Climate Resilience in Action - Shared Waters, Shared Solutions

Water connects us all, and building climate resilience means working together to protect and sustain this shared resource.

Join us for the final webinar in Sustainable Conservation’s Climate Resilience in Action series, Shared Waters, Shared Solutions, where we’ll explore how collaborating for water quality and quantity are critical to secure California’s water future. From urban and rural communities to working lands and vital habitats, all of California is linked by water - and everyone has a role in ensuring clean and reliable water for generations to come.

Together with our expert panelists, we’ll dive into how strong partnerships and on-the-ground action advance drought resilience across the state and why investing in water solutions today is essential to a thriving, climate-resilient California tomorrow.

Many thanks to Spottswoode Estate Vineyard & Winery, Wilson Sonsini Foundation, and Jennifer Hernandez of Holland & Knight, for sponsoring our Spring 2025 webinar series and for sharing Sustainable Conservation's vision of stewarding California's most precious resources for the benefit of nature and people.

Speakers

Walter “Redgie” Collins, Legal and Policy Director, CalTrout

Redgie is CalTrout’s Legal and Policy Director; he joined the organization as a Staff Attorney in 2016. A graduate of the University of San Francisco, Redgie has worked for NextGen Climate on campaign finance and issues surrounding the Keystone Pipeline and The Nature Conservancy on water-related issues. Redgie’s expertise lies in California water law and is the lead for CalTrout for the Potter Valley Project while overseeing CalTrout’s Legal and Policy Departments.

Since 2023, Redgie has served as a member of the California Department of Water Resources Drought Resilience Interagency and Partners Collaborative (DRIP Collaborative), representing CalTrout and conservation interests. This standing interagency task force plans for and responds to drought and water shortages across the state. Learn more here.

Rebecca Kaser, Owner and Farmer, Avellar-Moore Farms

Rebecca Kaser is a fourth-generation farmer from California’s Central Valley and the owner of Avellar-Moore Farms, where she grows shelf-stable, plant-based proteins. She blends precision agriculture with environmental stewardship through practices such as groundwater recharge, data analytics, and cover cropping. Rebecca serves as a Board Member of American Pistachio Growers, where she supports the promotion of American-grown pistachios through nutrition research, advocacy, market development, and membership engagement. As a current participant in the Water Education Foundation’s William R. Gianelli Water Leaders Class of 2025 and a graduate of APG’s LeadOn Program, she is deeply committed to agricultural advocacy and preserving farming for future generations.

Eddie Ocampo, Director of Public Affairs, Self-Help Enterprises

Eddie Ocampo is Director of Public Affairs of Self-Help Enterprises, a multi-faceted housing and community development nonprofit serving the San Joaquin Valley of California since 1965. Since its beginning in 1965, the nonprofit organization has assisted 7,000 families in the construction of their own homes, rehabilitated another 7,200 homes, and developed over 3,200 units of affordable rental housing which it owns and operates. The organization is also involved in rural community infrastructure projects on a large scale, as well as emergency response for persistent drought and other community resilience efforts related to climate change.

Ocampo is routinely sought out for input on legislative matters related to water, community development, and housing at both the state and national levels. Ocampo has earned a Doctorate in Human and Social Sciences from the National University of Colombia, a Master of Science degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Grand Canyon University, a Master of Public Administration from California State University, Bakersfield, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Politics and Latin American and Latino Studies, from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Moderated by Ryan Flaherty, Senior Director of Circular Economies, Sustainable Conservation

Working out of Sustainable Conservation’s Modesto office, Ryan leads collaborative efforts to identify and scale agricultural solutions that reduce nitrate leaching to groundwater, improve soils, and build water resiliency in the face of climate change. Ryan is Co-Chair of the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Manure Recycling and Innovative Products Task Force and serves on the Circular Bioeconomy Innovation Collaborative’s Leadership Council and BioCircular Valley’s Advisory Board.

Ryan has more than 20 years of experience in organizational and programmatic strategy, sustainable agriculture, water stewardship, and stakeholder engagement. Prior to Sustainable Conservation, Ryan consulted with companies across the globe to develop sustainable agriculture and water stewardship strategies and worked in economic development in the United States and Latin America. Ryan holds a Bachelor of Arts from Tulane University and an International MBA from the University of South Carolina. He was nominated for the Pritzker Emerging Environmental Genius Award and is a recipient of the VEGA Service Impact Award and the U.S. President's Volunteer Service Award (Gold Level).