Annual Business Meeting 2024
2:30pm - Check-In / Registration
3:00pm - Welcome - The Honorable Mike Pineda, Vice Mayor, City of Avondale
3:05pm - Slate Presentation - Jon Howard, Board of Director's Chair
3:10pm - Opening Remarks - Sintra Hoffman, President & CEO, WESTMARC
3:15pm - Keynote Speaker - Sarah Porter, Director of the Kyl Center for Water Policy, Arizona State University
3:45pm - Keynote Speaker - Vineetha Kartha, Colorado River Programs Manager, Central Arizona Project
4:00pm - Wrap Up - Sintra Hoffman, President & CEO, WESTMARC
Sarah Porter is the inaugural director of the Kyl Center for Water Policy. She is also an attorney, having graduated from Harvard University with a bachelor’s degree and obtaining her juris doctor from Arizona State University (ranking third in her class). She clerked for federal appellate Judge William Canby and was a litigator for Brown & Bain; Coppersmith Gordon Schermer Owens & Nelson, PLC; and Osborn Maledon PA. She left her law career in 2006 for Audubon because she wanted to contribute to a collaborative effort to address Arizona’s natural resource challenges. She now dedicates that focus to the Kyl Center.
Porter has a broad understanding of both Arizona and regional water issues, having directed Audubon’s Western Rivers project, a multi-state initiative to raise awareness of the challenges to Colorado River sustainability, as well as protecting and restoring flows for critical habitats and communities.
The Kyl Center, named after retired U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl in recognition of his statesmanship and continued leadership on water issues, was officially launched in November after a $1 million gift from the Morrison family. The Kyl Center is housed at Morrison Institute, which is part of the ASU College of Public Service and Community Solutions.
Vineetha Kartha is currently employed as the Colorado River Programs Manager with the Central Arizona Project. In her capacity with CAP, Vineetha and her team provide technical and policy support to management and the CAWCD Board of Directors on Colorado River issues including developing and implementing strategic planning efforts and projects protecting and enhancing CAP’s interest in the Colorado River water supplies. Prior to that she worked with Freeport-McMoRan as their water resources manager working on water rights management issues across Freeport mines in Arizona. She has previously served as the Manager for the Colorado River Management Section at the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR). Vineetha has also worked in the capacity of environmental planner for a private engineering firm and acted as the principal long range planner for the City of Surprise. Vineetha Kartha has almost two decades of experience working on water management and natural resource issues.
She holds a Master of Urban and Environmental Planning degree from the Arizona State University and a Master of Geology degree from the University of Bombay and a post graduate Diploma in "International Negotiations and Capacity Skills" from the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna.
