AW's April Volunteer of the Month–Presented by Kokatat!
Posted: 04/01/2015
By: Megan Hooker
American Whitewater recognizes John Simpkin as our April 2015 Volunteer of the Month!
John became a California Regional Coordinator for American Whitewater in 2013, and is a steady
and familiar face with many American Whitewater Affiliate Clubs like the Loma Prieta Paddlers and
Gold Country Paddlers.
John helps represent American Whitewater at PG&E's Mokelumne Hydroelectric Project by
attending monthly Ecological Resource Committee meetings and advocating for our mission. John has
a degree from U.C. Davis in zoology and botany, with a minor in chemistry. He has also taught
high school chemistry in Placerville for many years. His experiences bring the right combination
of expertise and people skills needed to navigate through the myriad of issues that come up at
the FERC meetings. For the last two years, this has included finding ways to maintain the
recreational flows required by the FERC license during the ongoing drought.
John’s most recent and unwavering advocacy has been for removing illegal fences blocking
access to the Cosumnes River at Latrobe Road Bridge. Patiently navigating through bureaucracy, he
has gathered the facts and information needed to make a case for El Dorado County to remove these
fences. As American Whitewater continues to pursue this access issue, we can count on
John’s help.
In recognition of all John does for American Whitewater in California, he will receive a custom
Kokatat X-Jacket.
Thanks John for all you do!