2025 Conference Program Overview

The 2025 San Francisco Estuary Conference will explore new topics, fresh formats, and more dynamic ways to connect and engage. Full session times and details will be announced soon. Until then, the preliminary agenda below provides a preview of what’s to come!

Plenaries: 

The State of Our Estuary: Updated Indicators of the Health of the San Francisco Estuary 

Chair: Caitlin Sweeney, San Francisco Estuary Partnership
Moderator: Laura Feinstein, San Francisco Estuary Institute 

Keynote: Role of Intersectionality, Art, & Storytelling in Collective Environmental Action  

Chair: Liz Juvera, San Francisco Estuary Partnership
Speaker: Air Copeland, Executive Director, Intersectional Environmentalist  

Keynote: Generational & Sectoral Cross-Collaboration to Build Resilience  

Chair: Diana Fu, San Francisco Estuary Partnership
Speaker:  Elise Joshi, Executive Director, Gen-Z for Change 

Decision Makers Panel: Elected Officials Championing Nature-based Solutions Along our Shorelines  

Chair: Allison Chan, Save the Bay
Moderator: Allison Chan & David Lewis, Save the Bay

Celebrating our Wins – Project Spotlight Series 

Chair: Amy Hutzel, San Franciso Bay Restoration Authority & Caitlin Sweeney, San Francisco Estuary Partnership

Moderator: Amy Hutzel, San Franciso Bay Restoration Authority

Speakers:

• Dave Halsing, South Bay Salt Ponds – South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project 
• Dr. Hollis Pierce, LEJ – Heron’s Head Park Shoreline Resilience Project 
• Paul Detjens, Retired from Contra Costa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District – Lower Walnut Creek Restoration Project 

Concurrent Sessions: 

The Carquinez Strait Fish and Preservation Project 

Chair & Moderator: Jay Davis, San Francisco Estuary Institute
Speakers: 

• LaDonna Williams, All Positives Possible – Fishing Lineage to Legacy 

• William Ware, All Positives Possible – What’s the Catch? Fishing and Fish Consumption Along the Carquinez Strait and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta 

• Martin Trinh, San Francisco Estuary Institute – Mercury, PCBs, and PFAS in Fish from the Carquinez Strait 

Workshop – Transitions in the Delta: Exploring Adaptation and Salinity Management Through Participatory Scenario Planning  

Chair & Moderator: Brett Milligan, UC Davis
Speakers: 

• Brett Milligan, UC Davis – Transitions in the Delta: Exploring Adaptation and Salinity Management Through Participatory Scenario Planning 

• Lynette Williams Duman, UC Davis – Modeling Future Ecologic Change in the Delta in Response to Salinity Management Scenarios 

• Ana Zepeda & Ashley DePew, UC Davis – Understanding Perceptions and Learning of Salinity Management in the California Delta  

• Justin Marsh, UC Davis  

The Adaptation Atlas Toolbox: Resources for Communities  

Chair & Moderator: Christina Toms, San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board
Speakers: 

• Ellen Plane, San Francisco Estuary Institute – Mapping Nature-Based Adaptation Opportunities for San Francisco Bay 

• Katie McKnight, San Francisco Estuary Institute – From Atlas to Action: Updated Guidance and Local Visioning for Nature-Based Adaptation in San Francisco Bay 

• Ian Wren, San Francisco Estuary Institute Consultant – Nature-Based Solutions for Nutrient Removal: Expanding the Adaptation Atlas Framework to Address Water Quality Challenges 

• Heidi Nutters, San Francisco Estuary Partnership – Advancing Nature-based Solutions in the East Bay Crescent 

Bokashi Balls as the Virtual Solution for Pollution  

Chair & Moderator: Charlene Toledo, Suscol Intertribal Council
Speakers: 

• Charlene Toledo, Suscol Intertribal Council – Suskol House land project: A Prototype for Water, Forest and Soils Remediation and Management. 

• Cuautemoc Villa, Sonoma Ecology Center – Bokashi: The Solution for Pollution 

Science, Management, And Governance in the Era of Extreme Weather Events  

Chair & Moderator: Denise Colombano, Delta Science Program, Delta Stewardship Council 

Moderator: Lisamarie Windham-Myers, United States Geological Survey
Speakers: 

• Denise Colombano, Delta Science Program, Delta Stewardship Council – Five Perspectives to Advance Science, Management, and Governance in the Era of Extreme Weather Events 

• Alexander Gershunov, UC San Diego, Scripps Institution of Oceanography – Atmospheric Rivers and Floods in California’s Changing Hydroclimate 

• Clifford Dahm, University of New Mexico – Recent Findings and Future Prospects for Water Quality Impacts from Catastrophic Wildfires in California 

• Letitia Grenier, Public Policy Institute of California, Water Policy Center – Are California’s Water Sectors Ready? 

• Ted Sommer, Public Policy Institute of California, CalTrout Ecosystem Fellow – Tools to Protect Freshwater Biodiversity in the Bay-Delta 

• Jayantha Obeysekera, Sea Level Solutions Center – Key Science Needs Identified by the Delta Independent Science Board 

World Café – Creating Capacity, Shaping Shorelines: Coalition Building  

Chair: Katherine Fallon & Phoenix Armenta, San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission 

Moderator: Devin Murphy, Greenbelt Alliance, Resilient Roots
Speakers: 

• Phoenix Armenta, San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission  

• Diana Fu, San Francisco Estuary Partnership, Estuary Youth Council 

• Mykela Patton, New Voices Are Rising, Rose Foundation 

Restoring the Urban Edge – Redeveloping SF Bay’s Urban Shorelines for People and Nature  

Chair: Chere Erickson, State Coastal Commission 

Moderator: Linda Tong, California State Coastal Commission
Speakers: 

• Shy Walker, Ninth Root: East Oakland, Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Shoreline – Bringing Community Wellbeing and Habitat Restoration through Sacred Spaces 

• Kae Cannedy, CRC - East Palo Alto – When Your Yards Are The Solution: A Community-Led Rain Garden Pilot for Flooding, Water, and Food Resilience  

• Ariel Cherbowsky Corkidi, San Bruno Mountain Watch & Julio Garcia, Rise South City – South San Francisco, Colma Creek: How Building Community Know-how Leads to Collective Action and Heals a Wounded Watershed in the City of South San Francsico 

• Scott Stoller, East Bay Regional Parks District & Susan Kuramoto Moffat, Future Histories Consulting - Berkeley, North Basin Strip Shoreline Park: Redeveloping a Shoreline and Public Space on Historic Bay Fill for Resilience, Habitat, and Recreation 

• Eddie Divita, ESA Consulting & Nina Omomo, LEJ - San Francisco, Heron’s Head Park: What Was Learned from Restoring a Wetland on San Francisco’s Industrial Shoreline 

Workshop – Science in Action: How Local Groundwater Rise Research Sparked Community Action, Cross-Disciplinary Partnerships, and Policy Change 

Chair & Moderator: Sarah Atkitson, SPUR
Speakers: 

• Sarah Atkitson, SPUR 

• Dr. Kristina Hill, UC Berkeley 

• Osvaldo Macias, Nuestra Casa 

• Representative from U.S. Congressman Kevin Mullin’s Office 

Filling the Void: Translating Planning into Action for Increasing Bayland Sediment Supply  

Chair & Moderator: Scott Dusterhoff, San Francisco Estuary Institute
Speakers: 

• Brenda Goeden, San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission – SWAP Meet: Where Sediment and Soil Come Together to Restore Wetlands 

• Lyndsey Tu,U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – EPA’s Investments in Beneficial Reuse 

• Julie Beagle & Arye Janoff, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – A New Plan for Dredged Material Management: Increases in Beneficial Reuse Through Collaboration and Action 

• Sarah Pearce, San Francisco Estuary Institute – More is Always Better: Local Strategies for Increased Reuse of Flood Control Channel Sediment 

• Nick Mascarello, Valley Water – Redefining the Regulatory Roadmap: Cutting the Green Tape to Advance Habitat Restoration 

Workshop – San Francisco Estuary Wetlands Regional Monitoring Program: Collaborative Science for Healthy Wetlands  

Chair: Sasha Harris-Lovett & Alex Thomsen, San Francisco Estuary Partnership  

Moderator: Sasha Harris-Lovett, San Francisco Estuary Partnership  

Speakers: 

• Aviva Rossi, San Francisco Estuary Institute 

• Lisa Beers, San Francisco Estuary Institute 

• Alex Braud, San Francisco Estuary Institute 

• Alex Thomsen, San Francisco Estuary Partnership  

• Cris Criollo, Multicultural Center of Marin  

• Karen Thorne, United States Geological Survey 

• Levi Lewis, UC Davis  

• Matt Ferner, San Francisco National Estuarine Research Reserve 

Bringing Resilience Home: Global & National Adaptation Strategies Envisioned in our Estuary  

Chair: Graham Prentice, San Francisco Estuary Partnership 

Moderator: Jack Hogan, Arup
Speakers: 

• Edgar Westerhof, Arcadis – Sustainable Urban Adaptation: Revitalizing Waterfronts with Large-Scale Nature-Based Solutions, Discussing Enablers and Global Best Practices 

• Mark Lubell, UC Davis – Adaptation and Collaboration in Polycentric Governance: A Comparison of Three Regions 

Aligning Science with Action: Setting Regional Priorities  

Chair: Sasha Harris-Lovett, San Francisco Estuary Partnership 

Moderator: Dana Brechwald, San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission
Speakers: 

• Xoco Shinbrot, Delta Stewardship Council – Ecosystem Services and Benefits of Habitat Restoration in the Bay-Delta 

• Dana Brechwald, San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission – Applying Natural and Nature-based Adaptation in Subregional Plans: The Regional Shoreline Adaptation Plan Guidelines in Practice 

• Danielle Mieler, City of Alameda – Community Driven and Collaborative Subregional Adaptation Planning 

• Hollis Jones, Delta Stewardship Council – Advancing Social Science Integration in the Delta: A Five-Year Review 

Modeling the Future of Estuarine Systems  

Chair: Natalie Rossi & Alexis Gabriel, San Francisco Estuary Partnership 

Moderator:  Natalie Rossi, San Francisco Estuary Partnership
Speakers: 

• Kees Nederhoff & Stendert Laan, Deltares USA Inc. – The San Francisco Bay-Delta Community Model: An Application at Eden Landing  

• Niky Taylor, United States Geological Survey – Mapping Surface Water Mercury in San Francisco Bay with Remote Sensing Imagery 

• Roger Leventhal, Marin County Public Works & Tiffany Cheng, USACE – Strategic Sediment Pulse Delivery: A Nature-Based Pilot for Tidal Channel Resilience in Marin County 

• Tyler Anthony, California Department of Water Resources – From Restoration to Optimization: Adaptive Management for Carbon Sequestration and Greenhouse Gas Reduction in DWR’s Restored Wetland Ecosystems 

Community Voices: Engagement and Education  

Chair: Diana Fu, San Francisco Estuary Partnership 

Moderator: Juliana Gonzalez, The Watershed Project
Speakers: 

• Elena Stenger, Friends of Sausal Creek – Cultivating Environmental Leaders: Engaging Youth in Urban Watershed Education 

• Steve Blumenshine, CSU-WATER – Partnerships with the CSU System; Research and Community Engagement Connections 

• Chris Lim, Contra Costa Resource Conservation District – Breaking Down Silos: Unhoused Workforce Development and Increasing Eco-literacy on Pinole Creek 

• John Steere, Richmond Greenway & Juliana Gonzalez, The Watershed Project – North Richmond Watershed Connections: a Model for integrating Multi-benefit, Nature-based Solutions through Public-Nonprofit Partnerships  

• Stephanie Romano & Jennifer Lopez, The Watershed Project – Shaping Solutions: Learning Through Active Stewardship 

Greening the Estuary: Infrastructure, Parks, and Public Space  

Chair & Moderator: Ben Botkin, San Francisco Estuary Partnership
Speakers: 

• Peter Schultze-Allen, EOA Inc. – Moving the Needle: Green Street Implementation in the San Francisco Bay Area 

• Lauren Stoneburner, San Francisco Estuary Institute – A Regional Framework for the Next Generation of Urban Greening 

• Marla DeKlotz, The Watershed Project – Growing Beautifully: Designing GSI Planting Plans that Thrive in the Long-term, Create Habitat, and Attract People 

• Gregory Pasternack, UC Davis – Bay Area Stream-Side Encampments in the Context of Stream Habitats, Natural Hazards, and Climate Action 

Controlling Invasives: Strategies for Species and Habitat Protection  

Chair & Moderator: Karen McDowell, San Francisco Estuary Partnership
Speakers: 

• Jivan Khakee, San Francisco State University – Habitat Quality of Oyster Reefs: Facilitating a Native Predator to Combat a Persistent Invader 

• Cheryl Patel, Baykeeper – Community Science Program Monitoring for Harmful Algal Blooms in San Francisco Bay 

• Bailey Morrison, UC Merced – Combating Aquatic Invasions: Operationalizing Remote Sensing and Modeling Tools to Improve Estuary Restoration and Water Management