Ronnie Cohen

Executive Director

Ronnie has been with Activate America (formerly Flip the West) since early 2017. She believes it is the most important work of her lifetime. Prior to Activate America, Ronnie worked on California environmental policy for over 20 years. From 1996 to 2009 she was a Senior Policy Analyst and then Director of Water Efficiency with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). At NRDC Ronnie advocated for reform of U.S. western water policies, with a focus on promoting water use efficiency and ecosystem restoration. Ronnie was the environmental community's lead on numerous water policy bills in the California legislature, including landmark legislation to reduce California urban water use 20 percent by 2020. She authored a number of reports for NRDC, including a ground-breaking report linking water and energy use.

From 2012 to 2017 Ronnie worked as an independent consultant providing strategic advice, research, and support to a variety of public and private sector clients, including the Water Foundation, WaterSmart Software, and the Sacramento Water Forum.

Ronnie holds a BA in Environmental Studies from Brown University and received her Master's degree in Public Policy from the University of California at Berkeley.