Meet the Board Members & Executive Officers

  

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Board Members

Alexis Strauss Hacker, Board Chair     (Term Expires: September 30, 2025)

Alexis Strauss Hacker

Alexis Strauss Hacker, Piedmont, held several leadership roles at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from 1979 to 2019, including acting regional administrator, deputy regional administrator, water division director, and manager of Superfund enforcement programs. She has been recognized with several leadership and management awards in her federal career. She earned a Master of Arts degree in urban planning and a Bachelor of Arts in geography from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Donald Young, Vice Chair     (Term Expires: September 30, 2026)

Donald Young

Donald Young is a Senior Vice President at Salas O’Brien. He’s a CSU-Certified Construction Manager and heads the Construction Services Department, annually overseeing a variety of projects associated with sustainability, resiliency, clean energy, climate change, and innovation. He’s a graduate of Leadership San Jose 2009 and a former member of the San Jose Evergreen Community College District Foundation, serving from 2010 – 2020 with two (2) terms as Board Chair. He also served on the City of Campbell Planning Commission from 2014 – 2017. He is a graduate of UC Santa Barbara with a Bachelor of Science in Biopsychology.

Jayne Battey, Board Member     (Term Expires: September 30, 2024)

Jayne Battey

Jayne Battey is the owner and founder of Miramar Farms on the San Mateo Coast near Half Moon Bay. Using the farm as a uniquely restorative backdrop, Ms. Battey provides a combination of senior leadership coaching and program facilitation for organizations working on environmental, health, housing, education and other critical societal issues. She currently serves on the board of American Leadership Forum-Silicon Valley, and previously served on the boards of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, Youth Outside, and Cabrillo Education Foundation.

Prior to starting Miramar Farms in 2013, Ms. Battey held executive positions in a number of environmental organizations, including Essex Environmental, Pacific Forest and Watershed Lands Stewardship Council, and Pacific Gas & Electric Company. She has extensive experience in environmental planning and compliance management for large-scale infrastructure projects, as well as expertise in a wide-range of state and federal natural resource protection regulations. Ms. Battey holds a bachelor's degree from Boston College and a master's degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science. She is a senior fellow of American Leadership Forum - Silicon Valley (Class XXIV).

Letty Belin, Board Member     (Term Expires: September 30, 2025)

Letty Belin

Letty Belin of Oakland, has been appointed to the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board. Belin has been Principal of Alletta Belin Consulting LLC since 2017. She was a Landreth Visiting Fellow for Stanford Water in the West in 2018, Senior Counselor to the Deputy Secretary at the U.S. Department of the Interior from 2009 to 2017 and Founder and Partner of Belin & Sugarman Law Office from 2000 to 2009. Belin was Director of the Environment, Energy and Telecommunications Division at the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office from 1993 to 1999. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa and with distinction and honors in anthropology from Stanford University and earned a Juris Doctor degree from Stanford Law School.

William Kissinger, Board Member     (Term Expires: September 30, 2023)

William Kissinger

William Kissinger of Marin County is a partner at the law firm of Morgan Lewis and Bockius. Before that he was a partner at Bingham McCutchen from 2003 to 2014, and an associate and then a partner at the legacy McCutchen Doyle Brown and Enersen firm from 1989 to 1997. He was senior deputy legal affairs secretary at the Office of Governor Gray Davis from 2001 to 2003. Kissinger served as senior advisor for international economic policy for the National Economic Council at the White House from 2000 to 2001 and was special assistant to the Legal Adviser at the U.S. Department of State from 1997 to 2000. He was staff attorney for the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals from 1987 to 1988. Kissinger earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, and a B.A. in Politics/American Studies cum laude from Princeton University.

Andrew Gunther Ph.D, Board Member     (Term Expires: September 30, 2026)

Andrew Gunther Ph.D

Dr. Gunther received his Ph.D. in Energy and Resources from the University of California at Berkeley in 1987, and he has worked at the intersection of environmental science and policy since 1979. He has extensive experience in applying science to the development of air, water, and endangered species policy, including in the Bay Area.

In 1986 he was hired as the first staff scientist for the San Francisco Estuary Institute, where he completed landmarks studies of estuarine water quality for the State of California and the U.S. EPA. He was the first manager of the State of California’s program that monitors for toxic substances in San Francisco Bay, and served as Assistant Chief Scientist for the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Restoration Program. From 2001-2006 he was the coordinator of the Clean Estuary Partnership, where he developed and managed a joint research and analysis program for the Regional Board, the Bay Area Clean Water Agencies, and the Bay Area Stormwater Management Agencies Association. From 2011-2017 Dr. Gunther served as executive coordinator of the Bay Area Ecosystems Climate Change Consortium, assisting this interagency group develop and implement initiatives to build resiliency to climate change in the Bay Area.

In 2017, Andy became the ninth person to win Jean Auer Environmental Award from the San Francisco Estuary Partnership, which honors his “significant contribution toward improving environmental quality in the Bay-Delta Estuary.” Dr. Gunther represents the Water Board on the Bay Conservation and Development Commission. More about Dr. Gunther’s career and activities is available at www.andrewgunther.com.

Mark Ransom, Board Member     (Term Expires: September 30, 2026)

Mark.Ransom

Mark Ransom of Walnut Creek, has been appointed to the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board. Ransom was a Partner at ERM West Inc. from 1990 to 2021. He was Manager of Environmental Affairs for the Southern Pacific Transportation Company from 1984 to 1990. Ransom worked at Ecology and Environment Inc. from 1980 to 1984 and worked for the State of California from 1978 to 1979. Ransom earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Engineering from Humboldt State University. He is a registered Civil Engineer in California.

Executive Officer

Eileen White, Executive Officer

Eileen White

Eileen White, Executive Officer for the Water Board SF Bay Region. The board is delighted to welcome Eileen who is known throughout the region for her years of leadership at the East Bay Municipal Utility District in both wastewater and drinking water, areas of critical importance to us all. In addition to her decades of experience at East Bay MUD, White has served on the board of the Bay Area Clean Water Agencies and serves as the chair for the National Association of Clean Water Agencies’ Climate Change and Resilience Committee as well as an active member of the San Francisco Bay Estuary institute. White received her Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. Ms. White’s effective date is July 11, 2022.