Brown Bag Webinar - Learning from the Colorado River Conversations

Over the past few years, the UA Center for Climate Adaptation Science and Solutions has hosted a series of events aimed at broadening the conversation about managing the Colorado River. These included an assessment of interdisciplinary science needs, recognizing the complexity of river management issues; a conference soliciting input from water managers on the science agenda developed in the first event; and a conference organized around building relationships among entities and individuals with different perspectives on river management priorities. In addition, CCASS hosted a series of scenario planning workshops focused on exploring extreme “black swan” events. These conversations included participants from all seven basin states and Mexico, as well as tribal and environmental interests, NGO’s, and federal agencies. 

Katharine Jacobs is a professor and Director of the Center for Climate Adaptation Science and Solutions at the University of Arizona, focused on building adaptation capacity at multiple scales. From 2010 to 2013, Jacobs worked in the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the White House as director of the Third National Climate Assessment and lead advisor on water science, policy, and adaptation. Previously Jacobs was Executive Director of the Arizona Water Institute and worked 23 years for the Arizona Department of Water Resources, including 15 as Director of the Tucson Active Management Area. 

Amy McCoy is a founding partner of Martin & McCoy LLC, where she addresses vexing water challenges through the lens of science, data analysis, and policy. She also serves as an Adjunct Research Scientist with the University of Arizona Southwest Center and participates in ecological and water security research collaborations. She previously worked as a partner at AMP Insights, an ecologist with the Sonoran Institute, and was a Captain and athlete in the US Air Force.