Patrick Pulupa is the Executive Officer of the Central Valley Water Board. He started his career as an attorney representing the Board, advising the Board as it endeavored to find equitable solutions for the diverse water quality issues facing the Central Valley. As the Board’s Executive Officer, Patrick works to ensure the Board achieves its vision of ensuring that the Valley’s aquifers and surface waters meet or exceed water quality necessary to support all beneficial uses, and that all communities have access to safe, affordable, and resilient water supplies.

Geoffrey Vanden Heuvel is the Director of Regulatory and Economic Affairs for Milk Producers Council, a California dairy farmer trade association. Prior to joining MPC, he spent 39 years as a dairy farmer in Southern California. Geoff has been involved in statewide water issues for over 30 years, serving on various boards and organizations. He moved to the San Joaquin Valley in 2018, increasing his focus on agricultural water supply issues, including the implementation of SGMA. He currently serves as Vice Chair of the Water Blueprint for the San Joaquin Valley, a coalition focused on ensuring sufficient water supplies for farming, the environment, and rural communities.

Karen Ross was appointed Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture in 2019 by Governor Gavin Newsom. In re-appointing Secretary Ross, Governor Newsom cited her unmatched leadership experience in agricultural issues nationally, internationally, and here in California, in areas including environmental stewardship, climate change adaption, and trade. Secretary Ross was initially appointed by Governor Edmund. G. Brown Jr. in 2011. 

Bill Swanson is the Vice President, Global Practice Leader, Water Resources Planning and Management for Stantec. Stantec was selected by the California Department of Water Resources to provide water resource planning and facilitation services to support the California's Unified Water Plan.

Bill has more than 34 years of experience supervising extensive and sophisticated water resource projects. His areas of expertise include water supply/ allocation, hydrologic and hydraulic studies, economic & socioeconomic analysis, flood control, & ecosystem restoration.​

Theresa “Tess” Dunham is a partner in KSC. Her practice has been laser-focused on California and federal water quality laws for more than 20 years. TFor the last decade, Tess has represented the Central Valley Salinity Coalition (CVSC), and served as one of the chief architects of the Central Valley Salt and Nitrate Management Plan, which is designed to deal with the problem of salt and nitrate in Central Valley groundwater basins. Tess actively participates in the Central Valley Salinity Alternatives for Long-term Sustainability (CV-SALTS) Executive Committee along with the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board, environmental justice advocates, state agencies, federal agencies and others.