This year, we welcomed two new team members to the California Water Data Consortium. We sat down with them to learn more about their personal connections to water and the work we do here. Like others on our team, they enjoy traveling and getting outdoors, and those experiences have helped shape their perspectives on water and why it matters.
Keep reading to get to know Communications and Administrative Coordinator Averi Burud and Senior Project Manager for Groundwater Initiatives Sarah Sarfaty Epstein.
1. Water shows up everywhere when you travel — a river, a coastline, a drought-stressed landscape. Has a place you’ve visited ever changed the way you think about water?
Averi Burud: I went to university on Oahu, and the first time I went to the beach on the east side, I was kind of shocked. There was so much microplastic and commercial fishing debris accumulated there, and this wasn’t litter or trash left behind by beachgoers. Plastic travels thousands of miles to get there, carried by ocean currents from places you’d never think to connect to a beach in Hawaii. Once you see that in person, you can’t unsee it. It connects the dots in a way that reading about it never does, suddenly the distance between what we throw away and where it ends up doesn’t feel so far. After that, I couldn’t look at water in the same way. Water isn’t just where things end up; it’s what ties everything together.
Sarah Sarfaty Epstein: I have had some of my best experiences floating on rivers and have been fortunate to do so all over – from the Owyhee in Oregon to the Usumacinta in Mexico – but I always find it to be particularly moving to be at the mouth of a river when it meets the ocean. For me, some of those experiences have been closer to home, like on the Russian River in Jenner or the Klamath in Redwood National Park. That feels like it will always ground me in the power of these waterways.
2. What was the moment, or the issue, that made water feel personal to you, not just professional?
AB: Honestly, surfing. There’s something about being in the ocean that connects you to it in a way that’s hard to explain. You see so much out there, wildlife, marine life, beauty, and it brings this sense of calm and joy that I can’t really find anywhere else. It’s my happy place. But spending time in the water, you start to notice more things, like how many reefs are bleached or dying. Reefs are such a big part of the ocean ecosystem, and they’re also what helps create waves, so as a surfer, you feel that loss in a pretty tangible way. It made me realize how interconnected everything is: the health of the water, the reefs, the wildlife, all of it. I couldn’t really ignore it after that, and that’s what drew me toward working on water issues more broadly, whether that’s the ocean, coastal health, or how we manage and protect water at every level.
SSE: As a Californian, water was personal to me long before it was professional! I have memories of water quantity and quality issues showing up as early as elementary school – from drought announcements discouraging the watering of lawns to participating in the “adopt a storm drain” activity with Save the Bay. Most of my friends and family will naturally comment on a reservoir’s level as they drive by – in one way or another, water is something that connects us all.
3. You’ve both worked at the intersection of community and environment. What does good collaboration look like to you, and where have you seen it fall short?
AB: I think good collaboration starts with slowing down and listening, not just checking a box. The best partnerships I’ve been part of have happened when everyone in the room is treated as if they have something real to offer. That means the volunteers who show up every weekend, the surfers who’ve been reading a shoreline for years, the longtime locals who’ve watched a coastline change and know things no report can capture. It falls short when certain voices get prioritized over others, or when people come in with their minds already made up.
SSE: So much goes into meaningful collaboration, but one thing I think about a lot is checking your assumptions at the door. Coming into a collaborative effort with preconceived notions is so common, yet it can really hinder progress. When we show up in pursuit of durable solutions, we must be open to everyone’s point of view.
4. If you could fix one thing about how we collect, share, or use water data in California, what would it be?
AB: I’d want to improve how data gets communicated across sectors. There’s a lot of important work happening, agencies, water districts, nongovernmental organizations, Tribes, academia, but the findings often aren’t being shared in ways that different partners can understand and use. A lot of that value gets lost along the way. Everyone is working hard, but often in parallel rather than together, and that’s exactly why I’m excited to be a part of the Consortium and the work they’re doing.
SSE: The natural and human-made water systems in California are profoundly complex. It is no surprise that there are challenges associated with collecting, sharing, and using reliable data. If I could change one thing, I’d start by making sure everyone across the system had the tools and support they need to map out what they would like to know about their corner of the universe and, subsequently, what data they should collect to answer those questions. Data should always be in service of a goal rather than collected for data’s sake, but sometimes understanding what information is useful, when, and to whom, is a big challenge.
5. What drew you to the Consortium specifically, and what are you most hoping to contribute here?
AB: What stood out to me about the Consortium is that it sits in a space most organizations don’t, not an agency, not an advocacy group, but a neutral space where all those different sectors can collaborate. That kind of work doesn’t run on data alone. It runs on trust, relationships, and the coordination that holds everything together. My background has been rooted in community-facing nonprofit work, and I’ve learned that the communications and behind-the-scenes organizing work matter just as much as anything else. That’s what I’m hoping to bring here, and honestly, I’m excited to learn a lot too.
SSE: I am excited by the Consortium’s collaborative approach and impactful work! In my opinion, sustainably managing our state’s groundwater is an incredibly important component to a resilient and vibrant future for California, and data is inextricable to that goal. I am really looking forward to contributing to the amazing work happening across the state to improve groundwater management.
*These responses have been edited for clarity and conciseness.