WaterNow is pleased to announce the addition of three exemplary water innovators to the WaterNow Alliance Leadership Council! We’re excited to welcome Chris Frahm, Water and Infrastructure Shareholder at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck; Joone Kim Lopez, General Manager of the Moulton Niguel Water District; and Jason Yoho, Chief Commercial Officer at 2NDNATURE. WaterNow’s Leadership Council members contribute their leadership, time, and talents to shape WaterNow’s agenda and priorities, and to champion our mission of supporting sustainable, affordable, climate-resilient solutions in communities across the U.S. Read on to learn more about the expertise of our new Leadership Council members and why they think sustainable water management—and WaterNow’s role in this space—is so critical.
Chris Frahm, Water and Infrastructure Shareholder at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck
Chris is the head of BHFS’s San Diego office and assists her clients in navigating the institutional and political challenges inherent to the development of infrastructure in California. Law, politics and business converge around nearly every issue involving water, energy and infrastructure. Chris practices at that intersection, coordinating and strategically planning at the federal, state and local level to help her clients achieve their business objectives. She works closely with policy leaders and legislative decision-makers to develop and implement public policy solutions while mitigating risk in a changing political, financial, and legal landscape. Formerly, Chris served as the Chairwoman of the Board for the San Diego County Water Authority.
“California’s environmental water law and public policy have increasingly focused on the need for local water supply resiliency for more than 20 years. And yet, many retail water suppliers lack the tools and resources necessary to implement changes. By offering a menu of options from ‘think tank’ vision to on-the-ground pilot projects, WaterNow provides a critically needed link between sound water management policy and practical implementation at the retail and consumer level. WaterNow provides an opportunity to bring together diverse constituencies—who are often at odds—to work together on practical, mutually beneficial, integrated solutions. I believe successful future water supply planning will be more from the ground up than top down as it has been in the past. WaterNow is ideally situated to support and advance practical, mutually beneficial solutions.” – Chris Frahm
Joone Kim Lopez, General Manager of the Moulton Niguel Water District
Joone is the GM of the Moulton Niguel Water District, which provides water, wastewater, and recycled water services to six cities in South Orange County in California. Before joining Moulton Niguel, she served as the GM of Calaveras County Water District in Northern California. Joone is a Board Member for the Association of California Water Agencies, California WateReuse Association, California Water Data Consortium, Southern California Water Coalition, and the South Orange County Wastewater Authority. She is also a founding member of the California Data Collaborative, a non-profit focused on leveraging data and technology to enhance water management policies statewide.
“Water is a scarce and precious resource that we depend on every day of our lives. During the last few years, the water industry experienced unprecedented challenges ranging from a severe multi-year drought and extreme rains, all while having to adapt to evolving laws and regulations. We need to continue to discover new and innovative ways to deliver reliable and safe drinking water to our communities and do so in a collaborative approach. I look forward to championing this effort by developing new partnerships, having an open dialogue, and turning those conversations into actions. WaterNow is a great organization that serves as an incredible resource for water managers, elected officials, and the general public. Not only is sustainable water management an area of focus, but we need to make sure we are facilitating a greater level of engagement and collaboration across sectors to make an impactful change on how we deal with our precious resource. I’m certain that working with the leadership council and staff at WaterNow will help achieve this, and more.” – Joone Kim Lopez
Jason Yoho, Chief Commercial Officer at 2NDNATURE
Jason believes technology enables superior value in impact markets. At 2NDNATURE, he is responsible for defining and delivering commercial strategy, growth, and profitability. 2NDNATURE is an enterprise cloud stormwater management platform that is modernizing MS4 permit compliance by streamlining and standardizing field inspections and data collection. Jason spent the past 15+ years operating, strategizing, and executing the overall vision for technology companies. Along the way he created one of the first enterprise cloud computing services, ran a $100M global line of business for a F500 company, founded three venture backed software companies, and raised $55M in capital from uber-angels and Sand Hill VCs. Jason is a graduate of UC Santa Cruz and cares about the role technology can play in education, the environment, and in society.
"I am excited to be working with WaterNow Alliance because they share my passionate belief that there is an opportunity for cities to embrace innovative thinking to resilient water solutions, including using a Silicon Valley-based approach to technology adoption, to help accelerate actions and empower communication at the local-level and drive change at the system-level." – Jason Yoho