Join us for a Path to Power discussion with three leaders who are forging a path for women working in water management in three Northern California water districts.
We’ll hear from Anjanette Shadley, Assistant General Manager at Western Canal Water District, Kristen Sicke, General Manager at Yolo County Flood Control and Water Conservation District, and Jessica Self, General Manager at Union Public Utility District.
Western Canal Water District encompasses a land area of approximately 59,000 irrigable acres in both Butte and Glenn Counties, with approximately 30,700 acres in the East Butte subbasin and 14,000 in the West Butte subbasin.
Yolo County Flood Control and Water Conservation District manages a small hydroelectric plant, two reservoirs, more than a 150 miles of canals and laterals, and three dams including the world's longest inflatable rubber dam. The District's boundaries cover 195,000 acres of Yolo County, including the cities of Woodland, Davis and Winters, and the towns of Capay, Esparto, Madison and other small communities within the Capay Valley.
Union Public Utility District has a boundary area of approximately 19.1 square miles. The District relies directly on Utica Water & Power Authority (UWPA) for delivery of surface water from the North Fork Stanislaus River to UPUD facilities. The UPUD water treatment plant has a capacity of 2 million gallons per day, and the UPUD residential demand in 2010 was 1,034 acre feet. As of 2011, the District has 1,604 connections, which include 1,382 single and multi-family connections, 123 commercial and 99 irrigation meter connections. Average daily flow treated at the facility is 850,000 gallons.
PATH TO POWER
Path to Power is a popular event series hosted by AWWEE for many years to showcase the experiences of women who have achieved professional success in our fields. These events provide a unique opportunity to hear directly from women we admire about their professional journeys.
Join us for this special candid conversation and you will understand why Path to Power events are among our most requested!
Our Special Guests:
Anjanette Shadley, Assistant General Manager at Western Canal Water District (WCWD). She has had a 20+ year career in Sacramento Valley water issues, including regulatory, communications, administration, and as an agricultural AGvocate. As a retired dairy farmer, Shadley began her love of agricultural advocacy and conservation on the Glenn County Resource Conservation District Board of Directors, where she served as secretary and vice president; in 2002, she received the Distinguished Service Award. Before joining Western Canal Water District, Shadley formerly worked as Regulatory Affairs Director and Communications Manager at Northern California Water Association (NCWA) and Colusa Basin Drainage District General Manager before joining WCWD. Shadley has served as co-chair of the NCWA Communications Committee, Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) Communications Committee Vice Chair, and Agricultural Communications sub-committee chair and currently serves as Agricultural Committee Chair and on the ACWA Board of Directors. In 2022, Anjanette received the ACWA Emissary Award.
She graduated from the Water Education Foundation's Water Leaders Class III (1999) and ACWA JPIA Leadership Class (2016), AGChat Foundation speaker and conference committee member. Shadley holds a Bachelor of Arts in Agricultural Politics from California State University, Chico, an Associate of Arts in Social and Behavioral Science from Butte College, and is currently pursuing her Master of Water and Environmental Law at McGeorge Law School. She is a proud mother of three young men and a new grandmother who lives in Chico, CA.
Kristen Sicke is General Manager for Yolo County Flood Control & Water Conservation District, a role she began in 2021. The District’s primary mission is to provide surface water for agricultural purposes in western Yolo County and is integral to monitoring and maintaining sustainable groundwater supplies within the county.
As General Manager, Kristin is responsible for the full management of all operational and maintenance activities of the District, along with all administrative and regulatory compliance functions.
Before her promotion to General Manager, Kristin served as assistant general manager for the District for six years. Kristin also worked at the California Department of Water Resources as a Water Resources Engineer focused on projects related to operations for water supply and flood management. She has experience in project and contract management, served as a regional Department representative to water agencies throughout northern California and was responsible for evaluating grant applications for stormwater flood management and water-energy projects.
She is a credentialed Professional Engineer in the State of California and possesses a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and a Master of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering, both from the University of California, Davis.
Jessica Self is the General Manager of Union Public Utility District in Murphys, nestled in the Sierra Nevada. A native of the area, she earned her bachelor's degree in biology and chemistry from Western Washington University and a master's in biology from Georgia Southern University.
Her career journey includes rescuing sea turtles at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, and positions as a biologist with the US Forest Service, private sector research, and environmental consulting. Jessica served as Grants and Development Manager at the Palouse Conservation District in Pullman, Washington before returning home to Calaveras County in 2020.
She joined the Calaveras County Water District as External Affairs Manager, progressing to her current role as General Manager of Union Public Utilites District in 2023. Her focus is on community service, watershed health and ensuring safe, reliable water for future generations.
Registration
Registration is free for AWWEE members. Members may add up to 2 guests for no charge at the time of registration (individuals new to AWWEE, please).
Non-member registration fee is $20.