Director of Public Utilities 

Salt Lake City Corporation

Bio:

Laura Briefer is the Director of Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities (SLCDPU). She has served as Director of SLCDPU for the last five years. Laura has worked at SLCDPU for 13 years in various areas of the organization and has devoted a 27 year career in natural resource, environmental, and public policy professions in the public, private, and non-profit sectors. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies from the University of California at Santa Barbara, and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Utah.

Laura is a co-author of several peer-reviewed published papers alongside Utah’s academic institutions, focused on water resources, climate change, and watershed management. She serves on local and national boards, including the Provo River Water Users Association, Utah Lake Water Users Association, National Association of Clean Water Agencies (https://www.nacwa.org/), and the national Water Research Foundation (https://www.waterrf.org/). She is also active in the Utah Water Task Force and the Central Wasatch Commission.   

Title: Watershed Stewardship – Our Communities’ Opportunity to Protect Great Salt Lake

Abstract: Laura Briefer, Director of Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities, will share Salt Lake City’s actions, strategies, and vision to help institutionalize the protection of Great Salt Lake. This builds upon a heightened public awareness and ethic associated with the profound connection communities have with Great Salt Lake, water, and the environment. This can be informed by Salt Lake City’s experience in institutionalizing the protection of the Wasatch Mountain watersheds over the last century. In the midst of a record-setting drought, we have a momentous opportunity to protect Great Salt Lake and its essential environment.