The California Chapter

Apply to Salinas Valley 2026

Applications will close on January 15th

Aplicar al Valle de Salinas 2026

Las solicitudes cerrarán el 15 de enero

The California Chapter of the Water Leadership Institute is designed to strengthen local water leadership, grow new leaders, and expand a connected network of community water champions. This effort focuses on advancing equitable representation of rural, underrepresented, and disadvantaged communities in water decision-making, particularly focused on groundwater management.

The California Chapter of the WLI has held workshops in various locations across the San Joaquin Valley, and will be launching its inaugural Salinas Valley cohort in January 2026. Participants are supported in building the skills, relationships, and confidence needed to participate meaningfully in water-related committees, working groups, storytelling initiatives, and public processes that shape the future of their communities.

San Joaquin Valley Chapter at a Glance

In 2025, EDF and our partners continued strengthening Water Leadership Institute (WLI) networks across the San Joaquin Valley by deepening alumni engagement, expanding learning opportunities, and co-creating pathways for long-term leadership. Across two major alumni convenings and several partner-driven collaborations, we focused on building community capacity, strengthening relationships with GSAs, and supporting community-led visions for equitable groundwater governance.

January 2025 Alumni Gathering: Reconnection & Co-Visioning

On January 18, 2025, more than 50 WLI alumni, GSA representatives, and community partners came together for a regional reunion focused on reflection, connection, and co-visioning. Participants shared barriers they have faced in local water decision-making and collaboratively developed a vision to guide the future of WLI programming in the San Joaquin Valley. Many alumni emphasized the need for more alumni-specific offerings—spaces where graduates who have completed multiple WLI cohorts can deepen their leadership, move into advanced advocacy roles, and strengthen cross-community collaboration.

October 2025 Science of Water Workshop: Responding to Alumni Needs

In direct response to the priorities raised during the January convening, EDF and partners co-hosted a Science of Water Workshop in October 2025. This hands-on, bilingual workshop was developed for alumni across the Kaweah Subbasin and broader SJV who expressed a desire for deeper technical knowledge about local water systems.

Workshop goals included:

Exploring how water moves through the Kaweah Subbasin—from snowpack to groundwater—and how contaminants travel through these systems.
Understanding groundwater level trends, domestic well challenges, mitigation strategies, and tools to track groundwater conditions.
Gaining hands-on experience testing and interpreting water quality, highlighting the role of community science in monitoring.
Strengthening connections between community members, GSAs, NGOs, and local networks to support coordinated community action.

Looking Ahead to 2026

EDF and our partner organizations—including RCAC, SHE, and local GSAs—are currently in the planning and visioning phase for 2026. Guided by alumni insights and regional needs, we are exploring opportunities such as advanced leadership tracks, additional technical workshops, and expanded cross-subbasin collaboration. This next phase will continue building on the strong foundation established in 2025, with a focus on long-term community capacity, water justice, and shared regional resilience.

What to Expect: Salinas Cohort

The Salinas Valley curriculum will be rooted in storytelling and inquiry, inviting participants to explore their relationships with self (personal), others (leadership), and place (water) across time — past, present, and future. This reflective approach helps strengthen participants’ sense of agency and belonging in local water decision-making spaces while honoring the deep cultural and environmental ties of the Salinas Valley.

Given that the Salinas Valley contains sixGroundwater Sustainability Plans (GSPs) with overlapping projects, the WLI is envisioned as a cross-subbasin knowledge exchange and collaborative space, where participants can build bridges across regions, share insights, and co-create pathways toward equitable and sustainable groundwater management.

Curriculum Themes

Theme 1: Present — Identity, Community, and Place

Guiding Question: How do our identities, experiences, and relationships with land and water shape how we show up today?

Learning Objective: Reflect on personal and community identities; understand how lived experience shapes our connection to water and our role in local decision-making spaces. Build a shared grounding in current local water systems, challenges, and opportunities in the region.

Theme 2: Past — History, Systems, and Power

Guiding Question: How have past decisions, policies, and power dynamics shaped the water systems and communities we live in today?

Learning Objective: Examine the historical roots of groundwater use, land management, and inequitable planning in California. Explore how past policies and leadership structures created today’s water challenges and influenced whose voices have been included—or excluded—in decision-making.

Theme 3: Future — Visioning Change and Community Leadership

Guiding Question: What does a just and sustainable water future look like for our communities, and what roles can we play in shaping it?

Learning Objective: Envision future possibilities for community-centered water governance. Identify individual and collective leadership strengths, community assets, and opportunities for advancing equitable water solutions and long-term resilience.

Theme 4: Pathways — Taking Action & Sustaining Engagement

Guiding Question: How can we apply our knowledge, leadership, and community strengths to influence water decisions and drive change?

Learning Objective: Identify concrete pathways for engagement in water decision-making (GSAs, advisory groups, collaborations, community projects). Explore resources, networks, and supports needed to sustain leadership, foster cross-community collaboration, and advance community-driven water solutions.

News & Blogs

September 3, 2024

Community expertise is key to effective, equitable water governance

Rosanai Paniagua admits that she felt a sense of hopelessness after joining the Richgrove Community Services District board, eager to help manage her unincorporated community’s water.
Read more
February 12, 2024

Rosa learned how to help her community get reliable, clean water. You can too.

In 2022, Rosa applied for the Water Leadership Institute. Her motivation? To actively address severe water challenges impacting her family in El Nido in Merced County.
Read more
April 17, 2023

Water Leadership Institute reunion: Bridging connections over water

During a rainy Saturday in Visalia, graduates from the Water Leadership Institute (WLI) gathered for an alumni reunion.
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October 26, 2022

Water Leadership Institute celebrates graduation of new cohort of water equity advocates

When Steve Kisiel was looking at property in the high desert east of Tucson, Arizona, he made sure to check out the water situation first. There was no city water in this rural area, so he knew he would need a good well.
Read more