2025 Delta Leadership Program Kicks Off

    A group of men and women standing in front of a mural posing for the camera
    The 2025 Class of the Delta Leadership Program. Back row, L-R: Gerry Goodie Jr., Gregg McMillon, Ashley Seufzer, Megan Harrison, Amber McDowell, Ahmad Majid, Jack Cronin, Lea Emmons II, Lacy Berry, Misty Kaltreider, Heather Swinney, and Gerald Strootman. Front row, L-R: Josh McMillon, Kathleen Schaefer, Esther Mburu, Beatriz Portillo, Yuen Lenh, Kirsten Pringle, and LeighAnn Davis.

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Jan. 10, 2025) – Nineteen emerging Delta leaders convened Friday at the Nature Conservancy in Sacramento for the kickoff of the 2025 Delta Leadership Program.

    Run by the Delta Protection Commission and the Delta Leadership Foundation, the program is designed to build and support leadership within the Delta community. “We’re making you stronger leaders so the Delta is stronger,” Leadership Foundation President Mike Campbell told the group.

    The group will gather four more times between now and April for daylong seminars that will provide deep dives into the Delta’s ecology, economy, heritage, regulatory framework, and more. Seminars will also hone participants’ leadership skills and serve as workshops for team projects that will be presented to the Delta Protection Commission on May 15.

    This year’s participants are (a text-only list follows the photo gallery):

    Lacy Berry (Clarksburg) – Community Volunteer, Town of Clarksburg
    Jack Cronin (Rio Vista) – Assistant Engineer, Metropolitan Water District
    LeighAnn Davis (Brentwood) – Executive Director, Contra Costa Co. Historical Society
    Lea Emmons II (Tracy) – Water Operations Superintendent, City of Tracy
    Gerry Goodie Jr. (Walnut Grove) – Manager/Owner, Wimpy’s Marina
    Megan Harrison (Livermore) – District Planner, California Department of Parks and Recreation
    Misty Kaltreider (Fairfield) – Water & Natural Resources Manager, County of Solano
    Yuen Lenh (Sacramento) – Water Rights Engineer, MBK Engineers
    Ahmad Majid (Stockton) – Watershed Protection Advocate, Stockton-area community organizations
    Esther Mburu (Stockton) – Carbon Policy Analyst, Restore the Delta
    Amber McDowell (Walnut Grove) – Executive Director, Sacramento County Farm Bureau
    Gregg McMillon (Sacramento) – Water Resources Engineer, California Department of Water Resources
    Josh McMillon (Walnut Grove) – Community Volunteer, Town of Walnut Grove
    Beatriz Portillo (Martinez) – Senior Emergency Planning Coordinator, Contra Costa County Office of Emergency Services
    Kirsten Pringle (Sacramento) – Project Manager, MBK Engineers
    Kathleen Schaefer (San Anselmo) – Clerk, Delta Region Geologic Hazard Abatement District
    Ashley Seufzer (Sacramento) – Program Manager, Audubon California
    Gerald Strootman (Acampo) – Ag and Commercial Lender, F&M Bank
    Heather Swinney (Sacramento) – Deputy Project Leader, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, also an ex officio member of the Delta Protection Advisory Committee

    Lacy Berry (Clarksburg) – Community Volunteer, Town of Clarksburg

    Jack Cronin (Rio Vista) – Assistant Engineer, Metropolitan Water District

    LeighAnn Davis (Brentwood) – Executive Director, Contra Costa Co. Historical Society

    Lea Emmons II (Tracy) – Water Operations Superintendent, City of Tracy

    Gerry Goodie Jr. (Walnut Grove) – Manager/Owner, Wimpy’s Marina

    Megan Harrison (Livermore) – District Planner, California Department of Parks and Recreation

    Misty Kaltreider (Fairfield) – Water & Natural Resources Manager, County of Solano

    Yuen Lenh (Sacramento) – Water Rights Engineer, MBK Engineers

    Ahmad Majid (Stockton) – Watershed Protection Advocate, Stockton-area community organizations

    Esther Mburu (Stockton) – Carbon Policy Analyst, Restore the Delta

    Amber McDowell (Walnut Grove) – Executive Director, Sacramento County Farm Bureau

    Gregg McMillon (Sacramento) – Water Resources Engineer, California Department of Water Resources

    Josh McMillon (Walnut Grove) – Community Volunteer, Town of Walnut Grove

    Beatriz Portillo (Martinez) – Senior Emergency Planning Coordinator, Contra Costa County Office of Emergency Services

    Kirsten Pringle (Sacramento) – Project Manager, MBK Engineers

    Kathleen Schaefer (San Anselmo) – Clerk, Delta Region Geologic Hazard Abatement District

    Ashley Seufzer (Sacramento) – Program Manager, Audubon California

    Gerald Strootman (Acampo) – Ag and Commercial Lender, F&M Bank

    Heather Swinney (Sacramento) – Deputy Project Leader, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, ex officio member of the Delta Protection Advisory Committee