San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority honors Sally Lieber

The Governing Board of the San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority this month honored outgoing Board Member Sally Lieber, who has been instrumental in the creation and ongoing success of the Restoration Authority. 

The Restoration Authority is staffed by the San Francisco Estuary Partnership, a program of the Association of Bay Area Governments, and the State Coastal Conservancy. ABAG also appoints its governing board. 

“Environmental restoration really is humanity’s to-do list," Lieber said at the March 3 meeting of the Governing Board, where a resolution was adopted in her honor. "We can never let up and there is enough work for everyone to do. Thank you to all my colleagues and especially our grantees who are out there in the communities giving youth an opportunity to participate in environmental programs and doing desperately needed remediation for the future. This is the most important thing that we could be doing.”

Lieber, who has stepped down from the Governing Board to take up elected office as a member of the California State Board of Equalization, authored AB 2954 in 2008, creating the San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority during her tenure in the State Assembly representing Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Cupertino, and San Jose.

She acted as an informal advisor to the Authority from 2009 to 2017 and after Measure AA was approved by Bay Area voters in 2016, Lieber served on the Authority’s Advisory Committee from 2017 to 2021 and represented the South Bay on the Authority’s Governing Board from 2021 to 2022.

Today, the Authority has allocated over $125 million in grants to shoreline restoration projects around the Bay and leveraged an additional $175 million. It will allocate another $375 million in Measure AA funding over the next 15 years. 

Throughout her work to envision, create, and champion the Restoration Authority, Lieber built a strong network of allies and supporters, bringing people together around a shared vision for a healthy, restored San Francisco Bay.  

“Creating the Authority was truly a huge and important accomplishment for the entire Bay Area, the state, and for the planet. It is a singular accomplishment," said Sophie Hahn, Governing Board member and Berkeley City Council Member.  "I think of us as standing on this great foundation that Sally laid so all of us can continue the work. Her dedication to serving is so strong and there is no limit to the good she does.”