Kathleen Ferris

Kathleen Ferris has been involved in Arizona water issues for nearly 40 years. In 1977, she was appointed executive director of the Arizona Groundwater Management Study Commission, leading to the passage of the 1980 Arizona Groundwater Management Act, one of the nation’s most visionary groundwater laws. She served for five years as chief counsel of the newly formed Arizona Department of Water Resources before being appointed director by Governor Bruce Babbitt in 1985. Formerly executive director of the Arizona Municipal Water Users Association, she continues to serve as the Association's legal counsel. She earned her juris doctor from the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah.