A Colorado River Roundtable: Solutions for the 21st Century

February 29, 2024 I  Palm Desert, California

Thanks to all who joined us in February! Please stay tuned for future Legal & Finance Community events to be announced. 

Roundtable Location  University of California - Riverside Palm Desert Campus 75080 Frank Sinatra Drive Palm Desert, CA 92211

Roundtable Sponsor

Who Should Attend:

• Water utility senior management, including finance and legal 
• Municipal staff involved in water and related infrastructure
• Senior consulting professionals
• Legal & finance professionals practicing in the water sector

A Colorado River Roundtable: Solutions for the 21st Century

Join us in Palm Desert, California on February 29, 2024 for an interactive dialogue with and among academic, financial, municipal, legal, and water utility and water sector industry leaders who are actively engaged in the current and expanding challenges impacting the Colorado River and its basin. 

Subject to change, please check back for updates. All times are Pacific time zone (California).

A Colorado River Roundtable: Solutions for the 21st Century

Esteemed Panelists

Brett Bovee
President | WestWater Research

Brett Bovee is the President of WestWater Research and is based in the Fort Collins, Colorado office. Brett brings close to 20 years of experience conducting a variety of engineering, economic, and water rights studies across the Western states. He assists clients in buying water rights, valuing water, evaluating water supply risk, and planning for future water challenges. Brett brings a unique perspective to projects, combining a background in water resources engineering with a developed knowledge of water rights and economics.

Angela Bricmont
CFO | Denver Water

Angela Montoya Bricmont is the CFO of Denver Water. She manages the financial resources of the Board of Water Commissioners, a 100+ year-old water utility serving 1.5 million customers in the City of Denver and surrounding suburbs. Angela is responsible for accounting, financial planning and performance, enterprise project management, treasury, rates, customer care and the retirement plan. Since joining Denver Water in 2010, Angela has overseen a credit rating upgrade to AAA, implementation of a new water rate structure, issuance of Green Bonds, funding a lead service line removal program at no direct cost to customers with Federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding.
 
Prior to Denver Water, Angela worked for several consulting firms providing financial planning and rate setting for utilities. Angela served as Vice President of Rates and Regulatory Matters for Comcast. Angela has a bachelor’s degree in finance and an MBA from the University of Denver. The mayor of Denver appointed Angela to serve on the Denver Urban Renewal Authority Board. She has served on EPA’s Financial Advisory Board since 2020 and was recently appointed to the Advisory Board for the Colorado University Leeds School of Business, Burridge Center for Finance.

Cynthia Campbell
Water Resource Management Advisor | City of Phoenix, Arizona

Cynthia Campbell is the Water Resource Management Advisor for the City of Phoenix, Arizona. She is responsible for policy development and management of the City’s water resource portfolio.  Ms. Campbell also serves as the City’s representative with the Salt River Project, the Central Arizona Project and the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR).  She represents Phoenix on the Drought Contingency Plan Steering Committee, the Arizona Water Bank Recovery Planning Advisory Group, the Salt-Verde Alliance and the Northern Arizona Forest Fund.

Previously, Cynthia served Phoenix as an Assistant City Attorney, representing the City’s interests in water matters, including adjudication of the City’s water rights claims.  Prior to her tenure with Phoenix, Cynthia served the State of Arizona as Water Quality Compliance Manager at the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality. She also represented the State as an Assistant Attorney General in the Environmental Enforcement Section.  She has over two decades of experience in water resource and environmental matters and has practiced law in both Arizona and Illinois.

Cynthia is a graduate of Northwestern University School of Law and has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana.

Robert Cheng
Assistant General Manager | Coachella Valley Water District

Mr. Cheng has served as the Assistant General Manager at the Coachella Valley Water District since 2013, helps to manage nearly 570 employees, and represents CVWD on imported water contract discussions.  He holds board positions on various organizations related to the California State Water Project, including Board President of the State Water Contractors, and serves as a principal negotiator for CVWD on Colorado River discussions.  Mr. Cheng worked previously at the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and the Long Beach Water Department.  

Mr. Cheng graduated from Vanderbilt University (Chemical Engineering) and UCLA (Civil Engineering, PhD), is a registered professional engineer and holds CA drinking water T5 and D5 certifications.

Leslie Cleveland
Project Manager | Bureau of Reclamation

Leslie Cleveland attended Brigham Young University where she majored in Business Administration. She has worked in a variety of positions in the Federal government over the last 39 years. Prior to joining Reclamation in 2001, she worked for the U.S. Marine Corps as an Assistant Project and Operations Program Officer. Currently, Leslie is a Project Manager in the Southern California Area Office in Temecula, California.  She has over 23 years of experience in Water Resources Planning, Conservation Project Planning, Native American Affairs, and grants management and administration. 

Leslie serves as the Area Office coordinator for the WaterSMART Drought (Resiliency and Drought Contingency Planning), Applied Science, Water Strategies, Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration, Environmental Water Resources, Small Storage, and Cooperative Watershed Management programs.  She also serves as the Area Office's Native American Affairs program manager and study manager for several resources planning studies.  

Helen Cregger 
Vice President/Senior Credit Officer | Moody’s 
 
Helen Cregger is a Vice President/Senior Credit Officer in Moody’s San Francisco office. She covers local government credits primarily in California including enterprise systems, cities, counties, and school districts. In addition to her analytical work, Helen leads ESG scoring efforts for municipal utilities within the US and heads up Moody’s municipal utility task force, supporting research and internal training for these credits. Helen serves as a rating committee member on credits nationally for sectors including local government, charter schools, community college and healthcare districts. 
 
Prior to rejoining Moody’s, Helen was an investment banker for Piper Sandler & Co. Among other issuers, Helen worked with a number of municipal utilities including those serving Denver, Aurora, Colorado Springs and Pueblo, and the State of Colorado on its BEST K12 capital construction program. Prior to her initial tenure at Moody’s, Helen was an analyst for the US General Accountability Office in the International Trade, Finance and Competitiveness Division. 
 
Helen holds an MPA from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University and a BA in Latin American Studies from Northwestern University.

Chuck Cullom
Executive Director | Upper Colorado River Commission (UCRC)

Since January 2022, Chuck Cullom has served as the Executive Director of the Upper Colorado River Commission (UCRC). 

Prior to joining the UCRC, he was the Colorado River Programs Manager for the Central Arizona Water Conservation District. He has a MS from Northern Arizona University and a BS from the University of Arkansas. 

Chuck has more than 30 years of experience in assessing risks and vulnerabilities to Colorado River resources as well as developing and implementing projects, programs and policies to improve water supply resiliency. His work experience includes modeling surface and groundwater systems, developing and implementing water efficiency and conservation programs, implementing habitat conservation and endangered species protection programs, binational (Mexico –U.S.) water conservation and desalination projects, and transboundary water management. He has served as a water resources advisor serving in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

Michael Gabaldon, P.E.
Client Director | Black and Veatch

Mr. Gabaldon has forty years of experience in water resources development and management in a variety of technical, operational, managerial, and senior executive positions with the US Bureau of Reclamation, AECOM, and Black and Veatch.  His experience includes water and natural resources management, program development, program management, budget formulation, environmental compliance, and construction management.  His experience also includes seven years working in the Commissioner’s Office in DC.

Mr. Gabaldon’s has in-depth knowledge of Colorado River and Rio Grande operations, as well as extensive experience dealing with interstate water compacts, hydropower, dam safety, advanced water treatment, water reuse, and project operations issues throughout the West, particularly in the Rio Grande and Colorado River basins.

As the Reclamation’s Albuquerque Area Manager, he provided oversight and management of operational activities on Rio Grande and Pecos River Basins, spanning Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. He provided leadership and program direction for five field offices and five divisions, and as a government Senior Executive overseeing Reclamation’s Denver Office, he provided leadership to large organizational units with responsibility for agency-wide policy development, program and budget formulation, program management and execution, project operations, environmental compliance, planning studies, and litigation management. 

Mr. Gabaldon’s education includes a BS, Civil Engineering, University of New Mexico, 1981
AA, Water Technology, New Mexico State University, 1976, and Executive Leadership Program, Harvard JFK School of Government.

Adel Hagekhalil
General Manager and CEO | Metropolitan Water District of Southern California

Adel Hagekhalil is the general manager and chief executive officer for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the largest wholesale drinking water supplier in the country that provides water to 26-member public agencies, serving 19 million people.

As general manager, Hagekhalil is responsible for leading Metropolitan’s operations and long-term planning to provide safe, reliable drinking water to Southern California. He oversees Metropolitan’s $1.9 billion annual budget, 1,800 employees, and an extensive system of conveyance, storage, treatment, and delivery infrastructure.

Under Hagekhalil, the agency is entering a new era of sustainability and resiliency in the face of climate change and other threats to the region’s water reliability.  He is committed to a “One Water” vision that incorporates every source of water, including imported and groundwater supplies, reuse, conservation, stormwater and wastewater. And he is focused on empowering Metropolitan’s workforce, promoting diversity, equity and inclusion and fostering innovation and partnerships so that Metropolitan can better serve its Southern California communities.

Hagekhalil is a registered civil engineer and national board-certified environmental engineer, having earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from the University of Houston in Texas.

Before joining Metropolitan, he was the executive director and general manager of the City of Los Angeles Bureau of Street Services. There, he worked to integrate climate adaptation, equity and green infrastructure into the largest municipal street system in the nation.

Hagekhalil has more than three decades of experience in water, climate and environmental issues, and infrastructure management, including as assistant general manager of the Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation, where he oversaw the city’s wastewater collection system, stormwater and watershed protection program, water quality compliance, advance planning and facilities. He also helped develop the city’s 2040 One Water LA Plan.

Bill Hasencamp
Manager of Colorado River Resources | Metropolitan Water District of Southern California

Bill Hasencamp is the Manager of Colorado River Resources for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, where he develops and manages water supply programs to augment Metropolitan’s Colorado River supplies.  He has been with Metropolitan for 22 years, negotiating transfer agreements with irrigations districts, exchange agreements, and funding new water supply projects to augment Metropolitan’s Colorado River Supplies.  Bill is one of California’s representatives to the Colorado River Salinity Control Forum.

Jay M. Johnson, Esq.
General Counsel | Central Arizona Project (CAP)

As the head of the CAP Legal Department since 2011, Jay Johnson advises the CAWCD in areas of water law, environmental law, energy law, tribal law and myriad other areas. Prior to coming to CAP in October 2011, Jay served for 5 years as general counsel to a healthcare/biotech firm, and prior to that had been a partner at the Phoenix office of the Quarles & Brady law firm.

Jay earned his law degree in 1993, and Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 1985, both from the University of Texas at Austin.

Cynthia Koehler,
Executive Director | WaterNow Alliance

Cynthia Koehler is an environmental attorney and water policy expert with 30 years of experience working on federal and state water and natural resource issues primarily in the Western U.S. She is the co-founder and executive director of WaterNow Alliance, a nonprofit network of local water leaders dedicated to advancing sustainable, equitable and climate resilient water solutions nationwide. She also served for the 18 years as an elected member of her local water district in California, serving a population of about 200,000 with an annual budget of over $150 million. Cynthia’s work is particularly focused on innovative financing strategies to upscale One Water approaches in the urban water space. She is an appointed member of US EPA’s Environmental Financial Advisory Board (EFAB), and previously served on EPA’s Local Government Advisory Committee (2016-18), and Governor Brown’s Urban Advisory Group (2018-17). She served on the Board of the Water Education Foundation and the Advisory Council for the Pacific Institute, among others. She worked previously as the Legislative Director for California water issues for the Environmental Defense Fund, and Legal Director for Save The Bay. She is the recipient of The Bay Institute’s Hero of the Bay Award as well as other commendations for her environmental leadership. Cynthia holds a B.A. from Pomona College and J.D. and Environmental Law Certificate from the University of Oregon School of Law where she co-founded and served as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Environmental Law and Litigation. She lives in Mill Valley, California with her family.

James S. Lochhead
Private Consultant

Jim Lochhead recently began private consulting after 13 years as the chief executive officer for Denver Water, the public utility providing water service to over 1.5 million customers in the Denver metropolitan area.  During Jim’s tenure, Denver Water saw historic accomplishments in service to its customers, including the completion of the largest capital development program in Denver Water’s history, involving $2B in capital projects. Jim spearheaded programs to increase the resiliency and sustainability of Denver Water’s system to meet the needs of a growing population in the face of a changing climate. He also focused on enhancing organizational culture, financial management, governance, and controls. 

Prior to his time at Denver Water, Jim managed a law practice concentrating on matters concerning western water rights, interstate and international water matters, public lands and natural resources, state and federal public policy, zoning, land use and real estate development.  He was named as one of the top water rights litigators in the United States by Chambers & Partners, and as one of the Best Lawyers in America by the National Post. 

Jim served under Governor Roy Romer as the Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, overseeing the Colorado Water Conservation Board, Minerals and Geology, Water Resources, Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, Parks and Outdoor Recreation, Soil Conservation Board, State Land Board, and Wildlife. He also served as the Governor’s Representative on interstate Colorado River operations and Colorado’s Commissioner to the Upper Colorado River Commission.

Jim is a recipient of the “Water Leader of the Year” award from the Colorado Water Congress, the President’s Award from the Colorado Foundation for Water Education, and the Del Hock Lifetime Achievement Award from the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce.

Francesca McCann
Director of Alternative Funding, Financing and P3 | Black & Veatch

Francesca McCann is an exceptional leader with over 20 years of experience in the water and energy sectors. As the Director of Alternative Funding, Financing, and P3 at Black & Veatch, she is responsible for sharing her extensive knowledge of funding and financing strategies, project finance, investments, ESG, sustainability, alternative delivery, and regulatory and political analysis with clients in these industries. Francesca's expertise in water and energy funding and financing has made her a highly sought-after advisor for clients seeking to fund and finance their projects. She is a strategic thinker with a proven track record in new business development, business strategy, financial analysis, project management, and business development. Her proficiency in sustainability, ESG, and energy has enabled her to provide clients with innovative and comprehensive solutions that meet their unique needs and challenges. Francesca's contributions to the water and energy sectors have earned her a well-deserved reputation as a respected industry leader.

G. Tracy Mehan, III
Executive Director, Government Affairs | American Water Works Association (AWWA)

G. Tracy Mehan, III is Executive Director, Government Affairs, for the American Water Works Association (AWWA).  He was an independent consultant and served as Interim President of the U.S. Water Alliance and national Source Water Protection Coordinator for the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities.  He is also an Adjunct Professor at George Mason University School of Law and Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College.  He was Principal with The Cadmus Group, Inc., an environmental consulting firm, from 2004 to 2014.  Mehan served as Assistant Administrator for Water at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from 2001-2003.  He served as Environmental Stewardship Counselor to the 2004 G-8 Summit Planning Organization (2004).  Mehan also served as director of the Michigan Office of the Great Lakes (1993-2001) and as Associate Deputy Administrator of EPA in 1992.  He was director of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources from 1989 to 1992.  Mehan is a graduate of Saint Louis University and its School of Law.  Mehan served on the Water Science and Technology Board and now the Committee on the Mississippi River and the Clean Water Act for the National Research Council of the National Academies.  He was also an independent expert judge for the City Water Conservation Achievement Award program (2006 & 2011) sponsored by The U.S. Conference of Mayors and its Urban Water Council. 

Mehan is a member of the Environmental Law Institute (ELI) and a regular book reviewer for ELI’s flagship publication, The Environmental Forum.
Mehan serves on EPA’s Environmental Financial Advisory Board as well as the boards of the U.S. Water Alliance and the Great Lakes Observing System.  He is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Center for Environmental Policy, School of Public Affairs, American University and a past member of the board of the Potomac Conservancy (2006-2014).

Peter Nelson
Member of the Board of Directors, Coachella Valley Water District

Peter Nelson has been a member of the Coachella Valley Water District Board of Directors since 2000. Six of those years were as President, and four as Vice President of the Board. He served on the Salton Sea Authority from 2000 to 2014. Peter currently serves on the Colorado River Board, and the California Farm Water Coalition. He also served on the California Desert Grape Administrative Committee, a federal marketing order, from 2008-2012, and for six years with the Coachella Valley Resource Conservation District. In addition, Peter served on the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Habitat Conservation Farm Advisory Group. 

Peter is a graduate of California State University, Fresno with a degree in Agricultural Business. Peter participates in groups ranging from the Association of California Water Agencies to the Colorado River Water Users Association. He has represented the District to a wide variety of state, federal, locally-elected and water industry officials. Peter is a grower of citrus, grapes and dates in the Coachella Valley, and has been involved in growing activities in the Palo Verde and Imperial valleys and Borrego Springs.

Jennifer Pierre
General Manager | California State Water Contractors

Jennifer Pierre is the General Manager for the State Water Contractors (SWC) – a statewide, non-profit association of the public water agencies that contract with the Department of Water Resources (DWR) to receive water from the State Water Project (SWP), which provides water to 27 million Californians and 750,000 acres of farmland. 
Jennifer is a UC Davis alumna with a bachelor’s in environmental biology and conservation, and has 20 years of experience in Delta management and applies that experience to advance the SWC’s primary purpose to improve water supply and operations for two-thirds of the entire state that depend on this water. Jennifer is a champion of collaboration and science-based decision-making, working towards solutions that meet the SWC’s mission in an environmentally sustainable way.

Sarah Porter
Director | Kyl Center for Water Policy
Arizona State University’s Morrison Institute for Public Policy

Sarah Porter is Director of the Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University's Morrison Institute for Public Policy and Professor of Practice in ASU’s College of Global Futures. Established in 2014, the Kyl Center promotes research, analysis, collaboration and open dialogue to build consensus in support of sound water stewardship solutions for Arizona and the West. The Kyl Center’s cornerstone project is the award-winning Arizona Water Blueprint, a comprehensive online hub of information about Arizona water resources and policy. 

Sarah came to the Kyl Center from the National Audubon Society, where she served as the Arizona state Director and led Audubon's Western Rivers Project, a multistate initiative to protect and restore important river habitats in the Intermountain West. Sarah was a key team member in the effort to launch the Nina Mason Pulliam Rio Salado Audubon Center, a nature education center located in a restored riparian habitat in South Phoenix. Before joining the staff of Audubon in 2006, Sarah spent fourteen years as an attorney in private practice, specializing in complex commercial litigation. 
Sarah serves on Senator Sinema’s Water Advisory Council, Governor Hobbs’s Water Policy Council, University of Arizona's Water Resources Research Center's External Advisory Council, Phoenix’s Environmental Quality and Sustainability Commission and other community boards. In 2023, Sarah was named to the Arizona Capitol Times Powerlist as an “Unsung Hero” in recognition of her work on Arizona water policy. 
A native of Phoenix, Sarah received her bachelor’s degree with honors from Harvard College and her J.D. magna cum laude from Arizona State University College of Law, where she was a John S. Armstrong Award recipient. She clerked for Hon. William C. Canby, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

James (Jim) C. Schlaman
Director of Water Resources and Community Planning | Black & Veatch

Mr. Schlaman is the Director of Water Resources and Community Planning for Black & Veatch. Over the past 22 years, he’s worked across North America on various water resources projects including: water supply and reuse/alternative water supply evaluations; integrated planning & water quality projects; climate change mitigation, adaptation, and vulnerability studies; and stormwater/flood control planning and implementation projects.  He also serves on the US Water Alliance’s One Water Council and provides input to the US Chamber’s Business Task Force on Water Policy.

Tina Shields
Water Department Manager | Imperial Irrigation District

Tina Shields currently serves as Imperial Irrigation District’s Water Department manager where she focuses on Colorado River resources, planning, water conservation and management functions. She oversees IID’s Colorado River water supply entitlement with a focus on the implementation of water management policies and the coordination of various water conservation and transfer programs.

Ms. Shields represents the district’s water interests at local, state and federal levels – protecting IID’s senior water rights and its annual 3.1 million acre-foot allocation of Colorado River water. She has directed the district in a wide range of issues related to water rights, supply and demand planning, resource management, water quality, regulatory compliance and water conservation during her tenure at IID. This includes the development and implementation of the integrated regional water management plan, IID’s water resources management plan and IID’s interim water supply policy.

Ms. Shields joined IID in 1992 as an engineering technician and rose through the ranks of engineering and supervisory positions in the district’s Water Resources, Planning and Management sections until being promoted to management in 2002. She is a graduate of California State Polytechnic University – Pomona, with a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering; she has completed coursework toward a master’s in Public Administration at San Diego State University. She is licensed by the state of California as a Professional Civil Engineer and Land Surveyor-in-Training. She was recognized as a Water Education Foundation Water Leader in 2001.