Episode 54: Water Advocacy and Implementation
“Once wells go dry, they just don’t come back with a rain or even this wet year, they are often gone! And when you have a whole community on private wells looking at how to build back—we can’t just rely on single wells in this new hydrology and climate. We need to invest in the infrastructure that should have been there all along: a centralized water system.”
A conversation with Laurel Firestone (State Water Resources Control Board) about water governance, leadership, and policy implementation in CA. Released June 2, 2023.
guests on the show
Laurel Firestone
Laurel Firestone was appointed to the State Water Resources Control Board in 2019 and reappointed by Governor Newsom in February 2023. Prior to joining the Board, Laurel co-founded and co-directed, from 2006-2019, the Community Water Center, a statewide non-profit environmental justice organization based in California's Central Valley and Central Coast. Her career has focused on ensuring all Californians have access to safe, clean, and affordable drinking water, and building increased diversity, equity, and inclusivity into water decision-making.
Laurel has received a variety of awards and recognitions for her work, including the James Irvine Foundation's Leadership Award in 2018, and the Gary Bellow Public Service Award by the Harvard Law School in 2013.
Laurel served on the Tulare County Water Commission from 2007-2012, as well as a variety of state policy advisory committees. She has partnered with universities to develop research and clinical programs to further the human right to water, and written articles and publications related to drinking water and the environment.
Laurel graduated with honors from Harvard Law School and holds a B.A. magna cum laude in Environmental Studies from Brown University.