Delta Protection Advisory Committee Members Appointed, Reappointed

    Headshots of two smiling women

    RIO VISTA, Calif. (May 16, 2024) – The Delta Protection Commission appointed two new members and re-appointed four incumbents to the Delta Protection Advisory Committee (DPAC) on Thursday.

    The new appointees are Emily Pappalardo, Delta Business Seat 2 (on the left in the photo), and Katherine Wiley, Delta General Public Seat 2 (on the right in the photo).  Both are graduates of the Delta Leadership Program, a project of the Delta Protection Commission and Delta Leadership Foundation – Pappalardo in 2016, and Wiley this year.

    Pappalardo is a principal engineer and partner in DCC Engineering Co. Inc. in Walnut Grove, which serves several reclamation districts in the North Delta and provides permitting, planning, and architectural services to the Delta community. She has an interest in Steamboat Resort, a private boat club and residence on the north end of Steamboat Slough, where she was raised. She is also incoming president of the Rotary Club of Walnut Grove, a board member of the Delta Leadership Foundation, an associate member of the Central Valley Flood Control Association, and a volunteer on the Pear Fair Committee.

    Wiley owns Wiley Marketing & Design, which has a substantial client base in Rio Vista, Walnut Grove and Locke. She and her husband own a houseboat that’s been berthed in Walnut Grove for the past eight years, and both are avid boaters who spend most of their free time on the river.

    The incumbents who were reappointed Thursday are:

    • Craig Watanabe, Delta Agriculture (Seat 2)
    • Douglas Hsia, Delta Cultural Preservation
    • Morris Lum, Delta Recreation (Seat 2)
    • Erin Chappell, State Agency (Seat 2)

    All six will serve three -year terms.

    DPAC provides recommendations to the Delta Protection Commission on diverse interests within the Delta, including the Delta’s socioeconomic sustainability, recreation, agriculture, flood control, environment, utility infrastructure, and other Delta issues. The Committee was created by the Delta Protection Act, Public Resources Code Section 29753(a).