FACULTY MEMBERS
 

BLUE RIBBON SESSION

John A. Bohn was appointed by Governor

Schwarzenegger in 2005. He serves as a Director of

the National Endowment for Democracy and was

previously with the Reagan Administration.

Jim Heitzman is an industry veteran with 30 years

of experience. He was previously Assistant General

Manager of the Monterey Regional Water Pollution

Control Agency and is presently the General

Manager of Marina Coast Water District.

Tom Luster advises the Commission on

desalination-related policies and projects. He was

the primary author of the Commission’s 2004

report on seawater desalination and Co-Chair of

California’s Desalination Task Force in 2003.

B. Kent Turner has over 25 years of water industry

experience. He reinforces and strengthens

customer, regulatory and local government

relationships and drives operational and financial

results.

KEYNOTE PANELISTS

Arthur G. Baggett Jr. co-founded Merced Canyon

Committee, which successfully advocated for

protection of the upper Merced River. He also

served two terms as a member of the Mariposa

County Board of Supervisors.

Michelle Morrow has been in-house counsel for

the Department since the inception of the Bay

Delta Conservation Plan Steering Committee. She

focuses on environmental review of restoration

projects and land use issues in the Delta.

Doug Obegi worked as a policy analyst for a

national environmental group before going to law

school. He presently works to help restore the Bay-

Delta and protect its wildlife.

FEATURED PRESENTER

Alexis Strauss joined the EPA 30 years ago,

working on RCRA and Superfund programs before

working on the implementation of the Clean Water

Act and Safe Drinking Water Act. She recently

received a Presidential Rank Award.

FACULTY MEMBERS

Jesse W. Barton practices water rights, water

law, public agency law and environmental law

and represents a wide variety of public agencies,

corporations, and private individuals.

Charlton “Chuck” H. Bonham is responsible

for developing, managing, and implementing

Trout Unlimited’s programs in California. He was

previously a Peace Corps volunteer in Senegal.

Richard Frank joined Boalt Hall in 2006 from the

California Department of Justice, where he served

as the Chief Deputy Attorney General for Legal

Affairs. He is an expert in environmental law, land

use, energy issues and property rights.

Brian Johnson works to reform state water law

and promote scientifically sound stream flows for

trout and salmon. He was previously with Shute,

Mihaly & Weinberger, a public interest law firm.

Marc Kelley and his partner coordinate the

Sonoma County Salmon Coalition. One of the goals

of the Coalition is to address the water demands

of salmonids while protecting the agricultural

viability of the region.

David C. Laredo represents public agencies

and nonprofit agencies, and has extensive

experience in municipal law, water law, public

utilities law and adoptions law. He previously

served as Deputy County Counsel for the

County of Monterey.

David J. Lazerwitz counsels publicc and private

clients in environmental and natural resources

compliance, permitting and litigation matters.

Pamela Phillips is Co-Chair of her firm’s

Professional Responsibility Practice Group. She

focuses on attorney liability, legal ethics, legal

malpractice, law firm risk management and

complex business litigation.

Andrew Sawyer is responsible for managing

the activities of the State Water Resources

Control Board’s Office of Chief Counsel involving

water rights and underground storage tanks.

Roderick Walston has extensive experience in

natural resources and environmental law. He

has worked as a litigator with state regulatory

agencies and as a manager of litigation for

federal and state agencies in these areas.

Louise Warren provides legal advice to

the Energy, Ocean Resources and Federal

Consistency Division as well as the Coastal

Commission’s San Diego and Central Coast

offices. She was previously with Farella, Braun +

Martel.

Lenard G. Weiss has over 45 years’ experience

in complex business and commercial litigation.

He is an expert in California water law, having

represented major water companies and

a number of smaller water, telephone and

transportation utilities.

Victoria Whitney has worked for the Division

since 1984. In addition to directing its dayto-

day operations. She has assisted the

Attorney General’s Office and the courts in the

determination of several water rights issues.