From the Promised Land to the Golden State: Shifting the Water Paradigm

Event Description

Israel, dominated by desert, now has so much affordable water that it exports it to neighboring countries. With California facing a chronic drought, no time is better than now to hear from one of Israel’s leading water authorities. Join us for a dynamic panel of Israeli and Californian water experts as they probe how we can rethink our approach to this critical resource.

Featured Speaker

Avraham Tenne, Former Head of Israeli Desalination Authority

Abraham Tenne is considered by many to be the father of Israeli desalination. Tenne led the country’s effort to use world’s most advanced water-management technologies to transform a country which is ⅔ desert into a water-surplus nation, all in less than a decade.

Moderator

Stephen Stock, Senior Investigative Reporter from the NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit

Stephen Stock led the NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit halfway around the world to investigate solutions to California’s water crisis. Stock’s groundbreaking three-part investigative series “Surviving the Drought” featured presenter Abraham Tenne.

Panel Presenters

Newsha K. Ajami, Ph.D., Director of Urban Water Policy with Stanford University’s Water in the West and NSF-ReNUWIt initiatives

Dr. Ajami is a hydrologist specializing in sustainable water resource management, water policy, the water-energy-food nexus, and advancing uncertainty assessment techniques impacting hydrological predictions. Her research throughout the years has been interdisciplinary and impact driven, focusing on the improvement of the science-policy-stakeholder interface by incorporating social and economic measures and relevant and effective communication.

Jim Fiedler, Chief Operating Officer, Santa Clara Valley Water District

Jim Fiedler is responsible for leading Santa Clara’s water supply program consisting of: water importation, surface reservoir operations and storage, groundwater management, raw and treated water delivery, drinking water treatment, water recycling and purification, and water conservation programs. A member of the water district staff since 1982 he has over 35 years of leadership and engineering experience in the area of water supply, flood protection and watershed stewardship.

Join us! Includes light dinner and wine.

Co-Sponsors

• Addison-Penzak Jewish Community Center Silicon Valley
• Business Leadership Council of the Jewish Federation SF
• Check Point Software Technologies
• Club Z
• Israeli Consulate of the Pacific Northwest
• Israeli Executives & Founders Forum
• Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Silicon Valley
• Jewish National Fund