As the Board of Directors begins the search for a permanent Executive Director, they have turned to a familiar and trusted leader to guide the helm: Emily Corwin.

Previously serving as SFEI’s Director of Strategic Initiatives, Emily steps into the role of Interim Executive Director with a deep understanding of the organization’s mission and a clear vision for its immediate future.

Emily is no stranger to the complex water challenges facing the region. With nearly 25 years of experience as a water resources engineer, Emily has worked with multidisciplinary teams to secure funding, plan, design, build, and maintain a variety of projects. Her work ranges from creating green stormwater infrastructure that cleans water entering the Bay, to developing living shorelines that protect communities from sea level rise in the Philippines and Guyana.

Emily has extensive, first-hand experience in the Bay Area's water, wastewater, and stormwater sectors, having worked with the Contra Costa Water District, the Fairfield-Suisun Sewer District, and the Solano Stormwater Alliance. She also founded the Global Green-Gray Community of Practice at Conservation International and currently leads the Nature-based Solutions Task Force at the American Society of Civil Engineers, which is working to produce guidance for engineers to design and build with nature.

This technical background informs her appreciation for SFEI’s role in the ecosystem. "SFEI is as unique as the Bay Area itself—a group of brilliant individuals united by a common mission," Emily says. "I particularly enjoy sharing our science in a way that people see the connections to their everyday lives—from the tires on our cars to the shorebirds we see along the Bay Trail.”

As an SFEI insider with a wealth of institutional knowledge, Emily’s primary goal as interim Executive Director is stability. "Success in this role is defined as handing off a stable, functional, and trusted organization to the next permanent Executive Director—so keeping the ship steady," she says.

An avid open water swimmer who spends winter weekends on her paddleboard removing discarded shopping carts out of mudflats, Emily’s dedication isn’t just professional; it’s personal. An El Cerrito resident of nearly 20 years, she fondly recalls a pre-dawn paddleboard trip near Brooks Island, watching the sunrise and the birds wake up, a moment that solidified her "grounding sense of place" amongst it all.

"The Bay is my home—the people, animals, plants, and water," she says. "I feel fortunate that every day my work helps to protect this magnificent place for generations to come. Our work is truly for the Bay and beyond."