Melissa M. Rohde | Groundwater Scientist | The Nature Conservancy of California

Melissa provides scientific leadership to The Nature Conservancy’s Groundwater Program using her expertise in biology, hydrology, and water policy to advance sustainable groundwater management. Her research focuses on understanding how Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems function and what conditions are necessary to maintain ecosystem health. Her research is being used to advise policy and management of Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems under California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014.

Prior to working at The Nature Conservancy, Melissa conducted research with the Water in the West program at Stanford University on the costs and benefits associated with groundwater recharge and storage projects in California. She has more than 10 years of international research experience ranging the fields of paleoclimatology, biogeochemistry, and hydrogeology. In addition to her research, Melissa is an avid educator, having led research expeditions in the Himalayas, Arctic and rural India. You can follow Melissa’s musings on water, climate change, and the environment on her blog: www.reflectionsonwater.org