Hannah Safford

Hannah is a Ph.D. candidate in environmental engineering at UC Davis, an affiliate researcher with the UC Davis Policy Institute for Energy, Environment, and the Economy, and Chair of the City of Davis Natural Resources Commission (NRC). In each of these roles, she works at the science-policy nexus to address pressing environmental issues such as water security, air quality, ecosystem health, clean energy, and climate change.

As Chair of the NRC, Hannah collaborates closely with City Council, City staff, and other City advisory bodies on the preservation, management, and enhancement of the City’s natural resources. She brings to this role experience from service in multiple institutions focused on science and science policy, including the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Federation of American Scientists, the U.S. Forest Service, the San Francisco Department of the Environment, and the San Francisco Airport. Hannah holds a B.S.E., M.Eng., and M.P.A. from Princeton University.

Ben Christopher

Ben covers California politics and elections. Prior to that, he was a contributing writer for CalMatters reporting on the state’s economy and budget. Based out of the San Francisco Bay Area, he has written for San Francisco magazine, California magazine, the San Francisco Chronicle, and Priceonomics. Ben also has a past life as an aspiring beancounter: He has worked as a summer associate at the Congressional Budget Office and has a Master’s in Public Policy from the University of California, Berkeley.