Kristan Culbert
Kristan joined the California program’s Central Valley team in 2021. Before joining American Rivers, Kristan led environmental education programs and managed habitat restoration projects as a biologist at Rivers & Lands Conservancy, and worked on improving public access for Santa Ana River Watershed communities as a project manager with Inland Empire Waterkeeper. She has also worked as a seasonal scientist and GIS technician with the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management. She is excited to work at the nexus of environmental justice and science-based watershed management.
In her free time, Kristan enjoys rock climbing, hiking, traveling, and experimenting in the kitchen.
Education:
Kristan has an MS in Environmental Management with specializations in Water Resources Management and Pollution Prevention and Remediation from the Bren School at UC Santa Barbara, and a BA in Earth Sciences from the University of Southern California.
Favorite River:
The Santa Ana River, for which my hometown (Riverside, California) is named.
Favorite river story:
I have fond memories of riding my bike on the Santa Ana River Trail, a bike trail that spans from the San Bernardino Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, with my family as a child. As an adult, I have had the opportunity to visit rivers around the world: one of the most spectacular moments that I have ever experienced was watching the sun rise above the banks of the Yamuna River and over the Taj Mahal.