Brenda Burman has more than 25 years of experience working on Western water and natural resource issues, where she has been committed to finding collaborative solutions to secure reliable water supplies for communities, farms, Tribes, and the environment as they face drought, climate change, and infrastructure issues.
Burman joined CAP in 2021 as the new Executive Strategy Advisor. She is responsible for providing advice and leadership across multiple functional areas to recommend, develop and implement strategic and tactical plans and related policy to ensure that the CAP mission is accomplished.
Before joining CAP, Burman was the Commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the first woman to hold that position. USBR is the largest provider of water and the second largest provider of hydropower in the United States.
Burman has served in many other areas of the water community: in private legal practice; as the water and energy counsel for a U.S. Senator; as senior water advisor to an environmental organization; and in senior positions for water districts.
Burman earned her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Arizona College of Law and is licensed to practice law in Arizona, Wyoming, and Colorado.
Central Arizona Project is a 336-mile system that brings Colorado River water to central and southern Arizona, is the state’s single largest renewable water supply and serves 80% of the state’s population