Sarah Woolf is president of water management company Water Wise and also works in her family’s San Joaquin Valley farm business. Before participating in a panel on water reuse and recycling, she talked about her kids’ ugly bunk bed, her favorite crop, and what two of her workplaces—Congress and farms—have in common.
What word or phrase do you use most often?
That’s a hard one. I’m sure everyone knows it except me. That makes me think about what I say—I usually just speak. I think I probably use the phrase, “We need to figure out how to work on this collaboratively” too much.
What do working in farming and working in Congress, where you were a chief of staff, have in common?
They both make progress slowly.
Who was the last person to leave you a voicemail?
My husband. Easy one.
What’s your fondest childhood memory?
Having free time out in the fields with my horse—riding my horse.
What keeps you up at night?
A lot of things. My children. Concerns about the immediate future.
What’s your favorite ice cream topping?
Probably just chocolate sauce.
If you could take only one more journey, where would you go?
I think I would probably go back to Paris.
What’s your favorite crop?
Tomatoes.
Where do you go to be alone?
My car.
What’s the ugliest piece of furniture you own?
I have a lot. [Laughs.] My children’s bunk bed.