Switzer Fellows Spring 2011 Retreat and Study Tour - California
Central Valley Water Issues: Case Studies in Ecology and Environmental Justice
in the Fresno and San Joaquin River area
March 4-6, 2011
Wonder Valley Ranch Resort and Conference Center, Sanger, CA
The Central Valley region of California is at the center of several critical environmental management,
agriculture and water policy issues. The annual spring retreat is an opportunity for Switzer Fellows and
environmental colleagues to examine a critical environmental issue from an interdisciplinary
perspective, showcase the work of Fellows addressing the issue and to share expertise and creative
exchange among Fellows and colleagues working on these issues.
On this study tour, participants will examine:
- the implications of the upcoming CA DWR Flood Management Plan for the Central Valley and
ecological restoration opportunities and efforts underway in the San Joaquin Valley and related
efforts in the “delta”.
- The interplay between the nationally significant agricultural industry, land use demands for
housing and commercial development, water quality and health impacts of the industry on local
communities and strategies for improving drinking water safety among workers in the region.
Switzer Fellows and colleagues will present in-depth perspectives on challenges and opportunities facing
the region, the industries and stakeholders involved and how communities are responding.
AGENDA
Friday, March 4, 2011
4 – 6:00 pm
6:00 pm
Arrive and check-in at Wonder Valley Ranch Resort and Conference Center
Dinner
Saturday, March 5, 2011
7 – 7:45 am
Breakfast
8 – 9:15 am
Board bus, travel to Friant Dam
9:15 – 1 pm
SAN JOAQUIN RIVER RESTORATION
Discussions and site visits to restoration sites along the San Joaquin River – hosted by
Switzer Fellows Mark Tompkins (2004), Steve Rothert (1994), and John Cain, American
Rivers. Site visits will include:
Friant Dam Overlook: Restrooms. Discuss history of the San Joaquin River Restoration
Program. Describe historical and future dam operations, and discuss ecological impacts
of the dam.
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Vulcan Materials – active gravel quarry: “Before” view of gravel mining ponds not yet
restored / revegetated, salmon spawning and holding habitat, role of the San Joaquin
River Parkway and Conservation Trust.
Sycamore Island Overlook: “After” view of flooded quarries that have been restored /
revegetted, role of the San Joaquin River Conservancy.
Skaggs Bridge: Explore area of most intense public use along the river, river access,
environmental justice issues associated with the restoration program, floodplain
restoration / reconnection concepts.
Bjerrum Ranch: Landowner perspective on life along the San Joaquin River, including a
discussion of the restoration program, erosion, flood protection, and levee issues.
Shehadey Farms: Agricultural perspective on the restoration program, flood
management, and the future of agriculture in the San Joaquin Valley.
Speakers and Resource People:
Mark Tompkins (2004 Switzer Fellow), Consultant, Engineering Geomorphologist,
NewFields River Basin Services, LLC
Steve Rothert (1994 Switzer Fellow), California Regional Director, American Rivers
John Cain, Central Valley Flood Management Director, American Rivers
Peter Vorster (1990 Switzer Fellow), Hydrologist, The Bay Institute
John Andrew (1995 Switzer Fellow), Assistant Deputy Director, CA Department of Water
Resources
Ali Forsythe, Acting San Joaquin River Restoration Program Manager, U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation
Dave Koehler, Executive Director, San Joaquin River Parkway and Conservation Trust
David Robinson, Site Manager, Vulcan Materials
Ray Bjerrum, Owner, Bjerrum Ranch
Don Mendrin, Farm Manager, Larry Shehadey Farms
1 – 2:30 pm
Travel by bus to Seville
2:30–5:30 pm ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZING IN SEVILLE
Tour of the agricultural community of Seville, looking at efforts to fight for safe
drinking water, reduce pesticide exposure and organize agricultural communities in
the Valley – hosted by Switzer Fellows Carolina Balazs (2009) and Christopher Bacon
(2001). This tour will include:
 Introduction to the Community Water Center and local community activists at the home
of activist Becky Quintana.
 Walking water tour of Seville led by community members.
 Discussion: Environmental Justice in the Valley – presentations from leading
environmental justice groups:
o Opening remarks – Switzer Foundation Executive Director Lissa Widoff;
o History and present day struggles for environmental justice – Center on Race,
Poverty and the Environment;
o Environmental justice and drinking water research – Switzer Fellow Carolina
Balazs, PhD Candidate, UC Berkeley;
o Pesticide exposure and organizing in the Valley –Californians for Pesticide
Reform;
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Planning and development issues in unincorporated Valley communities –
California Rural Legal Assistance;
Impacts of groundwater contamination in the Valley – The Pacific Institute.
Speakers and Resource People
Becky Quintana, Seville resident and A.G.U.A. member (Asociacion de Gente Unida por
el Agua – Association of People United by Water)
Maria Herrera, Community Outreach Coordinator, Community Water Center
Caroline Farrell, Executive Director, Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment
Lupe Martinez, Assistant Director, Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment
Phoebe Seaton, California Rural Legal Assistance
Teresa de Anda, Californians for Pesticide Reform
Carolina Balazs, 2009 Switzer Fellow, PhD Candidate, UC Berkeley
Eyal Matalon, Research Associate, The Pacific Institute
5:30 – 7 pm
Community dinner in Seville, prepared by community members and with local musical
accompaniment
7 – 8:00 pm
Return by bus to Wonder Valley Ranch Resort & Conference Center
Sunday, March 6, 2011
8 – 9:00 am
Breakfast
9 – 11:00 am
Switzer Network Collaborations – facilitated by Switzer Foundation Executive Director,
Lissa Widoff, and Switzer Foundation consultant, Carole Martin
This morning will include a focused debrief on the lessons and observations from the
Saturday field trips and a time for Fellows and colleagues to consider how the Switzer
Fellows' Network can collaborate to address common interests and issues examined
the day before. Lissa will review some of the findings of our recent Network
Assessment and general strategies for strengthening the Switzer Network and building
meaningful collaborations. Carole will facilitate the group’s discussion about specific
collaborations that might come out of this weekend or that can be brought for
consideration to the Switzer Network at large. Bring your ideas about how you can
contribute as well as problems you’d like to help solve.
11 – 2:00 pm
Short hike and lunch
2:00 pm
Depart
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SPEAKER AND PRESENTER BIOGRAPHIES
JOHN ANDREW (1995 SWITZER FELLOW)
Assistant Deputy Director
California Department of Water Resources
901 P Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 651-9657
jandrew@water.ca.gov
John Andrew is Assistant Deputy Director of the California Department of Water Resources (DWR),
where he oversees all of DWR's climate change activities and is the Department's primary liaison to the
Governor's Climate Action Team. Most recently, John served as the water sector lead for the California
Climate Adaptation Strategy and led development of DWR's first sustainability policy. His previous
management positions include Drinking Water Quality Program Manager and Southern California
Regional Coordinator for the CALFED Bay-Delta Program, and Chief of Special Planning Projects and
Chief of Fish Facilities for DWR. From 1991-98, John was a publicly elected director of the Stege Sanitary
District in the San Francisco Bay Area, and from 1999-2005 he served on the City of Sacramento's
Citizens Advisory Committee for Parks and Recreation, including four terms as chair. From 2003-04, John
also served as president of the Berkeley Engineering Alumni Society. He has over 20 years of experience
in water resources and environmental engineering, and is a licensed Civil Engineer in the state of
California. John holds degrees in civil engineering and public policy from the University of California at
Berkeley.
CHRISTOPHER BACON (2001 SWITZER FELLOW)
Assistant Professor
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara, CA 94053
christophermbacon@gmail.com
Christopher M. Bacon works to understand issues of social justice and environmental sustainability.
After graduating with BA degrees in both Economics and Environmental Studies from the University of
California at Santa Barbara, he worked for the World Resources Institute and then served for two years
in Peace Corps Nicaragua. He later returned to finish a Ph.D. from the Department of Environmental
Studies at the University of California at Santa Cruz. He has consulted for small-scale farmers
cooperatives in Latin America, international development agencies (Oxfam, Lutheran World Relief, and
Twin Trading) and sustainable coffee companies (Thanksgiving Coffee Company and Equal Exchange).
Current action and research partnerships concern hunger alleviation and building food sovereignty. He is
an author and co-editor of Confronting the Coffee Crisis: Fair Trade, Sustainable Livelihoods and
Ecosystems in Mexico and Central America (MIT Press), and several articles related to food and
environmental governance, fair trade and organic foods, participatory action research, biodiversity
conservation, and sustainable community development.
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CAROLINA BALAZS (2009 SWITZER FELLOW)
PhD Candidate, UC Berkeley
310 Barrows Hall, UC Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720
carolinabalazs@berkeley.edu
Carolina is a Ph.D. candidate in the Energy and Resources Group (ERG) at UC Berkeley. Her interests are
in the fields of environmental health, water policy and environmental justice. Her doctoral research
examines drinking water quality problems in California’s Central Valley and the environmental justice
implications. In particular, Carolina’s research focuses on burdens faced by communities of color and
low income communities in accessing safe water, and how historical, regulatory and financial factors
exacerbate these burdens. Carolina has worked on natural resource management, water policy and
environmental justice issues in the San Francisco Bay Area and Latin America—this work has formed the
foundation for her current work and future aspirations. As a Fulbright scholar in Bolivia, she used
participatory research methods to assess land use sustainability in indigenous communities. Both her
undergraduate and masters theses were conducted in Brazil and focused on the intersection of natural
resource use and degradation, equity, and sustainability in marginalized communities. She holds a B.S. in
Environmental Science from Brown University and an M.S. from the Energy and Resources Group at UC
Berkeley.
JOHN CAIN, Conservation Director
California Floodplain Management
American Rivers
2150 Allston Way, Suite 320
Berkeley, CA 94704
(510) 809-8010
jcain@americanrivers.org
John Cain is Conservation Director for California Floodplain Management for American Rivers. He
previously served as the Director of Restoration Programs at the Natural Heritage Institute for 12 years
where he specialized in ecological restoration and water resources management in California’s BayDelta watershed. He has advocated, analyzed, and planned tidal marsh and river restoration projects in
the Delta and San Joaquin River resulting in the 1,200 acre Dutch Slough tidal marsh restoration project
and key technical contributions to the historic San Joaquin River Settlement. He served as a member of
the Delta Vision stakeholder committee, and co-chair of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) Habitat
Technical Team. He currently serves as the co-chair of both the BDCP Integration team and the Habitat
Operations technical team. He conducted graduate research on the hydrology and geomorphology of
the San Joaquin River below Friant Dam and later consulted to both NRDC and the Friant Water Users
Authority on restoration of the river. He previously served as the staff scientist for the Mono Lake
Committee where he participated in the Mono Lake water rights hearings and served on the committee
overseeing restoration of Rush and Lee Vining Creeks. He holds a bachelors degree in physical
geography and a masters degree in environmental planning from U.C. Berkeley.
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TERESA de ANDA
Central Valley Coordinator
Californians for Pesticide Reform
1302 Jefferson Street, Suite 2
Delano, CA 93215
(661) 721-2535
teresa@pesticidereform.org
In addition to being CPR's coordinator in the San Joaquin Valley since 2003, Teresa is the President and
Director of El Comite Para el Bienestar de Earlimart, in Earlimart, a small farmworker town in Tulare
County, California's Central Valley. El Comite educates local townspeople and those in other rural towns
about the dangers of day-to-day pesticide drift and provides information about what residents can do in
the case of a pesticide drift emergency. Teresa started the organization as a direct result of a drift
accident that occurred in Earlimart in November 1999, when a toxic cloud of pesticides drifted onto her
agriculture-surrounded community, making 180 people ill. Teresa has testified many times on the need
for adequate response to poisoning events to the California Department of Pesticide Regulation. She
spoke at CPR's February, 2003 Drift Conference on the theme, "Absolutely Never Do Nothing." Teresa is
on the advisory boards of the Center for Race, Poverty and the Environment and Latino Issues Forum.
She is bi-lingual (English/Spanish). At CPR, Teresa works to educate communities in the Southern
Central Valley about the hazards of pesticide use, specifically for the Safe Air For Everyone campaign.
She provides trainings and support to existing groups and assists other communities and individuals in
responding to pesticide incidents.
CAROLINE FARRELL
Executive Director
Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment
1302 Jefferson Street, Suite 2
Delano, CA 93215
(661) 720-9140
cfarrell@crpe-ej.org
Caroline Farrell is the Executive Director of the Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment, otherwise
called CRPE. Caroline is based out of CRPE’s Delano office and for the last ten years has been working
with low income communities and communities of color in the south San Joaquin Valley. CRPE is an
environmental justice organization with a three prong approach to its work: (1) to empower individuals
through capacity building trainings; (2) to work with communities to participate in the decision-making
processes which affect their lives; and (3) to address the environmental problems facing low income
communities and communities of color. Caroline has represented low income communities and
communities of color on issues related to dairy development in the Central Valley, hazardous waste
facilities, land application of biosolids, and other industrial sources of pollution. Caroline serves as Chair
of the Steering Committee for the Central Valley Air Quality Coalition, as a Member of the
Environmental Justice Advisory Committee on AB 32 for the California Air Resources Board, and on the
Board of Directors for Communities for a Better Environment. Caroline graduated from Golden Gate
University School of Law in 1999 with Highest Honors. She received her undergraduate degree in
Political Science from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine.
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ALICIA GASDICK FORSYTHE
Acting Program Manager
San Joaquin River Restoration Program
U. S. Bureau of Reclamation
(916) 978-5464
aforsythe@usba.gov
Alicia Forsythe is the Acting Program Manager for the Bureau of Reclamation’s San Joaquin River
Restoration Program. Mrs. Forsythe has managed various National Environmental Policy Act, California
Environmental Quality Act, water rights, and restoration projects both in the public and private sector.
Mrs. Forsythe has bachelor of the science degrees in Environmental Studies and Hydrologic Sciences
from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
MARIA HERRERA
Community Outreach Coordinator
Community Water Center
311 W. Murray Avenue
Visalia, CA 93291
Maria Herrera joined the Community Water Center in January 2008. Prior to joining the CWC, Maria
worked for four years at the California Department of Food and Ag as an inspector in local packing
houses. Raised by farmworker parents in local valley communities, she has been a passionate advocate
for children's rights to special education in her own community for many years. Today as the Community
Outreach Coordinator, she is putting her skills and passion towards securing safe water for not only her
family, but those like her in communities throughout the valley. Specifically, Maria has been leading the
organizing and outreach efforts in Seville, by helping local community residents understand their
drinking water challenges, facilitating and creating spaces for engagement with decision makers and by
organizing the community to address them.
DAVE KOEHLER, Executive Director
San Joaquin River Parkway and
Conservation Trust
11605 Old Friant Road
Fresno, CA 93730
dkoehler@riverparkway.org
Dave has served as the Trust’s Executive Director since 1990 and directs the organization’s program
services, which include conservation land transactions, river restoration, and environmental education.
He helped form key partnerships with agencies and other non-profits to establish the San Joaquin River
Parkway, a 22-mile open space river corridor running through the heart of the Fresno-Madera Region of
California’s Central Valley. Dave is active in the land conservation community and worked with other
land trust professionals in forming the California Council of Land Trusts. He served on the formation
steering committee for the California Council of land trusts, and the executive committee of the Central
Valley Land Trust Council. He was a founding board member of the Great Valley Center and served a
term on the Governor’s California Recreational Trails Committee. He was instrumental in forming The
San Joaquin River Partnership, a statewide collaborative of eleven non-profit organizations working
together on issues concerning the entire river. He currently serves as the Partnership Coordinator. Dave
is a native of the Valley and an environmental biology graduate of California State University, Fresno
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CAROLE MARTIN, Consultant
64 Masonic Street
Rockland, ME 04841
carolemartin365@hotmail.com
Carole Martin is an independent consultant with expertise in advising and supporting others to
maximize the opportunities that accompany planned and unanticipated change. She has deep interest
and experience in the design, formation, functioning and evaluation of networks for social change,
collaboration, and strategic alliances. Carole’s twenty five years of experience includes leading,
facilitating, advising and evaluating change initiatives of all types in the for-profit and nonprofit arenas:
leadership transition, board governance and strategic planning, scenario planning, mergers and
acquisitions, and fostering highly successful, lasting collaborations. Carole’s work experience includes
serving as director of labor relations and human resources for a large corporation, other senior
leadership positions in a variety of for-profit and nonprofit settings, and significant consulting
experience. She is the recipient of numerous awards for outstanding professional achievement. Her
formal education includes a B.S., M.B.A., and advanced studies in the fields of negotiation and contract
administration.
LUPE MARTINEZ, Assistant Director
Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment
1302 Jefferson Street, Suite 2
Delano, CA 93215
(661) 720-9140
lmartinez@crpe-ej.org
Guadalupe Martinez was born in Brownsville, Texas, and moved to California with his mother and family
in 1964 after his father suffered a fatal tractor accident. He soon started working in the fields of the San
Joaquin Valley, working for a variety of farm labor contractors. Martinez left school at an early age to
work to provide for his family. In 1973, he met Maria Gallegos while attending night school. They were
married shortly afterward and have lived together to this day, raising three children, Esmeralda, Jorge
and Jeraldo. While working in the grape fields in Ducor, Martinez met several organizers from the
United Farm Workers, including Cesar Chavez. That was his first encounter with the Union and the taste
for organizing and seeking justice never left him. He soon joined the UFW staff in Delano and worked as
a full-time volunteer, tirelessly organizing farm workers for $10 a week stipend. In 1984 Cesar asked
Martinez to move to Canada to help organize the grape boycott. Because of his dedication and belief,
Martinez moved his family to Toronto, Ontario, Canada where they lived and organized support for the
UFW. Upon his return from Canada in 1988, he continued working with the Union including organizing
the local community supporting Cesar’s “Fast for Life” in Delano. The following year Martinez began
working with attorney Federico Sayre on a variety of cases involving pesticides in the San Joaquin
Valley. In 1991 he started working with Luke Cole at the Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment as
CRPE’s first full-time organizer, working on environmental justice issues in farm worker communities.
He served the Union as an organizer, contract administrator, negotiator, Regional Director and National
Organizing Director. In 1996 Martinez was elected to the UFW Executive Board and subsequently
elected third vice president. He worked tirelessly, loyally, and passionately organizing farm workers and
to establish a union presence again in the San Joaquin Valley. He retired from the Union in January 2006
and has now returned to CRPE to do environmental justice work.
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EYAL MATALON, Research Associate
The Pacific Institute
654 13th Street, Preservation Park
Oakland, CA 94612
(510) 251-1600 ext. 104
ematalon@pacinst.org
Eyal Matalon is a research associate at the Community Strategies Program of the Pacific Institute, an
interdisciplinary environmental research organization based in Oakland, CA. Since joining the Institute as
a John Gardner Public Service Fellow in the fall of 2009, he has worked on a wide portfolio of
community-based research projects for environmental justice, including a study documenting the costs
of nitrate contamination of groundwater in the San Joaquin Valley. Prior to joining the Pacific Institute,
he co-founded a student organization that engaged with and supported social change organizations in
Israel/Palestine. He holds a B.S. in Environmental Sciences from the University of California, Berkeley.
BECKY QUINTANA
(559) 736-2869
rj_quintana@yahoo.com
Becky Quintana was born and raised by farmworker parents in the rural town of Seville in northeastern
Tulare County. Today she works as a bus driver for disabled children and is following in her father’s
footsteps, fighting to ensure that her local community has access to basic services such as clean, safe
and affordable drinking water and access to a good education for their children. Becky is a married
mother of two and grandmother of six. Becky attended and graduated from Stone Corral Elementary,
Woodlake High and College of the Sequoias. Becky recently began her first term on the Board of
Directors for the Community Water Center, a non-profit organization working to secure safe, clean and
affordable drinking water for all San Joaquin Valley communities. Becky is also one of the founders and
spokespersons for the Committee for a Better Seville, a grassroots, community-based organization
whose mission is to work for better community services in Seville. Additionally, Becky is an active
member of the coalition A.G.U.A (a coalition of more than 17 communities with contaminated water in
the San Joaquin Valley working to secure safe, clean and affordable drinking water), the Californian
School Board Association, the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, Teamster
#518, and Communities for a New California, a newly-formed 501(c)(4) nonprofit, nonpartisan
organization working to empower underrepresented communities throughout the state to promote
economic prosperity, community health, and accessible and accountable government. In 2010, Becky
and her community work were featured in a number of TV, print and radio stories, including the Los
Angeles Times, California Watch, and the NBC Today Show in late November. Becky was also the 2010
winner of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Justice Champion Award and has
been invited to speak on the Environmental Justice panel during the upcoming award ceremony.
STEVE ROTHERT (1994 SWITZER FELLOW)
California Regional Director
American Rivers
432 Broad Street
Nevada City, CA 95959
(510) 644-2900
srothert@amrivers.org
Steve has served as Director of American Rivers' California Regional Office since 2002. In addition to
overseeing office operations, he manages American Rivers' programs in California related to
hydropower reform, anadromous fish restoration, dam removal, climate change and water supply.
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Steve joined American Rivers in 2001. Prior to that he directed the Southern Africa Program for
International Rivers Network based in Botswana, was Director of the national Hydropower Reform
Coalition, and served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the fisheries program in Sierra Leone, West Africa.
Steve has a B.S. in Ecology from University of California at Los Angeles, and M.S. in River Sciences from
University of California-Berkeley.
PHOEBE SEATON, Directing Attorney
California Rural Legal Assistance
629 Main Street
Delano, CA 93215
(661) 725-4350
MARK TOMPKINS (2004 SWITZER FELLOW)
Consultant, NewFields River Basin Services, LLC
2150 Allston Way, Suite 320
Berkeley, CA 94704
(510) 809-8020
mtompkins@newfields.com
Mark Tompkins earned his Ph.D. in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental
Planning at UC Berkeley, where he investigated the role of floodplains in river restoration efforts.
Floodplains provide important aquatic and terrestrial habitat as well as significant hydrologic, water
quality, and aesthetic benefits, and have been recognized as critical elements of healthy river
ecosystems. Mark currently works on projects that re-envision and restore rivers and their floodplains
across the United States, drawing on his interdisciplinary background in civil engineering, fluvial
geomorphology, and environmental planning to improve management and stewardship of rivers,
especially those draining urban watersheds. Mark also writes and takes photographs for a wide variety
of outdoor and conservation magazines.
PETER VORSTER (1990 SWITZER FELLOW)
Hydrologist
The Bay Institute
3901 Balfour Avenue
Oakland, CA 94610
(415) 550-0150
vorster@bay.org
With 35 years of experience in the water world, Peter has played a key role in the landmark
environmental water conflicts in the Eastern Sierra and the San Francisco Bay-Delta watershed with a
current emphasis on the restoration of the aquatic ecosystems in those regions. Since 1996 Peter
Vorster has been a hydrologist and hydrogeographer for The Bay Institute (TBI), a public interest
research and advocacy group working to protect and restore the San Francisco Bay-Delta estuary. He is
also a consulting hydrologist for the Mono Lake Committee and other groups in the Eastern Sierra
including the Owens Valley Committee and California Trout. At TBI, Mr. Vorster leads the San Joaquin
River restoration program for TBI and is one of the principals for the Ecological Scorecard project, which
develops suites of indicators for the San Francisco Bay-Delta system and local watersheds. He also works
with the Oakland Museum on their urban creek and watershed map series for the Bay Area. Peter's
work on California water issues began in 1977 with his tenure as a principal researcher on the California
Water Atlas. In 1979 Mr. Vorster became the primary technical consultant to the Mono Lake Committee
and their successful effort to restore flows to Mono Basin streams and to raise the level of Mono Lake.
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Prior to joining TBI in 1996, Peter was also a lecturer in the Dept of Geography and Environmental
Studies at California State University of the East Bay. Peter was a Switzer Fellow in 1990-91 and received
a Switzer Environmental Leadership Grant in 1995, 1996, 1998. He holds an A.B. in Geography and
Geology from UC Berkeley, an M.A. in Geography from California State University of the East Bay, and
completed Ph.D. coursework in environmental planning at the University of California, Berkeley. His
master's thesis is entitled, "A Water Balance Forecast Model for Mono Lake, California".
LISSA WIDOFF (1992 SWITZER FELLOW)
Executive Director
Robert & Patricia Switzer Foundation
P. O. Box 293
Belfast, ME 04915
(207) 338-5654
lissa@switzernetwork.org
Lissa Widoff is currently Executive Director of the Robert and Patricia Switzer Foundation, an
environmental foundation based in Belfast, Maine that supports graduate Fellowships in New England
and California and a Leadership Grant Program supporting NGO partnerships with Switzer Fellows to
work on critical environmental issues in the US. Lissa began as Executive Director in 1999 and has
overseen the growth of the organization in its program development, governance structure engaging
family and non-family trustees and financial management. Ms. Widoff has extensive experience in
managing philanthropic initiatives. One such initiative was the Collaboration of Community Foundations
for the Gulf of Maine that helped 6 New England and maritime Canada community foundations increase
their grantmaking on coastal and marine issues, including marine resource conservation, management
and economic development to support fishing communities. She has also led a Maine Community
Foundation initiative promoting community arts and cultural development. Prior to this, she co-directed
The Land for Maine’s Future Program, a public land acquisition program in Maine through which she
oversaw the protection of over 50,000 acres of wildlands and recreation areas for public use and
enjoyment and helped craft the first state purchases of conservation easements on forestland. Ms.
Widoff is trained as an ecologist and has worked for the State of Maine, The Nature Conservancy, the
University of Maine and as a consultant, and has served on the Boards of the Natural Resources Council
of Maine, the Maine Chapter of the Nature Conservancy and other local organizations. Ms. Widoff is
currently a member of the Board of Environmental Protection in Maine, appointed by Governor Baldacci
in March 2008. She holds a B.S degree from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and an
M.P.A from the Harvard Kennedy School.
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