We’re excited to announce a summer series highlighting the accomplishments of the EaRTH Center’s Reach the Decisionmakers (Reach) 2024-2025 cohort. Participants of the program completed their year-long training in late April. Their training culminated in the development of white papers and in-person meetings with regulators and legislators at the State Capitol in Sacramento. Over the next two months, we’ll have the pleasure of hearing from two teams about their policy projects, including their successes, challenges, and next steps.

Up first, we’ll hear from the team Groundwater Protection League(GWPL). Their project, Protecting Groundwater from Pesticide Contamination in California, reviewed the Department of Pesticide Regulation’s (DPR) updated groundwater protection regulations and revised method for identifying potential contaminants. GWPL developed evidence-based policy recommendations that prioritized drinking water and community needs with the goal of collaborating with DPR staff on their implementation.

Tuesday, July 15; 1 pm PT via Zoom. Zoom access information below. See the EaRTH Center Events Page for this and other upcoming events.

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Speaker Bios:

Tien Tran, Policy Manager, Community Water Center: At Community Water Center, Tien Tran is a Policy Manager focusing on sustainable groundwater management and just land transition. Previously, she was an analyst at the California State Water Resources Control Board, serving two board members. As a Senate Fellow in Senator María Elena Durazo's office, she managed housing and environmental policy. Tien holds a B.S. in Environmental Studies from Yale College. She enjoys reading fiction, doing puzzles, and karaoke. 

Jenni A. Shearston, Assistant Professor, Uni. of Colorado Boulder: An environmental epidemiologist, Dr. Shearston’s research focuses on identifying and measuring chemical pollution from various sources and its impacts on health. She prioritizes research questions that center community needs or directly inform policy and enjoys community-engaged research projects. Her work addresses longstanding health inequities and exposure disparities. Dr. Shearston’s current research projects focus on: (1) the intersection of chemical exposures and menstruation, and (2) the health impacts and distribution of oil/gas/traffic related pollution and corresponding state and local regulation to protect health.

Jenny Rempel, Energy & Resources Group, UC Berkeley: Jenny Rempel studies water governance to understand the patterns and drivers of drinking water disparities in rural and urban communities across the United States. Her research engages questions of water governance, quality, and access using mixed quantitative and qualitative methods. Jenny’s recent work analyzes the institutions governing source water and drinking water in California, elucidating key challenges andpossibilities for water justice in a changing climate. Through her scholarship, Jenny provides residents, advocates, and decision-makers with information needed to strengthen community-based solutions to water injustices.