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Louise Bedsworth, Public Policy Institute of California
Louise Bedsworth is a research fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California. Her research focuses on air quality, transportation, and climate change issues. Before joining PPIC in 2006, she was a Senior Vehicles Analyst with the Union of Concerned Scientists. She holds a Ph.D. in energy and resources and an M.S. in environmental engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.
Xavier Tito Cervantes, California Department of Water Resources
X. Tito Cervantes is Chief of the Land and Water Use Section in the Division of Planning and Local Assistance’s Northern District office in Red Bluff. Tito has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Soil Resource Management with a minor in Civil Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. Tito has 21 years of experience in land use surveys; climate data collection and analysis; the determination of urban water use, agricultural water use, and wetlands & waterfowl water requirements; water transfers for water supply; agricultural water conservation techniques; administering the California Irrigation Management Information System; provided support for urban water conservation programs; conducted water management inventories using geographic information systems; and conducting hydrologic investigations in the thirteen counties of northern California. Also Tito has experience in determining surface water flows, assessing the significance of changing groundwater levels where he integrates data on well completion reports and surface & groundwater quality. For the past 21 years, Tito has been heavily involved with updating and implementing the California Water Plan – the Plan is presented as the Department of Water Resources’ Bulletin 160 series and improving Regional/Local Coordination’s.

Heidi Ogle, National Park Service
Heidi Ogle is the Cultural Resources GIS Data Manager for Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, Lassen Volcanic National Park and Lava Beds National Monument. Ms. Ogle is also a graduate student in the Department of Geography and Planning at Chico State. Her thesis project is entitled the Chico Historical GIS which uses the South Campus Neighborhood of Chico, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, as the pilot study area. This project will make historical information about the Neighborhood available from a spatial platform on the world wide web. It will be a time-enabled spatial analysis research tool that will highlight the intricate relationships among its residents throughout the past 150 years. The project will exhibit a Cartesian view of the study area while building appreciation for our common heritage and increasing spatial literacy.
Jim Pelley, LaughterWorks
A former stand-up comedian and contributing writer for the original Saturday Night Live Show, Jim Pelley has left 'em laughing for more than 20 years at over 1,600 top organizations in the U.S. and abroad, including Disney, Intel, Southwest Airlines, Mattel, and AT&T. He's brought his message of how to smarten up by lightening up to hundreds of thousands of people who are high-tech, low-tech, and no-tech-at-all. With his hilarious way of poking fun at the frustrations of everyday life, Jim demonstrates uproariously how to use humor to become more creative, more productive, and less stressed.

Tim Snellings, Butte County Development Services

Tim Snellings has been with Butte County as the Development Services Director since Halloween 2005.  His department includes Planning, Building and Code Enforcement.  Tim has spent a significant amount of his time since arriving at Butte County leading the process of creating Butte County General Plan 2030.
 
Prior to that, he was the Community Development Director in Yuba County.  In Yuba, growth was a major factor that Tim was faced with.  The County was eager to grow and it was Tim's job to guide that growth in a manner that created quality communities.  In Yuba, Tim oversaw Planning, Building, Environmental Health, Housing and Code Enforcement. 

Before that, Tim worked in Nevada County, holding down several positions in his 14 years.  He was the Environmental Health Director (10 yrs), Community Development Agency Director (2 yrs), Housing Specialist (1 yr) and Director of Intergovernmental Relations (1 yr). 

Tim got his start in county service in Napa County as an Environmental Health Specialist in 1984.  Tim spent considerable time working on Land Use issues for Napa County.  As the Land Use staff person for Environmental Health, Tim had a great opportunity to work on a wide variety of Land Use issues with the Planning Department, the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors.  He literally worked on over a hundred new winery proposals, which gave him an opportunity see a wide variety of strategies for pursuing land use entitlements.   

Tim received his BA in Environmental Studies with a minor in Chemistry from CSU Sacramento in 1983. 

He remains very excited about the opportunities that are before him and his department in Butte County. 
Ann Schwab, Vice Mayor, City of Chico

Ann Schwab is Vice-Mayor of the City of Chico and chair of the City’s Sustainability Task Force. Her passion for the environment is evident in her activities as member of the Rawlins Endowed Professor Advisory Board, Focus the Nation Steering Committee, former Bidwell Park and Playground Commissioner and past co-chair of the Bidwell Park Centennial Committee. In her role of Program Manager for Community Action Volunteers in Education, Ann creates volunteer partnerships with local environmental organizations and the National Park Service as well as organizing service projects for the First Year Experience Program and Scour and Devour. A graduate of Chico State, Ann has made Chico her home for thirty-three years.
Mardy Thomas, Glenn County Planning Agency
Mardy Thomas is currently working as the Senior Planner for the Glenn County Planning & Public Works Agency. He has experience in various projects related to land use, mining, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and is currently tasked with developing and implementing the Glenn County Transportation Commission’s regional blueprint planning effort. Mr. Thomas has a B.A. from California State University, Chico in Geography concentrating in Planning & Development of the Rural Environment and General Geography: Cartography/Geographical Information System Pattern.
Dan Wayne, Shasta County Planning Agency
Mr. Wayne is a Senior Planner with the Shasta County Regional Transportation Planning Agency and architect of the ShastaFORWARD>> Regional Blueprint. Prior work experience includes transportation planning for the Calaveras Council of Governments and Washington State Department of Transportation. He is a proud Sun Devil, having graduated from Arizona State University with a B.A. in Communication and Master of Urban & Regional Planning. Favorite planning quote: “Planners may draw strength from a tradition that is deeply promissory, a tradition that calls for practical imagination, for the rethinking of urban possibilities, for an articulation of public well-being in the face of obvious threats to that common welfare. The substance and promise of the work itself matter.” (John Forester).