Ada Waelder

Ada Waelder is the Policy Advocate for the California Regional Office. Ada joined Earthjustice in January 2025 to spearhead the organization’s legislative and regulatory efforts in and around Sacramento. She brings with her over a decade experience working on energy and environmental policy at the local, state, and federal levels.

Prior to Earthjustice, Ada worked with the California State Association of Counties (CSAC) as a Legislative Advocate focused primarily on energy, environment, public lands, cannabis, waste & recycling issues, and home insurance. In this role, she represented all 58 counties in California before the legislature and state agencies.

Before joining CSAC, Ada was based in Washington, D.C. with the United States Senate. She most recently served on the Energy & Natural Resources Committee as a Professional Staff Member. Prior to holding this position, she worked for Senator Maria Cantwell in both her Seattle and Washington, D.C. offices. In her time with the Senate, Ada worked on a variety of policy areas including appropriations, energy, environment, public lands, fisheries, cybersecurity, and the American insular areas.

Ada holds a B.A. from the University of Washington, Seattle.