Katherine Baer
Senior Director, Clean Water and Water Supply Programs
Department: Conservation
Area of Focus: Katherine leads federal clean water policy work to reduce sewage spills and polluted stormwater runoff and to increase green infrastructure.
Background: Katherine joined American Rivers in 2005. Prior to that she worked as a policy analyst for the legal think tank the Center for Progressive Reform, and as Director of Headwaters Conservation for the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper in Georgia.
Education: B.A. in Environmental Studies from Stanford University, M.S. in Conservation Ecology from the University of Georgia, and J.D. from the University of Maryland
Favorite River: Chattahoochee River
Blog Posts By This Author
High Demand for Innovative Water Infrastructure Investment: New Report Details Investment in Green Infrastructure and Water Efficiency
September 28, 2010 | Water Pollution, Climate Change
Since the stimulus bill passed almost two years ago, we’ve been closely watching spending of water infrastructure money, specifically the dedicated funding for green infrastructure, water and energy efficiency, and environmental innovation. Leading up to passage of the stimulus, American Rivers and our partners put together a national ready-to-go list of smart, green infrastructure projects that totaled over $2 billion...
Read more »Water Infrastructure Redefined
August 3, 2009 | Water Pollution
Over the course of the last year I had the opportunity to participate in the Aspen Institute’s Dialogue on Sustainable Water Infrastructure. Participants included representatives from public and private utilities, consulting firms, academia, government and the nonprofit sector. The final report “Sustainable Water Systems: Step One – Redefining the Nation’s Infrastructure Challenge” includes a number of strong recommendations including:
Read more »Green Roofs - My Ah-Ha Moment
May 9, 2008 | Stormwater & Sewage, Water Pollution
Standing with Barbara Deutsch on the green roof at Casey Trees here in Washington, DC, I had my ah-ha moment. Now, Gary has done a great job of explaining what a green roof is and how it works, but I needed to experience one for myself. So we went on a green roof mini-tour visiting Casey Trees as well as the green roof at the American Society for Landscape Architects (ASLA). At Casey Trees, the roof was green, or at least brown-green, covered with sedum plants that cool the building, extend the life of the roof and reduce polluted stormwater runoff.
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