Central Valley Flood Protection Board

The Central Valley Flood Protection Board (CVFPB – formerly known as the State Reclamation Board), has been in existence since 1911. CVFPB is the state’s regulatory agency charged with the mission of reducing the risk of catastrophic flooding to people and property within the California central valley – the most flood prone area of the state.

The seven voting members of the Board are Governor-appointed and Senate confirmed. Board members bring expertise in the areas of flood control, engineering, water law, hydrology, and environmental stewardship, providing a balanced review and discussion of flood management issues brought before them.

Board Members

Jane Dolan, Board President

Jane Dolan was appointed to the Central Valley Flood Protection Board on December 30, 2011 by Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr., and reappointed and confirmed in 2014 for a new term. In 2022, she was reappointed to the Board by Governor Newsom, as well as appointed as Board President.

Jane Dolan is a fourth generation native of Butte County. Ms. Dolan served on the Butte County Board of Supervisors from January 1979 to January 2011, serving eight terms representing the 2nd Supervisorial District, encompassing portions of the Chico urban area stretching to the Sacramento River. As County Supervisor, Ms. Dolan has been involved with Sacramento River issues for decades.

As a Supervisor, Ms. Dolan was known as one who worked diligently on constituent needs, neighborhood planning, land use matters, numerous areas of public policies and sound fiscal budgeting. She was instrumental in establishing protections for the prime agricultural lands of Butte County, known locally as the Greenline. Ms. Dolan has served on numerous local, regional and state Boards and Committees. Ms. Dolan led the effort to begin the Butte Regional Habitat Plan. In addition to service as County Supervisor, she has been an active member of organizations, including the Chico State Alumni Association, PTA, the Library Advisory Board and the Chico High School Sports Boosters.

Ms. Dolan has received numerous recognition and awards for her community service including Special Recognition from the Butte County Farm Bureau, Recognition Award from the Northern California Water Association, the Lifetime Achievement Award for Service to the Community from the Chico Chamber of Commerce, the Circle of Service Award from the County Supervisors Association of California, and has been inducted into the CSU, Chico University Leaders, the Chico Education Hall of Fame, the Distinguished Alumni of Pleasant Valley High School and Distinguished Alumni of Notre Dame School.

Ms. Dolan serves as the Executive Director of the Sacramento River Conservation Area Forum, an organization working to identify solutions to the diverse issues along the upper Sacramento River corridor and supporting local private property actions of habitat conservation, agricultural sustainability, protection of critical infrastructure, community safety and recreation opportunities.

Ms. Dolan and her husband, Bob Mulholland, live in Chico.
Mike Villines, Board Vice President

Mike Villines was first appointed to the Board in 2011 by Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. He was reappointed in 2014 and 2018 and 2022. He was elected to the California State Assembly in 2004 to represent the 29th Assembly District, which includes the counties of Fresno and Madera. Known as the heartland of California, this region is an agriculturally rich and ethnically diverse part of California. After serving six years in the California State Assembly, which is the maximum service allowed under California’s Constitution, Mike went back to his private sector roots and opened the Villines Group, a Corporate and Government Relations consulting firm with offices in Sacramento and Fresno California.

Mike served as one of the longest serving Minority Leaders in recent California history. As one of the “Big 5” (four Legislative Leaders and the Governor), Villines played many important roles, including negotiating 4 state budgets, a state water bond and a state “rainy day” fund.
His leadership skills set the tone for his many Bi-Partisan public policy advances, major high-tech tax code reform; major reform in California’s healthcare policy for those with pre-existing conditions; the formation of public/private partnerships to bring public works projects online faster; reform in categorical school funding; and balancing environmental protection with economic development by streamlining regulations that allowed growth in our economy, energy infrastructure and the protection of our natural resources simultaneously.

Mike has given Keynote speeches and lectured on leadership, budget/economics, government and accountability at some of our country’s greatest forums, including at the John F. Kennedy Library, “The Rotunda” at the University of Virginia, The Emerging Leaders Program for the State Legislative Leaders Foundation and throughout California at universities and business forums.

Mike, along with three of his Bi-Partisan colleagues, was the 2010 recipient of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award, the nation’s most prestigious honor for an elected public servant. He was also awarded the Legislator of the Year award from the American Legislative Exchange Council.
Villines currently serves as Vice President of Corporate and Government Affairs for the State Legislative Leaders Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, independent national organization committed to providing specialized educational and enrichment programs for the leaders of our state legislatures. In addition, Mike serves as a Gubernatorial Appointee on the California Central Valley Flood Protection Board, which deals with the state’s Levee management policies, and as an Ex Officio Member of the California Bay-Delta Conservancy.
Brian J. Johnson, Board Secretary

Governor Newsom appointed Brian J. Johnson to the Central Valley Flood Protection Board in January, 2020. Brian is the California Director at Trout Unlimited, the nation’s oldest and largest coldwater conservation organization. He was director of its California Water Program from 2005 to 2011, when he became state director. Brian oversees a team working to protect, reconnect, restore and sustain California’s trout and salmon streams in partnership with farmers, foresters, tribes, and other partners.

Brian worked five years as an attorney at the public interest law firm Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger. He represented local governments, tribes, and community groups to protect waterways, advising clients on natural resource and land use law, permitting and CEQA, complex negotiations, and intergovernmental law.

Before law school, Brian was the Communications Director at the White House Council on Environmental Quality from 1993-1997.

He was the co-founder and first project manager for EPA’s “Energy Star” program from 1991-1993.

Brian is a board member of the Klamath River Renewal Corporation created to remove four dams on the Klamath River.

He graduated from Duke University and Stanford Law School.
Betty Andrews, Board Member

Governor Newsom appointed Elizabeth (Betty) Andrews, of Santa Rosa, to the Central Valley Flood Protection Board in June 2024.

Betty has had more than thirty years’ experience in hydrology, hydraulics, flood management, floodplain and wetland restoration, and water resources management. She is a licensed engineer in the State of California and has operated a sole proprietorship since 2021. She held multiple roles at Environmental Science Associates (ESA) from 2010 to 2021, including Vice President/Principal Engineer and Project Director. Prior to ESA, Betty held multiple roles at Philip Williams and Associates, Ltd. from 1990 to 2010, including Principal, Project Manager, Staff Engineer and Chair of the Board of Directors. She was a Graduate Student Intern at the California Department of Water Resources from 1988 to 1989. Betty was Conservation Director of Friends of the River from 1981 to 1987. She is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Salmonid Restoration Federation and the Floodplain Management Association.

Betty earned a Master of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of California, Davis and a Bachelor of Science degree in Technology and Human Affairs from Washington University in St. Louis.
Joseph Countryman, Board Member

Joe Countryman was appointed to the Central Valley Flood Protection Board by Governor Brown on April 2, 2012. He was reappointed in 2020.

He is a Registered Civil Engineer in California and Nevada, a Diplomate with the American Academy of Water Resource Engineers, and received the Award of Distinction from San Jose State University, as well as a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Joe comes to the Board after a noteworthy career with the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, MBK Engineers, and sole proprietorship in Civil Engineering consulting,
with many years of experience in the fields of hydrology, hydraulics, flood control, flood operations and floodfight management, water supply, water resources development, engineering analysis, and design of flood control and multiple purpose projects.

Mr. Countryman’s work and expertise on water projects and studies, as well as his keen analyses and decision-making during critical times of flood management have been invaluable in furthering water management in California, and protecting the public and its property from devastating flooding.
Mary Jane Griego, Board Member

Governor Newsom appointed Mary Jane Griego to the Central Valley Flood Protection Board on July 7, 2020. She has been a resident of Yuba County since the early 1960’s when her parents moved from Sacramento to Olivehurst to run their own restaurant, Duke’s Diner. She attended local grade schools, graduated from Marysville High School in 1975 and attended Yuba College. Mary Jane has always been involved in her community, raising money or awareness for worthy causes for children, seniors and veterans. Mary Jane continues these efforts through the Duke’s Memorial Golf Tournament which funds thousands of dollars for such causes.

Mary Jane is married to Jeff Schneider who is a retired veteran of the United States Air Force. Between them they brought three children into the marriage and are now the proud grandparents of three beautiful granddaughters, Moira, Olivia and Adeline.

Mary Jane ran for the position of Yuba County Supervisor 3rd district as a direct result of the 1997 flood. Her campaign had one simple message: flood control. Mary Jane won her election in 2000, 2004, 2008, and 2012. During her four terms in office she founded the River Levee Improvement Authority and served as Chair until Jan 2017. The South Yuba County in the RD 784 area now has the best levee system in the state. Mary Jane has also served on many commissions over her 16 years in office. Some of the more noteworthy commissions include the Yuba County Water Agency, CALAFCO Executive Board, Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG), California Council of Governments, Feather River Air Quality, Yuba LAFCO, First 5 Yuba Commission, Honorary Vice Chair of the Metro Chamber Capitol to Capitol (2016). Most recently she was appointed to the Board of Directors for Olivehurst Public Utility District (OPUD) serving on the Water/Waste Water Committee. Mary Jane also serves on the executive Board for Ampla Health. She accomplished all this while running the family business, Duke’s Diner, of which she is now the proud owner.
Keely Bosler, Board Member

On August 17, 2022 Governor Newsom appointed Keely Bosler, of Sacramento, to the Central Valley Flood Protection Board. Bosler was Director of the California Department of Finance from 2018 to 2022. She was Cabinet Secretary in the Office of the Governor from 2016 to 2018, Chief Deputy Director for Budget at the California Department of Finance from 2013 to 2016 and Staff Director for the California State Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee from 2010 to 2013. She was Associate Director, Fiscal Services at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Budget Management Branch from 2009 to 2010 and a Consultant for the California State Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee from 2004 to 2009. Bosler served as a Fiscal and Policy Analyst at the California Legislative Analyst’s Office from 2000 to 2004. She earned a Master of Science degree in Applied Economics from Cornell University.

Ex-Officio Board Members

The Board also consists of two legislative, ex-officio, non-voting members representing the Chairs of the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Waters and the Assembly Committee on Water, Parks, and Wildlife.

Senator Monique Limón, Board Member

Senator Monique Limón was elected to the Senate in November 2020 and represents the 21st Senate district that includes all of Santa Barbara County and over 60% of Ventura County.

Born and raised in the 21st district, Monique has worked continuously to serve her community as an educator, leader, and an advocate for causes advancing the quality of life in her community. Before the State Senate, Monique served as the Assemblymember for the region. Serving four years in the State Assembly, Monique Chaired the Banking and Finance Committee and was the Vice-Chair of the Legislative Women’s Caucus.

For Monique, education has always been a priority. A UC Berkeley graduate with a Masters degree from Columbia University, Monique served six years on the Santa Barbara Unified School Board and as Assistant Director for the McNair Scholars Program at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) prior to serving in the California State Legislature. Monique worked with countless local students at Santa Barbara City College and UCSB as an advisor and mentor to help them achieve their professional and academic goals through higher education.

Women’s issues are also a priority for Monique. As former Commissioner on the Santa Barbara County Commission for Women she helped connect private and public resources with women in the community. Monique has a passion for bringing community groups together and building strong coalitions among local nonprofit organizations and civic groups.

Monique’s roots go deep in the 21st district. Her extended network of family and friends include a range of small business owners and important leaders in the community. Monique, her husband, and their child live in unincorporated Santa Barbara.
Assemblymember Diane Papan, Board Member

Diane Papan was first elected to the California State Assembly in November 2022. She represents the 21st Assembly District, which includes the entire Bayside of San Mateo County from Brisbane to East Palo Alto.

In the Assembly, Papan serves as Chair of the Assembly Committee on Water, Parks & Wildlife and serves on the Committees on Transportation and Governmental Organization & Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials.

Prior to her election to the State Assembly, Papan served as mayor and city councilmember for the City of San Mateo where she was a recognized regional leader championing investment in infrastructure, transit and climate adaptation among many policy pursuits.

As a member of the State Assembly, Diane is focused on investing in strategies to address climate change and the related challenges of flooding, drought, and wildfires, as well as water quality, women’s health, accessible and quality healthcare services, gun safety, affordable housing, and access to quality public schools.

Papan is a native of San Mateo County, raised in both Daly City and Millbrae, California. She earned a B.A. in political science from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1985 and a J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of Law in 1988. Her career experience includes working as an attorney in several different firms, including her own private practice representing small businesses. She also works as an executive director of the nonprofit John’s Closet in Daly City, providing new clothing to children in need.

Papan and her husband Dan are proud parents of a teenage daughter.

Board Member Committees

Coordinating Committee: the Coordinating Committee provides an open forum to promote the integration of system-wide and regional flood planning throughout the six Regional Flood Management Planning areas. The Board Staff contact for the committee is Deputy Executive Officer Andrea Buckley and can be reached at (916) 820-7562.

Advisory Committee: the Advisory Committee provides guidance to the Board regarding implementation of habitat-related issues articulated in the adopted 2017 Update of the Central Valley Flood Protection Plan (the Plan). The Board Staff contact for the committee is Deputy Executive Officer Andrea Buckley and can be reached at (916) 820-7562.

Board Member Participation on Committees and Liaison Assignments

Click HERE for the policy regarding Board member participation on Committees and Liaison Assignments.

Click HERE for the Central Valley Flood Protection Board Governance Principles.

Click HERE for a chronological history of Reclamation Board/Central Valley Flood Protection Board members.