Robert & Patricia Switzer Foundation

Fellowship Year: 2012

Academic Background: UC Berkeley - Ph.D - (Water Resources Policy)

Esther is a PhD candidate in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management at University of California Berkeley. She is committed to understanding how collaborative approaches to water governance can draw upon knowledge from scientists and stakeholders to support collective learning and the development of adaptive strategies for coping with climate change and other risks. Her current research focuses on how the collaborative structure of California's regional water planning process supports the creation of integrated management strategies that boost resilience to increasing extremes and other effects of climate change. Esther also seeks to understand the challenges that public agencies face in implementing collaborative governance. Over the past year, she has worked with the Climate Change Program of the California Department of Water Resources, and is structuring her research to help inform how this agency supports the regional water planning process. Prior to her PhD studies, Esther worked for six years at the Earth Institute at Columbia University, managing interdisciplinary projects to support the use of climate and environmental information in water management and agriculture in South and Southeast Asia. She also worked at the United Nations Development Programme, analyzing community-based projects around the world that use renewable energy to support local livelihoods. Esther holds a Masters Degree in International Affairs from Columbia University, a Masters in Development Studies from the University of Cambridge, and a Bachelor of Sciences in Earth Systems from Stanford University.

Expertise: Water Resources, Energy & Climate Change