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Ali Forsythe, the former program manager for the San Joaquin River Restoration Program (SJRRP) since 2011, has recently been named as the Bureau of Reclamation’s new Deputy Regional Director for Mid-Pacific Region. She holds Bachelor of Science degrees in Environmental Studies and in Hydrologic Sciences from the University of Calif., Santa Barbara.
In her new position Forsythe have direct oversight over the Klamath and Lahontan Basin Area Offices and technical offices and programs within the region including the Mid-Pacific Construction Office, Program Coordination Office, and the Divisions of Environmental Affairs; Safety, Security and Emergency Management; Design and Construction; Resources Management; and Planning.
“Ali is extremely knowledgeable about the issues and water operations in the Mid-Pacific Region. She has excellent relationships with our stakeholders, partners and sister agencies and has extensive facilitation, managerial and leadership skills that she brings to this position,” said Regional Director David Murillo. “I am confident that her leadership will prove extremely valuable as we continue to work through the many complex and controversial water policy issues we are grappling with today and into the future.”
Forsythe began her federal career with Reclamation in 2009 as a project manager with the SJRRP Office. She led the program’s Interim Flow activities and three on-going site-specific channel and structural improvements projects. Additionally, she oversaw SJRRP’s budget and schedule, and worked with the previous program manager to establish and implement SJRRP policies and direction. Before joining the Mid-Pacific Region, she was a project manager with CH2M HILL, a global engineering company that provides consulting, design, construction, and operations services for corporations, and federal, state, and local governments.
In her position with the SJRRP, Forsythe coordinated with the parties to the Settlement in Natural Resources Defense Council, et al., v. Rodgers, et al., the other SJRRP Implementing Agencies, downstream landowners and water districts, and many other entities to restore flows to the San Joaquin River from Friant Dam near Fresno to its confluence with the Merced River while reducing the water supply impacts to the Friant Division of the Central Valley Project.
