Understanding the Implications for New CEQA Reform Proposals

Keith Berthgold

Keith Bergthold is the founder and CEO of Regenerate California Innovation (RCI). Keith has 49 years of experience in urban and regional planning and land development in California and New Mexico, and more than 28 years as a community organizer/community developer in Fresno and the San Joaquin Valley. Keith was the Executive Director of Fresno Metro Ministry from 2014 through 2022, where he launched and grew the Better Blackstone and Food to Share initiatives. He was also the City of Fresno Assistant Director of Planning from 2006 through 2013, leading the team developing the city’s revitalization oriented 2035 General Plan update, adopted in 2014, and the related new Development Code, adopted in 2015. Concurrent with his City and Fresno Metro Ministry employment, Keith served as the volunteer part-time CEO of RCI, which he returned to as full-time paid staff in January 2023. RCI is a San Joaquin Valley focused 501c3 nonprofit organization founded in 1993 that is now in its 23rd year of a workforce development and employment readiness partnership with the Fresno, Madera, Tulare, and Kings Counties Central Labor Council. RCI is also involved in a number of local-regional community economic development and clean energy deployment initiatives aimed at creating inclusive health, environmental quality, economic opportunity with permanent high road jobs, and community benefits framed by the Social Determinants of Health for under resourced rural and urban communities. RCI serves as the fiscal agent for the Better Blackstone CDC and the Greenfield Coalition, facilitates the Fresno Region Taskforce for Affordable Housing, and is a champion for implementation of the DRIVE Fresno Opportunity Corridor initiative. Keith holds a Master’s Degree in Organizational Behavior from the California School of Professional Psychology and a BA Degree in Sociology from California State University, Fresno. Keith was born in Fresno and raised his two grown sons here with his wife, Debbie.

Greta Brownlow

Greta Brownlow has mostly been a CEQA practitioner—working on projects large and small, from high-speed rail to adding portables to an elementary school campus. She has also always been a teacher: an assistant teacher at a preschool, a summer camp counselor/youth mentor, a substitute teacher, a graduate school instructor, an adjunct professor, and an instructor of continuing and professional education courses. Because of this experience and her passion for making communities better places for people to live and work, she views planning as an exercise in educating project stakeholders about how places are shaped and changed.

She travels as much as possible and loves a vibrant, bustling city. But she also loves to get out in nature. She has hiked a lot of trails, been certified to scuba dive, tried her hand(s) at rock climbing, cross-country skied, she has ocean kayaked, and has ventured into the wilderness with a backpack. She also loves live music, cooking (and eating!), hanging with her husband and cat, and sitting around with friends enjoying a nice glass of wine.

Catherine Engberg

Catherine Engberg is the managing partner of Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger LLP and serves as town attorney for Portola Valley. A graduate of Stanford University with degrees in law and civil engineering, she also teaches land use law at both Stanford Law School and Berkeley Law. Her career has focused on land use, environmental law, and local government issues, earning recognition as a Northern California Super Lawyer in land use and zoning since 2019.

In addition to legal work, she has contributed through public speaking, writing, and community service, including presentations on CEQA, housing policy, and local government challenges. She serves on the board of the Bay Nature Institute and previously served on the Kensington Municipal Advisory Council. Outside of work, she enjoys baseball, public transit exploration, dance, and tennis.

Rabeya Sen

Based in Los Angeles, Rabeya Sen is the Equitable Land Use Director at the California Environmental Justice Alliance, highlighting the intersection between public health, environmental justice, and land use planning and zoning practices. Prior to joining CEJA, she was the founding Director of Policy at Esperanza Community Housing Corporation, where she focused on issues related to affordable housing, equitable development and anti-displacement strategies, environmental justice, housing justice, racial justice, immigrant rights. She has worked in the social justice movement for over 20 years, addressing the complexity of experiences that shape the lives of individuals, families, and communities. Prior to delving into the movement for environmental justice and housing justice, Rabeya worked in related fields, addressing the confluence of structural violence and social justice issues, especially their impact on domestic violence and gender-based violence. She is also an avid singer, and is keenly interested in exploring ways in which to incorporate art and music into our work for collective liberation. She also served on the Board of the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence from 2014-2020, including as Board President from 2018-2020.