CalDesal 3rd Annual Conference – October 6 & 7, 2014 – Monterey, CA — Opening Remarks by Carmel Mayor Jason K. Burnett

In his role with the Water Authority, Jason worked with others to help craft a compromise settlement agreement of 16 diverse parties describing a path forward to permit and construct a portfolio of water projects for the Monterey Peninsula. He chairs the Governance Committee that provides public oversight of the permitting, financing, and construction of the Monterey Peninsula desalination project. He also testified in support of SB936, which provides a novel financing mechanism for the project, potentially saving ratepayers tens of millions of dollars.  Previously, Jason was the Associate Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and prior to the EPA he worked for Evolution Markets, a brokerage and consulting firm. He has testified before and been interviewed by Senate and Congressional committees and continues to engage federal and state policy leaders on a myriad of issues. He has also been quoted in the Washington Post, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal, among others. Jason is a trustee of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and chairs its finance committee. He is on the Board of the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History. Jason holds a Master of Arts in Earth Systems and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Stanford University.