Kris Tjernell, Founder and Principal

Kris began his career in natural resources management policy as a political consultant representing land conservation non-profits and public water agencies in front of the California State Legislature. His focus in this position was public finance, ESA and CESA issues, and Sacramento - San Joaquin Delta land use, species conservation, and flood management policy. Kris was later appointed by Governor Jerry Brown as the Special Assistant for Water Policy at the California Natural Resources Agency where he supported then-Secretary John Laird by forming local, state, and federal government partnerships in service of complex landscape level restoration and water management projects. 

During the Newsom Administration, Kris served as the Deputy Director for Integrated Watershed Management at the California Department of Water Resources, a program he helped establish with a mission to advance large-scale ecosystem, flood management, and public access multi-benefit projects.