GENERAL SESSION SPEAKERS


KEYNOTE SPEAKER Thursday, October 29 | 8:30 am | Ballrooms D & E


Bill Patzert Oceanographer, Jet Propulsion


Laboratory


Often called the “Prophet of California climate,” Bill Patzert is a scientist at the California Institute of Technology’s NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif. His research is focused on the application of NASA satellite data to improving our understanding of our planet’s climate and important environmental problems ranging from developing El Niño, La Niña and longer-term climate forecasts to monitoring the health of coral reefs. The author of many scientific and popular articles, Bill works with undergraduate and graduate students from all over the world, and lectures at many local universities. A media favorite, he is often sought out by reporters and is regularly seen on local and national television representing NASA and JPL. In a recent article, he was named as one of the West’s most influential individuals in dealing with water issues. He is a graduate of Purdue University and went on to earn a PhD in oceanography at the University of Hawaii. Bill began his career on the research faculty of the University of California’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, Calif., and then moved to JPL, where he has been employed since 1983. During his career, he has served as a consultant to many respected organizations including NASA, the U.S. Department of Commerce, United Nations and many scientific and environmental groups. His awards for scientific accomplishments and communicating science to the public include 4 NASA Exceptional Service Medals and the Medal of the Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (highest award of the French Space Agency).


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Keynote Breakfast Speakers Friday, October 30 8:30 am | Ballroom D


Tom Torlakson,


State Superintendent of Public Instruction As elected chief of schools for all of California, Tom Torlakson oversees the education of 6.3 million children attending over 10,000 schools in 1,100 districts across the state. Every day, he applies his experiences as a science teacher, high school coach, and state lawmaker to fighting for our students and improving our state’s public education system. Nearly 40 years ago, he began his career as a classroom teacher, choosing to teach in Title I-eligible schools. He also went on to add track and field coaching to his work with young people, winning a dozen championships through the years. Spurred by a desire to increase the opportunities these kids had to learn and thrive, he went into politics, rising from the Antioch City Council to the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors to the Cali- fornia Legislature and now to statewide office.During his time in the Legislature, Tom worked to protect and increase education funding, improve student health, ensure school safety, cut the dropout rate and develop the largest system of afterschool programs in the nation. He authored the Quality Education Improvement Act, or QEIA, which dedicates billions of dollars to our lowest-performing schools, and played a key role in 1998’s Proposition 1A, a major source of funding for building and improving schools.


Chester A. “Chet” Widom California State Architect


Chester A. Widom FAIA was the founding partner of WWCOT, a 185 person (at the time of his retirement from the firm) architectural, interior design, planning and forensics firm with four offices in California and an office in Shanghai, China. After leaving WWCOT, he served as the Senior Architectural Advisor for the Los Angeles Community College District’s $6.1 Billion construc- tion program. In December of 2011, Governor Brown appointed him California State Architect. As a former President of both the National American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the California Council AIA, Chet is recognized as an international leader in the profession. He has been awarded Honorary Fellowship by the Japan Institute of Architects, The Federacion Colegios de Arquitectos de la Republica de Mexicana and by the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada and, served as the 2011 Chancellor of the College of Fellows for the American Institute of Architects. He is the 2011 recipient of the AIA’s Edward C. Kemper Award for service to the profession.


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