Bio
David Brent
David Brent is the Manager of Engineering Services for the City of Sacramento.
Les Harder
Dr. Harder was appointed as the Deputy Director for Public Safety and Business Operations for the Department of Water Resources on April 24, 2006. He received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Civil Engineering from U. C. Davis. He obtained his Doctoral degree in Geotechnical Engineering from U. C. Berkeley in 1988.
Dr. Harder has over 28 years of experience in the design and construction of earth structures. He has served on numerous post-earthquake reconnaissance investigations and was heavily involved with response to the 1997-1998 floods. He was also involved with the four emergency construction contracts associated with repairing Jones Tract and he has served on several joint State-Federal committees on levee seepage design criteria. Most recently, Dr. Harder was part of a National Science Foundation sent to New Orleans to examine the performance of levees following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Prior to his appointment as Deputy Director, Dr. Harder served in an acting assignment for 8 months in this position. Prior to that, he served as Division Chief for both the Division of Flood Management and the Division of Engineering.
Peter D. Rabbon
Peter D. Rabbon, General Manager of California’s Reclamation Board, is the new President of the National Association of Flood and Storm water Management Agencies (NAFSMA). He was elected in September at the association’s annual meeting, which this year was held in Monterey.
Raymond Seed
Professor Raymound Seed's research activities span a wide range of subject areas. His research has had a significant impact on geotechnical practice in a number of areas including: analysis of compaction-induced stresses and deformations, seismic stability analysis of dams and embankments, analysis of soil liquefaction potential and post-liquefaction behavior, analysis of reinforced soil systems and deep braced excavations, mitigation of membrane compliance effects in undrained testing of coarse granular soils, effects of site conditions on seismic site response, finite element analysis of soil-structure interaction, stability and performance evaluation for hazardous waste fills, and others.
Ron Stork
Ron Stork is an acknowledged national expert in flood management, federal water resources development, hydropower reform, and Wild & Scenic Rivers. He joined Friends of the River as Associate Conservation Director in 1987 and became its Senior Policy Advocate in 1995. Ron was presented the prestigious River Conservationist of the Year award by Perception in 1996 for his work to stop the Auburn dam. In 2004, he received the California Urban Water Conservation Council’s Excellence Award for statewide and institutional innovations in water conservation.
Prior to coming to Friends of the River, Ron was Executive Director of the Merced Canyon Committee, where he directed the successful effort to obtain Wild and Scenic designation for the Merced River. He is a former member of the Governor's Flood Management Task Force and currently represents Friends of the River on the Sacramento Regional Water Forum. Ron holds a BS degree in botany from UC Davis and he loves to visit and botanize in California’s wild places.
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