MEET THE CFM - MADELINE BAKER Interviewed and Written by Kayla Kelly-Slatten, JD, CFM* Fresh, spunky, kind, and approachable. Meet Madeline Baker, a civil engineer with a background in ecology and evolutionary biology helping to shape the future of floodplain management. From the Central Valley to Northern California, Ms. Baker has worked on a variety of flood projects, including those with habitat restorative benefits and valuable agricultural impacts. While she began her floodplain journey prior to obtaining her CFM, today Ms. Baker highlights the CFM as a conduit of compassion, using the accreditation to advise small-budget organizations and to advocate for diversity in the floodplain community. After graduating from UC Merced in 2010, Ms. Baker worked for the Natural Resources Conservation Service before spending some time in the biotech industry, neither of which felt like the right career path. Determined to find something meaningful and interesting, Ms. Baker began reading job descriptions and realized those that caught her eye required a civil engineering degree. So, naturally, Ms. Baker became a civil engineer. Although she had to make-up nine undergraduate courses and pass an additional ten graduate classes, Ms. Baker’s determination pushed her to complete her civil engineering degree from San Jose State in just two and a half years. This determination has carried over into her career as she began working within the floodplain community.
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Although empowered by her civil engineering degree and open to ideas and opportunities, not all firms she worked for pushed Ms. Baker to grow professionally. The Floodplain Management Association was an unknown organization to her, as was the Association of State Floodplain Management. Thus, when Ms. Baker had her daughter, she used it as a new chapter and took a job in Sacramento with a firm that encouraged her to participate in conferences, workshops, and professional development. It was here that a mentor guided Ms. Baker to her first FMA conference and encouraged her to sit for the CFM exam. To Ms. Baker, the CFM exam brought together all aspects of the floodplain world, beyond that of engineering. Even with previous exposure to the various laws, regulations, and socioenvironmental components of floodplain management, the CFM exam enhanced Ms. Baker’s vision to a broader perspective. Ms. Baker continues to view her CFM as a window to opportunities, both for her and for her clients. These opportunities offer space to be creative, innovative, and collaborative in order to better address floodplain issues and concerns. Currently, Ms. Baker represents the firm Larsen Wurzel & Associates as a project manager, overseeing the planning and implementation of flood-related projects, such as the Little Egbert Multi-Benefit Project. As the Assistant Secretary for the Joint Powers Agency (JPA) tasked with overseeing the Little Egbert Multi-Benefit Project, Ms. Baker relies on her experience and her CFM to make informed decisions regarding the habitat restoration planned for the western portion of the tract and the levee updates planned for the eastern portion of the tract.
