Board of Directors

Professional and community activities: 
Stephen Faessel was elected to the Anaheim City Council in November 2016, representing District 5 in east-central Anaheim. 

Since 2003, he has served on the board of directors of the Anaheim Community Foundation. He previously served on the Anaheim Planning Commission and the Anaheim Public Utility Board, including as chairman.

As part of Faessel’s Public Utility Board appointment, he also served on the city’s General Plan Advisory Committee, which oversaw the update of the city’s general plan guiding future growth. He previously chaired Anaheim’s Budget, Investment and Technology Commission.

Faessel has contributed his interest in preserving local history by serving on the board of trustees of the Anaheim Museum Inc. since 1990. He serves as corresponding secretary for the Anaheim Historical Society and was president of the Anaheim Historical Society Inc.

A founding member of the Anaheim MUZEO, he serves as secretary of the board. Since 1975, Faessel has been a continuing education instructor for the North Orange County Community College District in the fields of electricity, electrical codes and utility systems.

Born in Anaheim to parents active in the Orange County citrus industry, Faessel attended Anaheim’s St. Boniface Elementary School, Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in marketing from California State University, Fullerton.

Faessel is retired from a 50-year career in the retail hardware industry as merchandise manager for the 16-store Crown ACE Hardware chain. 

He and his wife Susan have one son, a daughter-in-law and three grandsons.

Professional and community activities: 

Dr. Barry D. Pressman is professor and chair of the Department of Imaging at the S. Mark Taper Foundation Imaging Center at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He also serves as chief of the Section of Neuroradiology and Head and Neck Radiology at Cedars-Sinai. Board certified in diagnostic radiology with a certificate of added qualifications in neuroradiology, Pressman’s research interests focus on pituitary imaging, cerebral and spinal trauma and several congenital diseases. 

Pressman is a past president of the American College of Radiology, serving on its board of chancellors for many years. He also is a past president of the California Radiological Society and the Western Neuroradiology Society and is a member of the American Society of Neuroradiology and the American Society of Pediatric Neuroradiology.

He has served on the editorial advisory boards of the Journal of the American College of Radiology and the American Journal of Neuroradiology and continues as a peer reviewer for both journals as well as for the American Journal of Roentgenology. He was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to the Medicare Coverage Advisory Committee, where he served for three years.

Pressman previously served on the board of directors of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association and  as a public works commissioner for Beverly Hills and sat on the community advisory board of 89.3 KPCC-FM.

He earned his medical degree cum laude from Harvard Medical School after graduating summa cum laude from Dartmouth College. After a surgical internship at Harvard’s Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, he completed a diagnostic radiology residency at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York and a neuroradiology fellowship at George Washington University Hospital in Washington, DC.

Professional and community activities: 
Marsha Ramos has a lifelong interest in natural resource management and has integrated it into her business, volunteer and public service roles.

Ramos is vice president of Geosystems, Inc., a Glendale-based consulting firm that advises public and private sector clients with real estate and development practices.

Ramos is a former mayor and city councilmember of the city of Burbank, where she also served as a parks and recreation board member and police commissioner, councilmember and mayor.  Her current civic and community leadership positions include member of Upper Los Angeles River and Tributaries Working Group, the American Lung Association, Burbank Human Relations Council, and Glendale Noon Rotary.

She was previously recognized by state Sen. Anthony Portantino (D-La Cañada Flintridge) as Woman of the Year and by Business Life magazine with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Ramos earned a bachelor’s degree in urban planning from California State University, Northridge and master’s degree in organizational leadership from Woodbury University.

She and her husband, Dave, have two adult sons in public service.

Professional and community activities: 

Jacquelyn McMillan retired from Metropolitan after 31 years, most recently as a principal government and regional affairs representative. She worked extensively with businesses, community leaders and elected officials to build relationships and ensure that Southern California's 19 million residents continue to have a safe, reliable, and low-cost supply of drinking water. 

Prior to joining Metropolitan in 1991, McMillan worked for three petroleum companies managing 15 oil field projects in California and acquiring oil, gas and coal rights in other states. She represents Division 5 on Calleguas’ board, which North Oxnard and West Camarillo.

McMillan received her master’s degree in business from California State University, Northridge and a bachelor’s degree in petroleum land management, with a minor in marketing from the University of Houston.

Professional and community activities: 

Juan Garza has more than 20 years of experience in communications and government relations. He is a principal at Six Heron, a Bellflower-based strategic communications and public relations firm.

He began his career at the Long Beach Water Department in 2002 as a government & public affairs representative, later serving as interim director of government & public affairs.

Garza began his work as a policymaker when he was elected planning commissioner for the city of Bellflower in 2013. He has since served as council member and mayor of Bellflower, president of the League of California Cities, legislative committee chair of the California Contract Cities Association, and a board director at the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts.

He received his master’s degree in public administration and bachelor’s degree in geography from California State University, Long Beach. Garza also has a certificate in urban studies.

Professional and community activities: 

James Crawford serves as a director at-large for the Central Basin Municipal Water District. Crawford is president of the Central Basin Water Association and Commerce Business Council as well as vice president of the East Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce. He also serves and serves on the boards of directors for the Alma Family Services and Montebello Police Foundation.

Crawford has held numerous leadership positions, including serving as the president of the Utility Workers Union of American Local 283, treasurer of the California Water Utility Council and a committee member of the Water Replenishment District of Southern California. He holds Water Treatment Grade 2 and Water Distribution Grade 4 certifications from the State Water Resources Control Board.

Professional and community activities: 

In 2016, Tana McCoy retired after 40 years as a Compton city employee to accept an appointment to represent District 3 on the Compton City Council, where she was then elected in 2017. She was council liaison to the mayor’s and city council office for 30 years before transitioning into a senior administrative analyst position for the Compton Water Department.

For three decades, McCoy was the city’s staff representative on the Compton Commission on the Status of Women. She also volunteered on various city service committees and helped coordinate health fairs and other special events and programs in the city. She represents Compton on the Compton Creek Mosquito Abatement District Board, Compton Creek Task Force Revitalization Committee, Independent Cities Association, and is the city’s alternate representative to the League of California Cities.

McCoy studied business at Associated Business College in Los Angeles.

Professional and community activities:

Jeffrey Armstrong began his service on Eastern MWD’s board of directors in 2023.

He previously worked for the Rancho California Water District for 32 years, including serving as general manager from 2015 until his retirement in December 2020. Prior to his role as general manager, he served as chief financial officer, treasurer and controller.

Armstrong is a longtime resident of Riverside County, where he and his wife have raised six children and has been involved in the community as a coach for Murrieta Youth Soccer and Youth Basketball League.

Armstrong received his master’s degree in business administration from the University of Redlands and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from California State University, Long Beach.

Professional and community activities:
Garry Bryant has more than 20 years of experience in public service and the water industry.

He has served on Foothill’s Board of Directors since 2011, chairing its engineering and operations committee and personnel committee. Bryant also serves on the Las Flores Water Company Board of Directors and is the current board secretary.

Bryant retired from Metropolitan as a principal project controls specialist in June 2023 after 21 years with the district. Before joining Metropolitan in 2002, Bryant served as the facilities business manager at California State University, Los Angeles. He began his work in public service at the city of Pasadena as an administrative analyst.

Bryant has a master’s degree in public administration and a bachelor’s degree in political science and economics from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

Professional and community activities:

Fred Jung was elected to the Fullerton City Council in November 2020, becoming the city’s first Asian-American city councilmember in more than two decades.

He serves as the vice chair of the Orange County Power Authority, a partnership between the cities of Buena Park, Huntington Beach, Irvine, and Lake Forest. He also is a member of the boards of directors of the Orange County Housing Finance Trust and the North Orange County Cities Joint Powers Authority.

Prior to his election to the city council, he served on the city’s parks and recreation and traffic and circulation commissions.

Jung is a small business owner who attended the University of Southern California. Born in Seoul, South Korea, he came to the United States when he was 5 years old.

Professional and community activities:
Ardy Kassakhian served as Glendale city clerk for 15 years before being elected to city council in March 2020. He is vice chair of the Glendale Housing Authority and is the city's representative to the California Contract Cities Association.

Before assuming elected office, Kassakhian was the director of government relations and later the executive director of the Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region, the nation's largest advocacy organization for issues of interest to Armenian Americans. He has provided government relations and public affairs services for clients in both the public and private sectors with the firm Stoorza, Ziegaus & Metzger.

He holds a bachelor's degree in history from the University of California, Los Angeles and a master's degree in public policy and administration from Northwestern University. He also completed a certificate program for senior executives in state and local government at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Professional and community activities:

Jay Lewitt has served on the board of directors of Las Virgenes Municipal Water District since 2018.

He sits on the board of the Association of Water Agencies of Ventura and is the founder and president of the promotional products firm, Every Promotional Product. Lewitt previously served on the Federal Affairs Committee of the Association of California Water Agencies, where he advocated for important water issues at the state and federal level. 

He also has been president of the Heschel West Day School board; a board member of the Specialty Advertising Association of California, including chair for the association’s Legal and Government committee; a member of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee; and a youth basketball and baseball coach.

Lewitt earned a law degree from Pepperdine Caruso University School of Law and a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Southern California.

Professional and community activities:
Gloria Cordero has served on the Long Beach Board of Water Commissioners since January 2015.

She is a principal at Cordero & Associates, a Long Beach-based public affairs consulting firm she founded in 2008. In 2006, then-Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster appointed her as the city's deputy director of community affairs, where she managed education, workforce development, nonprofits and business, and community outreach.

Cordero previously was the government affairs director for Long Beach City College and a regional manager for Southern California Edison. She started at Edison as an educational representative, where she developed and implemented energy-efficiency and safety programs for school districts in Los Angeles, the South Bay and Long Beach.

Cordero has a long history of community service in Long Beach, where she served as a board member on the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce, Leadership Long Beach, Long Beach Nonprofit Partnership and the California Conference for Equality and Justice (formerly National Conference for Christians and Jews). She is currently a member of the Long Beach YMCA Metro Board. Cordero, a former educator, has volunteered for more than 40 years with the Navajo Nation in Arizona, where she was appointed by then-President Pete Zah to the board of the First Navajo and Library Foundation in Window Rock, Ariz.

A Long Beach native, Cordero received her master’s degree in public administration from the University of Southern California and a bachelor’s degree in sociology from California State University, Long Beach.

Cordero and her husband, Mario Cordero, have two children and three grandsons.

Professional and community activities:
Miguel Angel Luna is president of Urban Semillas, a Los Angeles-based public relations firm specializing in community outreach and consensus building with a focus on social and environmental justice issues.

Over the last 20 years, Luna has worked on several master planned projects, including the Lower LA River Revitalization Plan, LA River Master Plan, Southeast LA Arts Festival and Metro Los Angeles River Path Project.

A founding board member of Water Education for Latino Leaders, Luna also serves on the boards of the city of Los Angeles’ Measure O Citizens Oversight Advisory Committee, Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, Community Nature Connections, and Pacoima Beautiful.

Luna emigrated from Colombia to Los Angeles with his mother in the late 1970s, and presently lives with his wife and two children in Los Angeles’ historic Filipinotown.

Professional and community activities:

Carl E. Douglas is the founding partner of the Los Angeles-based, private practice firm Douglas/Hicks Law, specializing in personal injury, civil rights, and criminal law matters. He has been acknowledged for his courtroom successes by the Los Angeles/San Francisco Daily Journal, Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles, and the John M. Langston Bar Association.

Prior to launching his law partnership, Douglas was the managing attorney at the law offices of Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr. He also represented plaintiffs in state and federal courts in diverse civil litigation cases. Prior to joining Cochran’s office, Douglas was a trial attorney at the Federal Public Defender’s Office in Los Angeles and worked at the Federal Communication Commission in Washington, D.C. 

Douglas earned a law degree from the University of California, Berkeley and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill.

Professional and community activities:
Matt Petersen is the president and chief executive officer of Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator, which creates an inclusive green economy through incubating startups.

Before joining LACI in 2017, Petersen served as the city of Los Angeles' first chief sustainability officer, a position appointed by Mayor Eric Garcetti. In that role, Petersen was the chief architect of the groundbreaking Sustainable City pLAn, helping Los Angeles become a leader in electric vehicles, solar, and water conservation. He also helped create and currently serves as board chair of the Climate Mayors program, bringing nearly 500 mayors together from across the nation to collaborate on climate change. Petersen served as president and chief executive officer of Global Green USA, an affiliate of Green Cross International.

Petersen serves on the boards of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles, Center for Environmental Health, and the Sir Edmund Hilary Institute for International Leadership. Petersen also created Citizen E and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Pacific Council on International Policy, and the LA Sustainability Leadership Council. He and his son reside in Santa Monica.

Professional and community activities:
Tracy Quinn is the CEO of the Santa Monica-based non-profit Heal The Bay environmental group. Quinn previously served as the California director of the California Water Urban Policy for the Natural Resources Defense Council. She’s dedicated her nearly two-decade career to ensuring safe, sufficient and affordable water for Californians, most recently focusing on the unique challenges and opportunities that face California as it adapts to a changing climate. She’s helped pass state legislation to implement long-term water resilience strategies and led efforts to develop product standards and improve building codes to conserve water.

Prior to joining NRDC, Quinn was a water resources engineer in Southern California, dealing with a wide range of water-related issues, including resources planning, infrastructure design, and stormwater regulation compliance. A registered civil engineer in California, Quinn earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agricultural and biological engineering at Cornell University.

Professional and community activities:
Linda Ackerman serves as vice chair for the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control District, where she has served on the board since 2010. She was appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and reappointed by Gov. Jerry Brown.

She also serves on the Association of California Water Agencies’ Federal Affairs Committee, which she chaired from 2010 to 2016.

Ackerman is vice chair of the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board. She also represents the Regional Water Quality Control Board as a member of the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority’s One Water One Watershed board, an innovative integrated regional water management plan.

Ackerman is a member of the board of directors of USCB America, Inc., a California receivable and management company. As an active member of the Assistance League of Fullerton for many years, she has held leadership positions and has served as a national board member. Ackerman is a member of the California Women’s Leadership Association and many other community and civic organizations.

She served as the National Committeewoman for California on the Republican National Committee from 2008 to 2016. She also serves on the advisory committee for the California Federation of Republican Women and as president for the Marian Bergeson Excellence in Public Service Series. 

Professional and community activities:
Larry D. Dick was first elected to the Municipal Water District of Orange County Board of Directors in November 2000. He is one of MWDOC's four representatives on Metropolitan’s board, where he has served since 2003.

President and chief executive officer of the La Salle Group in Orange, Dick's business has been named Small Business of the Year by the Chamber of Commerce.

An active member of his community, Dick was nominated "Humanitarian of the Year" by the Orange Republican Women's Federation, and is a member of American Legion and a 20-year Rotarian. He serves on the Leadership Council that supports St. Joseph Hospital, is on the board of directors of the Orange County Taxpayers Association and has served on the Santiago Canyon College Foundation board.

Professional and community activities:
Dennis Erdman is a registered civil engineer with 30 years of experience in water and wastewater. He retired in 2014 after serving as general manager of several agencies, including Crescenta Valley Water District, Capistrano Beach Sanitary District and Capistrano Beach County Water District.

Erdman was elected to the South Coast Water District board in 2014 and reelected in 2018, recently resigning from the position to serve on Metropolitan’s board. He has also served as a director for various special districts in South Orange County, including 16 years at Tri-Cities Municipal Water District and eight years at Capistrano Bay Park and Recreation District.  Additionally, he served as general manager at Mammoth Community Water District from 1992 to 2004.  

Erdman is a graduate of Stevens Institute of Technology. He and his wife moved to Dana Point in 1971 and have four children and ten grandchildren.

Professional and community activities:

Karl W. Seckel, P.E. was elected to the Municipal Water District of Orange County Board of Directors in 2020, representing Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, portions of Newport Beach and Seal Beach.

He began his career as an engineer with Boyle Engineering Corporations where he worked for six years before his time with a civil engineering and water resources consulting firm in Orange County. In 1983, Seckel joined MWDOC as an operations engineer. Since then, Seckel has served as interim general manager, assistant general manager and district engineer.

Seckel received both his master’s and bachelor’s degrees in civil engineering from the University of Maryland. He is a registered professional engineer in the State of California.

Professional and community activities: 
Cynthia Kurtz has held numerous positions in the public and non-profit sectors, including city manager for the city of Pasadena, interim city manager for the cities of Covina and Santa Ana, chief operating officer for River LA, and president of the San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership.

Kurtz served as an adjunct professor in the University of La Verne graduate program for public administration where she taught public and nonprofit ethics and collaborative decision making. She previously penned a weekly column on businesses, jobs and the economy for the San Gabriel Valley Newspaper group. 

She serves on the advisory board for Leadership Pasadena and sits on the capital campaign cabinet with her husband, Jim McDermott, for Villa Esperanza Services.

Professional and community activities:
Miller is a member of the agency’s Engineering and Operations committee and formerly served on its Imported Water, Legislation, Conservation and Outreach, and Water Planning committees, as well as its San Vicente Energy Task Force, San Vicente Project Negotiations Work Group and Small Contractor Outreach and Opportunities Program. 

He has owned a commercial construction company for over 45 years and is a member and former president of the Vista Optimist Club and of the Rancho Buena Vista Little League Board.  Miller graduated from the College of Southern Idaho with a degree in architectural drafting. 

Professional and community activities:
Tim Smith serves on the Otay Water District’s Board of Directors and has been the district’s representative on the San Diego County Water Authority's Board since 2017. 

As an adjunct professor at San Diego State University, he teaches water courses in the civil, construction and environmental engineering department. 

Smith began his career as an engineer for Black & Veatch and Parsons Corp., before shifting to the public sector as senior civil engineer for the Water Authority. He worked as a principal engineer for Helix Water District.

Smith graduated with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from San Diego State University and is an active member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and American Water Works Association.

Professional and community activities:
The owner and principal of Morris Water Resources Consultants, John Morris has been professionally involved with the water industry for more than 55 years.

Morris has represented Metropolitan on the boards of the National Water Research Institute, the New Water Supply Coalition and the U.S. Desalination Coalition as vice-chair. He also served in the House of Delegates for the Water Environment Federation, where he served as vice-chair of their Committee Leadership Council. He is a former member of the Water Advisory Committee and a former planning commissioner for the city of San Marino.

Morris served as president of the Los Angeles sections of the American Society of Civil Engineers and California Water Environment Association. He chaired the Water Desalting Committee of the American Water Works Association, the WaterReuse Committee of the Water Environment Federation, the WaterReuse Subcommittee of the Association of California Water Agencies, the Water Issues Committee of the Southern California Association of Publicly Owned Treatment Works, and the Reclamation Reuse Task Force of the State Water Conservation Coalition.

He served as a director of the South Orange County Reclamation Authority, the California Water Environment Association and as a founding director of the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary, Inc.

Morris is active in the WateReuse Association, Colorado River Water Users Association, Southern California Water Utilities Association and the Orange County Water Association.

Morris was an active member of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association for more than 40 years and has served as a member of the San Marino City Club Board of Directors, including as president in 2005. He is president of the San Marino Historical Society and vice chairman and treasurer of Friends of The Michael White Adobe.

A civil engineering graduate of the University of Southern California, Morris is past president of the David M. Wilson Affiliates, the civil engineering alumni group, and serves on the Board of the Alumni Veterans Network.

Professional and community activities:
Thai Viet Phan is a municipal law attorney with the Orange County-based firm Rutan & Tucker and serves as the assistant city attorney for the cities of Duarte and Menifee.

The first Vietnamese-American and first Asian woman elected to the Santa Ana City Council, she was previously a Santa Ana planning commissioner.

Phan serves on the board of directors of the Vietnamese American Bar Association of Southern California and on the Leadership, Equity, Advocacy & Diversity Advisory Board for the Rancho Santiago Community College District.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in communication studies from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a dual law/master of public policy degree from the University of Southern California.

Phan was born near a refugee camp in Thailand after her parents fled the aftermath of the Vietnam War. They settled in Santa Ana in 1989 after months of living in camps in Thailand and the Philippines.

Professional and community activities:

Dr. Mark Gold serves as the director of water scarcity solutions at the National Resources Defense Council, where he is responsible for building climate resilience through integrated water management in California and across the nation.

Gold previously served as Gov. Gavin Newsom’s deputy secretary for ocean and coastal policy and executive director of the Ocean Protection Council from 2019 to 2022. Gold served as associate vice chancellor for environment and sustainability at the University of California at Los Angeles. He is also an adjunct professor at UCLA’s Institute for the Environment and Sustainability – a position he has held for more than 15 years. Gold established his environmental credentials at Heal the Bay where he became the executive director in 1994 and served as president from 2006 to 2012.

Gold earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biology and a doctorate in environmental science and engineering from UCLA.

Professional and community activities: 

Until his retirement in late 2023, Director De Jesus served as president and chief executive officer of Covina Irrigating Company, David De Jesus was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the primary water provider for the city of Covina. He has served as a director at Three Valleys Municipal Water District since 1997.

De Jesus served on numerous water boards, including the Main San Gabriel Basin Water Master, the San Gabriel River Water Committee, the San Gabriel Valley Water Association and continues to serve as the voting alternate on the Chino Basin Water Master. In 2016, he was appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown as an alternate to the Colorado River Board to represent California water interests on behalf of Metropolitan.

Professional and community activities:
Russell Lefevre retired in 2002 after 30 years in small businesses specializing in remote sensing applications. He is a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He also served as a scientific advisor for U.S. Senator John D. "Jay" Rockefeller IV (R-W.Va.). 

Lefevre is past member and chair of the city of Torrance’s Water Commission. He is a member and past president of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers-USA and the IEEE Society of Aerospace and Electronics Engineers.  He serves on IEEE committees on Global Public Policy, Smart Grid, Electrical Transportation and Humanitarian Technology.

Lefevre earned bachelor's and master's degrees in physics from the University of North Dakota and holds a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He also holds an appointment as adjunct professor of physics at the University of North Dakota.

Lefevre and his wife, Carole, have three children and six grandchildren.

Professional and community activities:
Elected to the Upper San Gabriel Municipal Water District board in 1990, Dr. Anthony Fellow helped establish the district’s first water recycling program, conservation education programs, and a reforestation project in the Angeles National Forest.

He is currently the agency’s representative for the Main San Gabriel Basin Watermaster and contributed to the formation of the San Gabriel Basin Water Quality Authority. He also serves as president of the San Gabriel Valley Discovery Center.

Fellow is a 35-year communications professor at California State University, Fullerton, where he received a master’s degree in communications. He also holds master’s and doctorate degrees in communications from the University of Southern California and a bachelor’s degree in journalism and history from California State University, Los Angeles. A Fulbright Scholar, he was assigned to Italy’s Vercelli University.

Fellow was elected to the El Monte City Council in 1996 and he served for nine years. In 2007 he was elected to the Pasadena City College Board of Trustees, where he has served as president of the board.

He and his wife, Clara Potes-Fellow, reside in Arcadia.

Professional and community activities: 

Gloria D. Gray is the immediate past chairwoman of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California Board of Directors. She was the first African-American to lead the board, from January 1, 2019 - December 31, 2022, and only the second woman to do so in the district’s 90-year history.

After retiring as a health care administrator from the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, Gray began her career in water in 2006 when she was elected to the West Basin Municipal Water District Board of Directors.  She was the first African-American woman elected to that board in its 65 years and served as board president in 2010.  She represents the Division II cities and communities of Inglewood, South Ladera Heights, Lennox and the areas of Athens, Howard, and Ross-Sexton.  

In 2009, Gray was appointed as one of West Basin’s two representatives to Metropolitan’s board.  In 2017, Gray was appointed chair of the Water Planning and Stewardship Committee and was the first African-American woman to lead the committee, which focuses on Metropolitan water projects, programs, and policies. 

An Inglewood resident, Gray got her start in public service in 1995 when she was elected to the Inglewood Unified School District Board of Education, serving as president for two terms.  In March 2009, she was appointed by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to serve on its Water Quality Community Task Force, part of the county’s Clean Water, Clean Beaches initiative to address pollution in local rivers, lakes, bays, beaches, and coastal waters.

In April 2010, Gray was appointed to a four-year term on the Delta Stewardship Council by former California Assembly Speaker Karen Bass.  She was the first African-American and the first woman to serve on the council.  In 2011, she met with stakeholders from all areas of the state and recommended the Delta Council hold public forums to gain broader input and understanding of key issues in order to develop a comprehensive Delta Plan.

In May 2012, she was confirmed by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors as a member of the Oversight Commission for the dissolution of the city of Carson’s Redevelopment Agency.  In 2013, she was recruited by President Obama’s administration to interview for a cabinet position in the Department of the Interior.

In 2014, West Basin’s Board of Directors appointed Gray as their representative to the Association of California Water Agencies Region 8, where she currently serves as chair as well as a representative to the ACWA Joint Powers Insurance Authority.  She also was appointed to represent West Basin as a voting board member on the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission. . During her first term for West Basin, Gray initiated West Basin’s Local Business Enterprise Program and Local Banking Program that allows local businesses to better compete for work and enhances the local community within West Basin’s service area.

In October 2012, Gray received the “Honorable Harriett Wieder” award for her leadership in water from the Southern California Water Committee.  She also has been honored by the Friends of the Sisters at the Well for her leadership in civic and public engagement, and the Friends of Ballona Wetlands for her leadership on current and future water supply issues.

In 2018, Gray was recognized for her work in the water industry as Visionary of the Year by Playa Vista Jobs.  In 2017, Gray received the Esther Williams Award of Excellence for her continued commitment to community service and water reliability from the South Bay Workforce Investment Board.  In recognition of her commitment to community service, Gray received an acknowledgement proclamation from Metropolitan’s Board for her work and outstanding leadership on the Delta Stewardship Council, and later received the 2014 African Legacy Award as the first African-American woman to be elected to Metropolitan’s Board.  Among her other notable honors are the Outstanding Community Honoree award from the A-Man, Inc. STEM International in June 2013 and induction into the National Association of University Women’s Hall of Fame for exceptional leadership in March 2013.  Over the years, she has received commendations from former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, senators, members of Congress, and many other state and local elected officials.

Since taking office as Metropolitan’s chairwoman, Gray has been honored by numerous organizations, including the California Black Chamber of Commerce and several Southern California water agencies.  She also has been honored by the Los Angeles City Council and was recognized by the region’s small business community at the Meet the Decision Makers Event for her significant contributions to the water industry.  In 2019, Gray was honored by Labor 411 Foundation, which supports the creation and preservation of union jobs.  The Greater Los Angeles African American Chamber of Commerce recognized and awarded Gray for her outstanding contributions that have led to the overall economic development of African-American businesses.  As part of Black History Month in 2019, Gray was honored along with Metrolink Chief Executive Officer Wiggins by the two organizations’ Black Employees associations for their leadership and commitment in water and the transportation industry.

Gray was one of 25 women from around the world recognized in a social media campaign by Suez Water on International Women’s Day 2019.  The National Association of Water Agencies honored Gray at a reception at the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C., and she was invited to join with other top water leaders as a featured panelist at the California Water Policy conference.  Gray also was honored by the non-profit Pacoima Beautiful as a long-time champion of environmental justice issues.  In 2020, Gray was recognized by the League of Women Voters for her community engagement and leadership as a woman of color.

Chairwoman Gray and Metropolitan were recognized by the international water community in 2022 when she was invited to attend the Global Water Summit. There, she made a presentation highlighting Metropolitan’s key water innovations and participated in the inauguration of Metropolitan into a select group of agencies given the distinction of Leading Water Utilities of the World. Also in 2022, Gray was one of the first signatories to the Equity in Infrastructure Program, a new nationwide effort to leverage infrastructure spending and create more prime, joint venture and equity contracting opportunities for historically underutilized businesses

Gray has been interviewed and profiled in multiple publications, including the Municipal Water Leader Magazine, Bloomberg Environment, the Los Angeles Sentinel newspaper, and LA Focus magazine.

In 2019, Gray was honored by Delta Sigma Theta, the nation’s largest African-American sorority public service organization, was the recipient of Leadership California’s 2019 Legacy of Service Award for her extraordinary leadership in the public sector, and by the Women in Water organization of the Association of California Water Agencies.  Most recently, Gray was honored with the Los Angeles County Business Federation’s Bizzi award for her advocacy for common sense solutions to the communities’ most pressing issues and her commitment to growing the economy and improving quality of life. 

Demonstrating her support for and mentorship of young women, Chairwoman Gray has worked with representatives from the DIY (Do it Yourself) Girls organization to increase girls’ interest and success in technology and engineering, and with members of the Blythe 4-H Youth Development program to address community health inequities, engaging in civil discourse and advocating for equity and inclusion for all.

A longtime supporter of organized labor and an advocate for the rights of workers, Gray was a member of SEIU 721, the largest public sector union in Southern California, for more than 30 years. 

Additionally, Gray has taken multiple leadership roles in the water community outside of her role as Chairwoman of Metropolitan’s board.  She is vice chair of the Southern California Leadership Council Executive Committee and co-chair of the BizFed Water Committee.

Gray earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Redlands; a Health Services Management Certificate from the University of California, Los Angeles; and a Masters in Governance Certificate from the California School Boards Association.  

Professional and community activities:

Desi Alvarez has more than 30 years of experience in the water sector. He has served as city engineer for the cities of Glendale and Santa Monica, the deputy city manager and director of public works for the city of Downey, and the chief executive officer of Chino Basin Watermaster.

He began his career at the East Bay Municipal Utility District as an engineering manager. In 1992, he became the director of public works and city engineer for the city of Redondo Beach.

Alvarez is a member the Gateway Regional Integrated Regional Water Management JPA Board of Directors, the Southeast Water Coalition JPA Administrative Entity, and the California State Water Resources Control Board Sediment Advisory Committee.

Alvarez received his master’s degree in engineering with an emphasis on water resources and environmental engineering from the University of California, Davis, and a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. He is a California registered engineer.

Professional and community activities: 
A member of Western Municipal Water District of Riverside County's Board of Directors since 2007, Brenda Dennstedt represents the cities of Lake Mathews, Lake Elsinore, Temecula, Canyon Lake, Wildomar, Rainbow, Murrieta and properties south of Cajalco Road and west of the 215 freeway.

At Western, she serves on the Murrieta Advisory and Executive Ad Hoc committees and the Community and Government Affairs and Finance committees. She also represents Western on the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority, the Western Riverside Council of Governments Executive Committee, and the Lake Elsinore and San Jacinto Watersheds Authority.

Dennstedt also serves on the joint committees of Elsinore Valley, Rancho California and Eastern Municipal water districts and is an elected member of the Association of California Water Agencies Region 9 board.