holds a BA in Geography, and an MLA in Landscape Architecture from UC Berkeley.
Gretchen has specialized in fostering public-private partnerships for resource sustainability since 2004, leading initiatives like the Napa River Rutherford Reach Restoration Project, the Northern California Black Walnut Partnership, and as the inaugural Executive Director of the Napa Communities Firewise Foundation to mitigate wildfire risks across Napa County.
NAME AFFILIATION
CHARLIE TOLEDO
JOY ELDREDGE
BROOKE SHENK
JEFF SKINNER
DANIELLE ASHTON
LAUREN MUSCATINE
EVELYN ZLOMKE
SUSCOL INTERTRIBAL COUNCIL
PRESENTATION TOPIC
SUSKOL HOUSE WATERSHED PROJECT
CITY OF NAPA - WATER DIVISION WATERSHED SAMPLING PROGRAM
