Governing Board Member

Richard Roos-Collins has served as the Director of Legal Services at the Natural Heritage Institute in San Francisco since 1991. He represents both public and private clients in matters to improve the management of water, other natural resources and energy, and emphasizes settlements to restore environmental quality consistent with economic growth. Prior to his tenure with Natural Heritage Institute, he served as Deputy Attorney General in the Public Rights Division of the California Department of Justice and as Attorney-Adviser in the Office of General Counsel of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

In addition to Chairing the Governing Board of the Low Impact Hydropower Institute, Richard has served or continues to serve in a variety of directorships and other professional offices: Board Member and Vice President of the Pacific Forest and Watershed Lands Stewardship Council (Foster City), Founding Member of the Hydropower Reform Coalition (Washington, D.C.), Board Member for the Berkeley Downtown Association (Berkeley) and for the Tuolumne River Preservation Trust (San Francisco), Board Chairman for Friends of the River (Sacramento), and Co-Chairman for Agricultural Water Management Council (Sacramento). He has also served or continues to serve on a number of public advisory committees including the Federal Advisory Committee for Hydropower Regulation, Hydropower Policy National Review Group for the Electric Power Research Institute, Federal Water Rights Task Force and the Governor's Advisory Committee on Central Valley Project Transfer.

Mr. Roos-Collins has also authored numerous publications over the last few decades in the subject areas of water resources, energy, endangered species, land use, air quality and environmental justice. He received a B.A. in English with high honors from Princeton University in 1975 and a J.D. with honors from Harvard Law School in 1986.