City of San Francisco, the Bay Bridge, and Yerba Buena Island (photo: Darcie Luce)
Board of Directors
Introducing our new Board of Directors!
Left-right, top-bottom: Jennifer Adams, Beck Barger, Josh Bradt, Nate Kauffman, Hannah Kempf,
Rachael Klopfenstein, Norman LaForce, Kamille Lang, Carl Wilcox.
Left-right, top-bottom: Jennifer Adams, Beck Barger, Josh Bradt, Nate Kauffman, Hannah Kempf,
Rachael Klopfenstein, Norman LaForce, Kamille Lang, Carl Wilcox.
The Friends of the Estuary Board of Directors consists of individuals from environmental, business, industry, state and local government agencies, and other community members.
Jennifer Adams (she/her): A Bay Area native and graduate of UC Santa Cruz with a degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Jennifer is deeply committed to equity, environmental stewardship, and community-led change at every level of her work. Jennifer brings over nine years of experience in the nonprofit sector, with a strong background in environmental justice, project management, leadership, mentorship, and community-centered advocacy. Her work focuses on the intersection of climate resilience, sea level rise, groundwater rise, and the risk of contaminant remobilization in vulnerable communities. Jennifer has deep expertise in engaging diverse and historically underrepresented communities through outdoor education, leadership development, and culturally relevant environmental programming. She is passionate about equipping frontline communities with the tools, knowledge, and support needed to participate meaningfully in environmental decision-making and policy development.
Beck Barger (she/they): With a background in Anthropology and progressive experience in education and advocacy, Beck brings a diverse set of skills from a social science perspective. Through their support of public engagement and social science integration at the Delta Stewardship Council, as well as their time as a fisherman and duck hunter in the Bay Area, they have developed a deep understanding of the complex social, economic, political, and regulatory workings of the Bay-Delta region.
Josh Bradt (he/him): Josh Bradt is the Program Coordinator for the Bay Area Regional Collaborative (BARC), a consortium of regional (and regionally active) governmental agencies. BARC’s primary role is to help these agencies collaborate and coordinate on regional issues of overlapping interest. Since 2021 the focus has been on climate adaptation and resilience planning and technical assistance. Prior to joining BARC, Josh was a project manager at the San Francisco Estuary Partnership focused on advancing green stormwater infrastructure and resilient shorelines. He began his career in watershed management and creek restoration working with non-profit organizations (Urban Creeks Council and the East Bay Conservation Corps) and local/county public works (Contra Costa Countywide Clean Water Program and City of Berkeley). Josh is the director of the California Urban Streams Partnership (CUSP); a non-profit organization housed in the Earth Island Institute. This organization is modelled after the Urban Creeks Council as a state-wide network of creek restoration and stewards that also works on local projects and programs in the SF Bay Area.
Nate Kauffman (he/him): Nate Kauffman is a Climate Adaptation Planner from the Bay Area. His work focuses on applying ecological planning, design and engineering approaches for sustainable development and climate resilience. His path is an odd one: from hitting nails on construction sites all over the country; to a masters in landscape architecture; a stint in tech as a VP using augmented reality for climate change awareness; and writing a doctoral dissertation about the industrial ecology of excavated soil. Nate’s 2015 Live Edge Adaptation Project (LEAP) foregrounded a bold vision for the future of the Bayshore. With over a decade of teaching experience at MIT and UC Berkeley, he served as Director of UCB’s Sustainable Environmental Design program before joining HDR Inc to lead their Northern California Coastal Resilience Practice. Nate believes in the visionaries, poets, and youth most of all – and strives to elevate and empower them to lead us to climate resilience.
Hannah Kempf (she/her): Hannah is an Environmental Scientist at the State Water Resources Control Board. She works in the Ocean Standards Unit within the Division of Water Quality, and is lead staff for the Ocean Acidification Amendment to the California Ocean Plan. Before joining the State Water Board, Hannah spent a year at the San Francisco Estuary Partnership as a CA Sea Grant Fellow, and worked closely with the Wetlands Regional Monitoring (WRMP) team. She graduated from UC Davis in 2024, earning a Ph.D. in Earth and Planetary Sciences. Her dissertation focused on how culturally and economically important shellfish respond to climate change stressors, including ocean acidification. She also used geochemical tools to investigate if shells can accurately record past environmental conditions. In her free time she enjoys walking her dog, ceramics, baking sourdough, hiking, and reading novels.
Rachael Klopfenstein (she/they): Rachael is an interdisciplinary environmental scientist with a history of working with government agencies, academia, and youth. Building from their deep love of California and the natural environment, Rachael pursued a B.S. in Environmental Science and Management from UC Davis and M.S. in Marine Resource Management from Oregon State University. While in school she worked as an outdoor educator in northern California and high school marine science event coordinator in Oregon. Since 2017, Rachael has worked for the State of California on invasive species management and social and ecological issues facing the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta). As a manager in the Delta Stewardship Council’s Delta Science Program, Rachael currently leads a team of environmental scientists supporting collaborative science and peer review for government science in the Delta. Outside of work, they enjoy playing soccer (poorly), adventuring outdoors, and spending time with their lovely community of friends and family in Sacramento.
Norman LaForce (he/him): Norman grew up in a suburb of Chicago, and ultimately went to law school at Georgetown. He clerked for a federal judge in Los Angeles and went into private practice in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1982. His legal practice funded pro bono and volunteer work for the Sierra Club starting in 1993. He led the successful campaign to create the McLaughlin Eastshore Park among other park and open space campaigns. As counsel for the Sierra Club, he was one of the attorneys who won the successful CEQA suit that saved Point Molate in Richmond as a regional park. Most recently he commissioned a restoration concept for the Golden Gate Fields racetrack in Albany. The goal would be to restore it to its original state as a wetland and marsh, and to transform it into a resilient shoreline to buffer the city of Albany from sea level rise. Norman looks forward to working with the other board members on protecting and improving the Bay, its wetlands, and its coastal upland prairie.
Kamille Lang (she/they): Kamille Lang is the Director of Outreach and Education at Climate Resilient Communities, an environmental justice nonprofit that empowers community voices to implement equitable climate solutions for unity, resilience, and justice. Kamille grew up making memories in the redwoods, tidepools and oak woodlands. She was inspired to pursue a career educating her community about the planet and the unique natural resources that are threatened by the rapid changes in our climate. She is currently pursuing an MBA and MPA at the University of Redlands in San Anselmo, California. Prior to this role, Kamille led youth climate action programs through San Mateo County's Office of Sustainability.
Carl Wilcox (he/him): Carl was the Policy Advisor to the Director for the Delta (2012-2020), responsible for water planning and policy formulation and implementation related to the Delta and its tributaries. Previously a Bay-Delta Region Regional Manager (2011-2012) and Chief of Water Branch (2005-2011), he led the Departments participation in the development of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan and subsequent conveyance proposals. He also led the implementation of the CALFED Bay-Delta Ecosystem Restoration Program and associated grant programs. Carl also served as policy lead for Interagency Ecological Program, and was responsible for Department participation in issues related to water management and fishery conservation in the Central Valley including the Bay Delta Water Quality Control Plan update. Carl directed development of the Franks Tract Futures Project. As Central Coast Region Habitat Conservation Manager (1995-2005), he directed DFW participation in the development of the Baylands Ecosystem Goals Report, acquisition and restoration of the South Bay Salt Ponds in the early 2000’s, development of the East Contra Costa Natural Communities Conservation Plan, and the Santa Rosa Plain Vernal Pool Conservation Strategy. Carl has a B.S. in Biological Conservation from California State University Sacramento, and a M.S. in Biology from New Mexico Highlands University.
The Board meets regularly. Administrative support is provided by the San Francisco Estuary Partnership.
MANY THANKS TO OUR OUTGOING BOARD OF DIRECTORS!
Thank you to our outgoing Board of Directors!
Top row, L-R: Mike Monroe, Barbara Salzman, Paula Trigueros, Mitch Avalon, Chuck Batts. Front row, L-R: Arthur Feinstein, Jane Lavelle, Rick Morat (Associate Director). Not pictured: Karen Taberski.
