Leadership

Andrew Baldonado is managing director of State Public Affairs at Southern California Edison (SCE), one of the nation’s largest electric utilities. He is responsible for developing policy and strategies to advocate the company’s position on critical state matters and overseeing the state public affairs team in Sacramento. He also directs political engagement and represents the company with several business and political organizations.

Previously, Baldonado led the State Government Affairs team at Anheuser-Busch, based in New York City. He started at A-B as director, local government affairs in 1998 in Los Angeles, was promoted to region vice president in 2005 based in Sacramento and was named vice president, state government affairs in 2010. At Anheuser-Busch, Baldonado managed the state governments affairs team, along with contract lobbyists in all 50 states. Key issues included sales & marketing, taxation, manufacturing, and environmental sustainability. He also was responsible for engagement with state attorneys generals and Democratic/Republican Governors Associations. Baldonado has served on the board of directors of the National Association of Latino Elected Officials Education Fund and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Foundation. He currently serves on the board of directors of The California Museum.

Appointed CEO by the Board on May 26, 2020, Mr. Callender oversees an integrated water resources system that includes the supply of clean, safe water; flood protection; and environmental stewardship of waterways for Santa Clara County’s 1.9 million residents. Mr. Callender has worked for Valley Water since 1996, serving most recently as the Chief of External Affairs. As the CEA, he led Valley Water’s efforts in strategic external communications to the media, community, and the public. Mr. Callender also oversaw all government relations efforts on local, regional, state, and federal levels, as well as public policies that directly affect Valley Water. Prior to joining the district, Mr. Callender worked as a Special Assistant to former City of San Jose Mayor Susan Hammer, as a Field Campaign Organizer for the California Democratic Party, as a Congressional Fellow for the United States House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Energy, and as a Congressional Fellow to Congressman Ronald V. Dellums. He also served as president of the San Jose-Silicon Valley NAACP from 2000 to 2008. Mr. Callender earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering and Technology with an emphasis in electronic and computer technology from California State University, Chico, completed all coursework for his Master of Arts in Public Administration from San Jose State University, earned his Juris Doctorate from Northwestern California University School of Law, and is a member of the California State Bar. He has also attended and graduated from eight executive leadership programs at different universities throughout the nation.

At Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), Chris Benjamin is the Director of Corporate Sustainability and leads a team responsible for PG& E’s sustainability efforts and engagement, including working to integrate and align PG&E’s sustainability strategy with its business strategy. This includes working collaboratively to measure, communicate, and elevate PG&E’s sustainability commitment. His team is responsible for a variety of sustainability reporting, benchmarking, and strategic policy initiatives, including working to build climate resilience. His team actively engages with a broad range of stakeholders, including PG&E’s external Sustainability Advisory Council, to guide and strengthen PG&E’s sustainability strategy.

Prior to joining PG&E, Chris was a Vice President at Eastern Research Group and a Policy Associate for the National Recycling Coalition. He received a Masters of Environmental Management from Duke University and a B.A. from Boston College.

Ann Hayden is the Senior Director of Environmental Defense’s Western Water program and Resilient Landscapes. Ann joined EDF in 2002 to help lead its efforts to restore the San Francisco Bay Delta estuary while improving urban and agricultural water supply reliability. She leads EDF’s work in California to advance incentive-based approaches that ensure adequate water is available for rivers and wetlands, improve agriculture’s resilience in the face of variable water supplies, and address the water needs of disadvantaged communities. She also works with a wide range of partners to encourage the implementation of habitat markets that can restore critical habitat and benefit the agriculture economy in California. Ann has a long history of building broad coalitions of state and federal agencies, non-profit partners, landowners, and the private sector to support the implementation of environmental markets that help increase California’s healthy freshwater and terrestrial systems and improve delivery of the environmental services these habitats provide. Ann earned an M.A. in Environmental Science and Management from UC Santa Barbara, and a B.A. in Marine Biology from UC Santa Cruz.

Michelle Passero is the Director of Climate Policy for The Nature Conservancy, California office. She has over 19 years of experience working in land conservation and environmental law and policy. Currently, Ms. Passero is leading TNC’s policy efforts to establish a comprehensive role for natural and working lands in support of California’s climate changes goals. She holds an LL.M. in Sustainable International Development from the University of Washington, a J.D. from the University of San Francisco and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Vermont.

Stephanie focuses her practice on environmental, health, and workplace safety compliance and enforcement matters. Specifically, she concentrates her practice on process safety management (PSM) counseling and major incident response. She supports responses to inspections, investigations, and enforcement by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Chemical Safety Board (CSB), California OSHA (CalOSHA), California EPA (CalEPA),  and other agencies. Stephanie draws from her experience as a refinery chemical engineer to inform her perspective, relate to her clients’ concerns, and approach issues efficiently.

Kristine Yabumoto is the Communications Specialist for the NAACP California Hawaii State Conference (CA/HI NAACP), spearheading all internal and external communications. Most recently, she oversaw and mobilized branch engagement and program implementation for the California Resilience Challenge and Stop the Hate grants. Kristine has a keen perception and awareness of the need for advocacy and empowerment of Black and Brown communities to take action when environmental crises occur. More importantly, she understands how critical climate response plans are to frontline communities and uses the research commissioned by the CA/HI NAACP to assist in creating those plans to address environmental justice concerns.
Kristine has become an expert in identifying acts of hate and discrimination and amplifying how these incidents impact communities of color, not just in race & justice, but also in education, environmental & climate justice, health, and voting rights. She is a California State University, Sacramento graduate and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Relations.

Over the past 15 years, Tony Tolentino has worked in the philanthropic, non-profit, and government sectors focusing on entrepreneurship and inclusive economic development. He currently serves as a Vice President with JPMorgan Chase’s Global Philanthropy group overseeing the strategy and grantmaking portfolio for the San Francisco Bay Area and Northern California. The portfolio supports eligible nonprofits focused on racial equity and building a more inclusive economy through community development, small business, workforce development, and financial empowerment. Prior to his role at JPMC, he served as Chief Integration Officer with The Philanthropy Workshop (TPW), a community of nearly 400 philanthropists and social investors committed to solving the world’s most pressing social issues. As a leadership team member, he was responsible for integrating processes and information across the global organization and for working with TPW’s key investors and stakeholders. Before TPW, Tony was Vice President with the Blackstone Charitable Foundation. He was responsible for implementing the Foundation’s Entrepreneurship Initiative, a $60M+ philanthropic commitment to creating targeted regional programs globally to support entrepreneurs and small businesses. Before joining Blackstone, he worked at the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, the agency created to help plan and coordinate the rebuilding and revitalization of Lower Manhattan after September 11, where he managed a portfolio of $240M+ grants to various community and cultural non-profits and city agencies.

At Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), Chris Benjamin is the Director of Corporate Sustainability and leads a team responsible for PG& E’s sustainability efforts and engagement, including working to integrate and align PG&E’s sustainability strategy with its business strategy. This includes working collaboratively to measure, communicate, and elevate PG&E’s sustainability commitment. His team is responsible for a variety of sustainability reporting, benchmarking, and strategic policy initiatives, including working to build climate resilience. His team actively engages with a broad range of stakeholders, including PG&E’s external Sustainability Advisory Council, to guide and strengthen PG&E’s sustainability strategy.

Prior to joining PG&E, Chris was a Vice President at Eastern Research Group and a Policy Associate for the National Recycling Coalition. He received a Masters of Environmental Management from Duke University and a B.A. from Boston College.

Andrew Baldonado is managing director of State Public Affairs at Southern California Edison (SCE), one of the nation’s largest electric utilities. He is responsible for developing policy and strategies to advocate the company’s position on critical state matters and overseeing the state public affairs team in Sacramento. He also directs political engagement and represents the company with several business and political organizations.

Previously, Baldonado led the State Government Affairs team at Anheuser-Busch, based in New York City. He started at A-B as director, local government affairs in 1998 in Los Angeles, was promoted to region vice president in 2005 based in Sacramento and was named vice president, state government affairs in 2010. At Anheuser-Busch, Baldonado managed the state governments affairs team, along with contract lobbyists in all 50 states. Key issues included sales & marketing, taxation, manufacturing, and environmental sustainability. He also was responsible for engagement with state attorneys generals and Democratic/Republican Governors Associations. Baldonado has served on the board of directors of the National Association of Latino Elected Officials Education Fund and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Foundation. He currently serves on the board of directors of The California Museum.

Appointed CEO by the Board on May 26, 2020, Mr. Callender oversees an integrated water resources system that includes the supply of clean, safe water; flood protection; and environmental stewardship of waterways for Santa Clara County’s 1.9 million residents. Mr. Callender has worked for Valley Water since 1996, serving most recently as the Chief of External Affairs. As the CEA, he led Valley Water’s efforts in strategic external communications to the media, community, and the public. Mr. Callender also oversaw all government relations efforts on local, regional, state, and federal levels, as well as public policies that directly affect Valley Water. Prior to joining the district, Mr. Callender worked as a Special Assistant to former City of San Jose Mayor Susan Hammer, as a Field Campaign Organizer for the California Democratic Party, as a Congressional Fellow for the United States House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Energy, and as a Congressional Fellow to Congressman Ronald V. Dellums. He also served as president of the San Jose-Silicon Valley NAACP from 2000 to 2008. Mr. Callender earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering and Technology with an emphasis in electronic and computer technology from California State University, Chico, completed all coursework for his Master of Arts in Public Administration from San Jose State University, earned his Juris Doctorate from Northwestern California University School of Law, and is a member of the California State Bar. He has also attended and graduated from eight executive leadership programs at different universities throughout the nation.

Ann Hayden is the Senior Director of Environmental Defense’s Western Water program and Resilient Landscapes. Ann joined EDF in 2002 to help lead its efforts to restore the San Francisco Bay Delta estuary while improving urban and agricultural water supply reliability. She leads EDF’s work in California to advance incentive-based approaches that ensure adequate water is available for rivers and wetlands, improve agriculture’s resilience in the face of variable water supplies, and address the water needs of disadvantaged communities. She also works with a wide range of partners to encourage the implementation of habitat markets that can restore critical habitat and benefit the agriculture economy in California. Ann has a long history of building broad coalitions of state and federal agencies, non-profit partners, landowners, and the private sector to support the implementation of environmental markets that help increase California’s healthy freshwater and terrestrial systems and improve delivery of the environmental services these habitats provide. Ann earned an M.A. in Environmental Science and Management from UC Santa Barbara, and a B.A. in Marine Biology from UC Santa Cruz.

Michelle Passero is the Director of Climate Policy for The Nature Conservancy, California office. She has over 19 years of experience working in land conservation and environmental law and policy. Currently, Ms. Passero is leading TNC’s policy efforts to establish a comprehensive role for natural and working lands in support of California’s climate changes goals. She holds an LL.M. in Sustainable International Development from the University of Washington, a J.D. from the University of San Francisco and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Vermont.

Stephanie focuses her practice on environmental, health, and workplace safety compliance and enforcement matters. Specifically, she concentrates her practice on process safety management (PSM) counseling and major incident response. She supports responses to inspections, investigations, and enforcement by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Chemical Safety Board (CSB), California OSHA (CalOSHA), California EPA (CalEPA),  and other agencies. Stephanie draws from her experience as a refinery chemical engineer to inform her perspective, relate to her clients’ concerns, and approach issues efficiently.

Claire Bonham-Carter is a Principal and Director of Sustainable Development for AECOM with over 18 years of experience working on climate change mitigation and adaptation planning for public and private sector clients. She specializes in climate vulnerability and risk assessments and adaptation planning for cities and transportation agencies, with projects (in California) for clients such as the City and County of San Francisco, San Francisco Bay Area’s Metropolitan Transportation Commission, County of Santa Clara, Southern California Regional Rail Authority, City of Long Beach, Ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland, the Los Angeles County Metro, and the Federal Highways Administration. Claire managed AECOM’s partnership with the Rockefeller Foundation 100 Resilient Cities Program, for whom AECOM worked with 30 cities around the world to develop a resilience strategy. She is a co-chair for the Bay Area Council’s Water and Climate Resilience Committee, and is on the Board of Ecodistricts, a not for profit focusing on building more resilient, equitable and sustainable neighborhoods. Claire has an MA(Hons) Natural Sciences from Cambridge University.

Described as one of the country’s most exciting “next generation” political leaders, Gloria Walton is committed to creating equitable climate solutions that center the people closest to the problem. Gloria is an award-winning organizer, writer, and the President and CEO of The Solutions Project. Gloria joined The Solutions Project from Strategic Concepts in Organizing and Policy Education (SCOPE), a South LA-based community organization, where she was President & CEO for 10 years. SCOPE has been a grantee of The Solutions Project since 2015 and Gloria joined the board in 2017 to help create a vision that is radically-inclusive and culture-led.

Gloria is a Fellow of the 2020 class of the Civil Society Fellowship, part of the Aspen Global Leadership Network, and has won half dozen awards for her leadership, including NAACP-LA’s Empowerment Award and the LA League of Conservation Voters Environmental Justice Champion Award. She is a gubernatorial appointee to the California Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Program Technical Advisory Council, and LA County Board of Supervisor appointee to Central Santa Monica Bay Watershed Area Steering Committee. Additionally, she serves on the board of directors of Rockwood Leadership Institute, and is a founding Coordinating Committee member of the Los Angeles Black Worker Center, and Founding Advisory Board member of the national collaborative, BOLD (Black Organizing for Leadership & Dignity).

In addition to her leadership and community organizing work, Gloria is also a writer, commentator, and public speaker. Her work and words have appeared at The Nation, Huffington Post, The Center for American Progress, and others, writing about topics ranging from environmental racism and clean energy jobs, to voter engagement and racial justice. She also speaks nationally, and has shared words on stage with luminaries like Pat Mitchell, Climate Czar Gina McCarthy, and actors Don Cheadle and Mark Ruffalo.

Allen Fernandez Smith is the West Region Executive for Global Philanthropy at JPMorgan Chase. In this capacity, Allen is responsible for the firm’s strategic philanthropy throughout the Western United States. His team supports eligible nonprofits focused on racial equity and building a more inclusive economy through community development, small business, workforce development, and financial empowerment. Fernandez Smith has been committed to issues of social, racial and economic empowerment since his early years growing up in Chicago, where he got a firsthand look at inequality and the systematic exclusion of low-income families and communities of color from economic and political opportunities.

Prior to his role at JPMorgan Chase, Fernandez Smith was a Principal for Low-Income Programs and Strategies at the Pacific Gas and Electric Company where he led the company’s comprehensive approach to support its 2 million low-income customers throughout California with energy savings tools, financial assistance programs and community partnerships. Fernandez Smith also served as the President and CEO of Urban Habitat, an environmental justice non-profit dedicated to providing leadership and policy guidance to local governments and communities of color who are disproportionately impacted by environmental hazards. Prior to his tenure at Urban Habitat, Fernandez Smith was the Executive Director of the California School-Age Consortium (CalSAC), a statewide organization dedicated to advancing the professional development of youth workers across the state through high-quality trainings, policymaking, and advocacy. As President of the Board of Directors and then as Executive Director, he led the organization in developing and implementing a multi-year strategic plan to realign the organization’s mission, vision and direction.

John is the national vice president of strategy for Community Health at Kaiser Permanente responsible for the development and implementation of key strategies to ensure Kaiser Permanente’s commitment to improving the health of communities. John has been with Kaiser Permanente for over 20 years, having previously been a director in national strategic planning.

He was a Fellow in America’s Health Insurance Plan’s Executive Leadership Program and was named a DiversityMBA Top 100 Under 50 Diverse Executive Leader in 2013. He graduated from executive leadership programs at Harvard Business School and the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

John Moon is Vice President Climate-Aligned Philanthropy and Partnerships Lead at Wells Fargo where he leads grant-making to scale sustainable finance toward an equitable climate transition. He has extensive public and private sector experience, focused on the intersection of racial equity, investments, climate, and health including work at the Federal Reserve, Living Cities, Municipal Government, Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle, and Fleetbank. A core focus has been how the built environment/communities are key levers to produce transformative change that improves economic mobility, resilience, and reduced inequality. John has helped to lead national initiatives in partnership with philanthropy, social impact investors, community-based organizations and government to tackle complex social challenges holistically with a wide range of stakeholders and sectors. He also serves on a number of regional and national advisory groups. John graduated from UCLA Magna Cum Laude and Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.

At Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), Chris Benjamin is the Director of Corporate Sustainability and leads a team responsible for PG& E’s sustainability efforts and engagement, including working to integrate and align PG&E’s sustainability strategy with its business strategy. This includes working collaboratively to measure, communicate, and elevate PG&E’s sustainability commitment. His team is responsible for a variety of sustainability reporting, benchmarking, and strategic policy initiatives, including working to build climate resilience. His team actively engages with a broad range of stakeholders, including PG&E’s external Sustainability Advisory Council, to guide and strengthen PG&E’s sustainability strategy.

Prior to joining PG&E, Chris was a Vice President at Eastern Research Group and a Policy Associate for the National Recycling Coalition. He received a Masters of Environmental Management from Duke University and a B.A. from Boston College.

Matt Armsby is Vice President at Resources Legacy Fund, where he helps set and implement the organization’s strategic direction and manages work tied to state and federal policies, including climate adaptation and coastal protection. Before joining RLF, Matt was an environmental law and policy fellow and clinical attorney at Stanford Law School’s Environmental Law Clinic, overseeing research for marine conservation initiatives and providing legal services to public interest organizations. He was also an Early Career Legal Fellow at the Center for Ocean Solutions, advancing the role of science in ocean policy and governance. Matt is a graduate of Stanford Law School.

Andrew Baldonado is managing director of State Public Affairs at Southern California Edison (SCE), one of the nation’s largest electric utilities. He is responsible for developing policy and strategies to advocate the company’s position on critical state matters and overseeing the state public affairs team in Sacramento. He also directs political engagement and represents the company with several business and political organizations.

Previously, Baldonado led the State Government Affairs team at Anheuser-Busch, based in New York City. He started at A-B as director, local government affairs in 1998 in Los Angeles, was promoted to region vice president in 2005 based in Sacramento and was named vice president, state government affairs in 2010. At Anheuser-Busch, Baldonado managed the state governments affairs team, along with contract lobbyists in all 50 states. Key issues included sales & marketing, taxation, manufacturing, and environmental sustainability. He also was responsible for engagement with state attorneys generals and Democratic/Republican Governors Associations. Baldonado has served on the board of directors of the National Association of Latino Elected Officials Education Fund and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Foundation. He currently serves on the board of directors of The California Museum.

Appointed CEO by the Board on May 26, 2020, Mr. Callender oversees an integrated water resources system that includes the supply of clean, safe water; flood protection; and environmental stewardship of waterways for Santa Clara County’s 1.9 million residents. Mr. Callender has worked for Valley Water since 1996, serving most recently as the Chief of External Affairs. As the CEA, he led Valley Water’s efforts in strategic external communications to the media, community, and the public. Mr. Callender also oversaw all government relations efforts on local, regional, state, and federal levels, as well as public policies that directly affect Valley Water. Prior to joining the district, Mr. Callender worked as a Special Assistant to former City of San Jose Mayor Susan Hammer, as a Field Campaign Organizer for the California Democratic Party, as a Congressional Fellow for the United States House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Energy, and as a Congressional Fellow to Congressman Ronald V. Dellums. He also served as president of the San Jose-Silicon Valley NAACP from 2000 to 2008. Mr. Callender earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering and Technology with an emphasis in electronic and computer technology from California State University, Chico, completed all coursework for his Master of Arts in Public Administration from San Jose State University, earned his Juris Doctorate from Northwestern California University School of Law, and is a member of the California State Bar. He has also attended and graduated from eight executive leadership programs at different universities throughout the nation.

Ann Hayden is the Senior Director of Environmental Defense’s Western Water program and Resilient Landscapes. Ann joined EDF in 2002 to help lead its efforts to restore the San Francisco Bay Delta estuary while improving urban and agricultural water supply reliability. She leads EDF’s work in California to advance incentive-based approaches that ensure adequate water is available for rivers and wetlands, improve agriculture’s resilience in the face of variable water supplies, and address the water needs of disadvantaged communities. She also works with a wide range of partners to encourage the implementation of habitat markets that can restore critical habitat and benefit the agriculture economy in California. Ann has a long history of building broad coalitions of state and federal agencies, non-profit partners, landowners, and the private sector to support the implementation of environmental markets that help increase California’s healthy freshwater and terrestrial systems and improve delivery of the environmental services these habitats provide. Ann earned an M.A. in Environmental Science and Management from UC Santa Barbara, and a B.A. in Marine Biology from UC Santa Cruz.

Michelle Passero is the Director of Climate Policy for The Nature Conservancy, California office. She has over 19 years of experience working in land conservation and environmental law and policy. Currently, Ms. Passero is leading TNC’s policy efforts to establish a comprehensive role for natural and working lands in support of California’s climate changes goals. She holds an LL.M. in Sustainable International Development from the University of Washington, a J.D. from the University of San Francisco and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Vermont.

Stephanie focuses her practice on environmental, health, and workplace safety compliance and enforcement matters. Specifically, she concentrates her practice on process safety management (PSM) counseling and major incident response. She supports responses to inspections, investigations, and enforcement by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Chemical Safety Board (CSB), California OSHA (CalOSHA), California EPA (CalEPA),  and other agencies. Stephanie draws from her experience as a refinery chemical engineer to inform her perspective, relate to her clients’ concerns, and approach issues efficiently.

Jennifer oversees Ceres’ policy advocacy, outreach and research for Western US states, amplifying the voice of the business community to build support for renewables, energy efficiency and clean transportation. Prior to joining Ceres, Jennifer worked for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and the San Francisco School District on energy efficiency programs, solar incentives, conservation management and clean energy education. Before this, Jennifer was a researcher at the Technische Universität Berlin. She co-authored comparative research on US and German policies for renewable energy and environmental impact assessment and became a contributing author for the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report with the Mitigation Working Group on Transportation.

Claire Bonham-Carter is a Principal and Director of Sustainable Development for AECOM with over 18 years of experience working on climate change mitigation and adaptation planning for public and private sector clients. She specializes in climate vulnerability and risk assessments and adaptation planning for cities and transportation agencies, with projects (in California) for clients such as the City and County of San Francisco, San Francisco Bay Area’s Metropolitan Transportation Commission, County of Santa Clara, Southern California Regional Rail Authority, City of Long Beach, Ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland, the Los Angeles County Metro, and the Federal Highways Administration. Claire managed AECOM’s partnership with the Rockefeller Foundation 100 Resilient Cities Program, for whom AECOM worked with 30 cities around the world to develop a resilience strategy. She is a co-chair for the Bay Area Council’s Water and Climate Resilience Committee, and is on the Board of Ecodistricts, a not for profit focusing on building more resilient, equitable and sustainable neighborhoods. Claire has an MA(Hons) Natural Sciences from Cambridge University.

Monica V. Arellano is presently serving as the Tribal Vice Chairwoman for the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area. She also represents the Tribe on the State of California’s Native American Heritage Commission’s Most Like Descendant list, when ancestral heritage sites are encountered during construction projects. Monica protects the Tribe’s aboriginal and religious rights while caring for the proper and respectful treatment of their ancestral remains and cultural artifacts. She is also co-author on many archaeological reports regarding the Tribe’s ancestral heritage sites. Monica is one of the founding Members of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe Language Committee and is proactive in restoring her Tribe’s Muwekma Ohlone Language, while also working on interpretive museum displays and various publications about her Tribe’s 10,000-year history and heritage. She has the authority and privilege to issue Land Acknowledgments and public Welcoming Declarations to Muwekma’s Ancestral Land on behalf of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe.

Described as one of the country’s most exciting “next generation” political leaders, Gloria Walton is committed to creating equitable climate solutions that center the people closest to the problem. Gloria is an award-winning organizer, writer, and the President and CEO of The Solutions Project. Gloria joined The Solutions Project from Strategic Concepts in Organizing and Policy Education (SCOPE), a South LA-based community organization, where she was President & CEO for 10 years. SCOPE has been a grantee of The Solutions Project since 2015 and Gloria joined the board in 2017 to help create a vision that is radically-inclusive and culture-led.

Gloria is a Fellow of the 2020 class of the Civil Society Fellowship, part of the Aspen Global Leadership Network, and has won half dozen awards for her leadership, including NAACP-LA’s Empowerment Award and the LA League of Conservation Voters Environmental Justice Champion Award. She is a gubernatorial appointee to the California Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Program Technical Advisory Council, and LA County Board of Supervisor appointee to Central Santa Monica Bay Watershed Area Steering Committee. Additionally, she serves on the board of directors of Rockwood Leadership Institute, and is a founding Coordinating Committee member of the Los Angeles Black Worker Center, and Founding Advisory Board member of the national collaborative, BOLD (Black Organizing for Leadership & Dignity).

In addition to her leadership and community organizing work, Gloria is also a writer, commentator, and public speaker. Her work and words have appeared at The Nation, Huffington Post, The Center for American Progress, and others, writing about topics ranging from environmental racism and clean energy jobs, to voter engagement and racial justice. She also speaks nationally, and has shared words on stage with luminaries like Pat Mitchell, Climate Czar Gina McCarthy, and actors Don Cheadle and Mark Ruffalo.

Kari Decker currently serves as Managing Director, Corporate Responsibility for the Western Region of JPMorgan Chase. She also coordinates the firm’s women-related initiatives for her department. She has previously managed the firm’s Foundation team and charitable giving in the Western US, and prior to that, managed Local and State Government Relations for California and other Western states.

Kari has worked over thirty years in the arena of public policy, law, corporate social responsibility and business development. Prior to joining JPMorgan Chase, Kari was Managing Director at APX Environmental Markets, a leading global provider of environmental market infrastructure for the global carbon and renewable energy markets.

Kari served as Director of Policy and Senior Advisor to California Governor Gray Davis, where she led numerous initiatives relating to California’s economy, infrastructure, technology, international trade, education and energy. Before her return to the West, Ms. Decker spent over a decade in Washington, DC, and was a senior appointee of President Clinton, serving as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Planning in the U.S. Department of Commerce. Ms. Decker also served as Senior Policy Advisor on international trade and economic issues to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Mickey Kantor.

Chris Thompson, vice president of Local Public Affairs for Southern California Edison (SCE), is responsible for community and government relations at the municipal and county levels. Chris has served in several leadership roles since joining Edison International (EIX) in 2013. During 2013 and 2014, he served as vice president for Decommissioning at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). In that role, he led the development and implementation of an integrated strategy for all technical, external, financial, regulatory, and legal tasks related to the plant’s decommissioning. He also worked at Edison Water Resources, an EIX subsidiary. Previously, Chris served as chief of staff to U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein in Washington, D.C. He was the senator’s principal advisor and oversaw all office operations, including the legislative agenda, communications, and political strategy. During his 10 years on her staff, Chris developed significant expertise in water, energy, and environmental policy. Chris serves on several boards, including the Board of Trustees of PBS SoCal, California Science Center, Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, Coalition for Clean Air, and PPIC.

At Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), Chris Benjamin is the Director of Corporate Sustainability and leads a team responsible for PG& E’s sustainability efforts and engagement, including working to integrate and align PG&E’s sustainability strategy with its business strategy. This includes working collaboratively to measure, communicate, and elevate PG&E’s sustainability commitment. His team is responsible for a variety of sustainability reporting, benchmarking, and strategic policy initiatives, including working to build climate resilience. His team actively engages with a broad range of stakeholders, including PG&E’s external Sustainability Advisory Council, to guide and strengthen PG&E’s sustainability strategy.

Prior to joining PG&E, Chris was a Vice President at Eastern Research Group and a Policy Associate for the National Recycling Coalition. He received a Masters of Environmental Management from Duke University and a B.A. from Boston College.

Matt Armsby is Vice President at Resources Legacy Fund, where he helps set and implement the organization’s strategic direction and manages work tied to state and federal policies, including climate adaptation and coastal protection. Before joining RLF, Matt was an environmental law and policy fellow and clinical attorney at Stanford Law School’s Environmental Law Clinic, overseeing research for marine conservation initiatives and providing legal services to public interest organizations. He was also an Early Career Legal Fellow at the Center for Ocean Solutions, advancing the role of science in ocean policy and governance. Matt is a graduate of Stanford Law School.

Norma Camacho is the Chief Executive Officer of the Santa Clara Valley Water District, appointed by the Board of Directors on August 22, 2017. The Santa Clara Valley Water District manages an integrated water resources system that includes the supply of clean, safe water; flood protection; and stewardship of streams for Santa Clara County’s 1.9 million residents. Ms. Camacho has more than 25 years of long-range planning, program development, finance, and capital projects experience. She previously worked as the director of the Ventura County Watershed Protection District and prior to that position she served in the Ventura County Executive Office as deputy executive officer for finance and budgets. Ms. Camacho holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering (structural) from Stanford University. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the California Urban Water Agencies, Bay Area Council, WateReuse, Silicon Valley Organization, San Jose Evergreen Community College Foundation, and a member of the Santa Clara City Managers’ Association and the Bay Area Water Agencies Coalition.

Michelle Passero is the Director of Climate Policy for The Nature Conservancy, California office. She has over 19 years of experience working in land conservation and environmental law and policy. Currently, Ms. Passero is leading TNC’s policy efforts to establish a comprehensive role for natural and working lands in support of California’s climate changes goals. She holds an LL.M. in Sustainable International Development from the University of Washington, a J.D. from the University of San Francisco and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Vermont.

Ann Hayden is the Senior Director of Environmental Defense’s Western Water program and Resilient Landscapes. Ann joined EDF in 2002 to help lead its efforts to restore the San Francisco Bay Delta estuary while improving urban and agricultural water supply reliability. She leads EDF’s work in California to advance incentive-based approaches that ensure adequate water is available for rivers and wetlands, improve agriculture’s resilience in the face of variable water supplies, and address the water needs of disadvantaged communities. She also works with a wide range of partners to encourage the implementation of habitat markets that can restore critical habitat and benefit the agriculture economy in California. Ann has a long history of building broad coalitions of state and federal agencies, non-profit partners, landowners, and the private sector to support the implementation of environmental markets that help increase California’s healthy freshwater and terrestrial systems and improve delivery of the environmental services these habitats provide. Ann earned an M.A. in Environmental Science and Management from UC Santa Barbara, and a B.A. in Marine Biology from UC Santa Cruz.

Claire Bonham-Carter is a Principal and Director of Sustainable Development for AECOM with over 18 years of experience working on climate change mitigation and adaptation planning for public and private sector clients. She specializes in climate vulnerability and risk assessments and adaptation planning for cities and transportation agencies, with projects (in California) for clients such as the City and County of San Francisco, San Francisco Bay Area’s Metropolitan Transportation Commission, County of Santa Clara, Southern California Regional Rail Authority, City of Long Beach, Ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland, the Los Angeles County Metro, and the Federal Highways Administration. Claire managed AECOM’s partnership with the Rockefeller Foundation 100 Resilient Cities Program, for whom AECOM worked with 30 cities around the world to develop a resilience strategy. She is a co-chair for the Bay Area Council’s Water and Climate Resilience Committee, and is on the Board of Ecodistricts, a not for profit focusing on building more resilient, equitable and sustainable neighborhoods. Claire has an MA(Hons) Natural Sciences from Cambridge University.

Rob James is a partner in the San Francisco and Houston offices of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP. His law practice encompasses energy, construction and infrastructure project development and finance. His projects include the San Francisco Giants ballpark; construction of port and marine facilities; public transit, including transit-oriented mixed-use development and the BART airport extensions; school, university and health care improvements; renewable energy generation and transmission facilities; carbon capture and sequestration systems; groundwater replenishment systems; and water treatment, desalination and supply facilities.

Rob is a graduate of Stanford University and Yale Law School. He is a member of the Bay Area Council executive committee and board of directors, and the Bay Area Council Economic Institute board of trustees. He is also a member of the American Law Institute and serves on boards of a number of nonprofit judicial and youth service organizations.