Mariana Rivera-Torres

Manager, Climate Resilient Water Systems

Mariana Rivera-Torres is a Manager in the Climate Resilient Water Systems at Environmental Defense Fund. She works to support groundwater sustainability policies and practices in California, the Western U.S., and beyond. Mariana helps coordinate efforts to strengthen collaboration with other NGOs, community-based organizations, water agencies, and other partners representing diverse interests. Prior to joining EDF, Mariana worked as a water and natural resources facilitator and is a believer in the power of collaboration to solve complex social and environmental challenges.

Mariana has a master’s degree in water, society and policy from the University of Arizona’s School of Natural Resources and the Environment. Her research focused on transboundary water governance in the Colorado River Basin. She served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala from 2015 to 2017 and completed her bachelor’s degree at Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. Mariana was raised in Mexico and has had the opportunity to live and work with communities in the United States, Guatemala, India, South Africa, Rwanda, and the Ivory Coast.

Mariana’s Work