Mar 10, 2021   SOURCE: BusinessWire

Three New Directors Join Metropolitan’s Board Representing Los Angeles, San Fernando, Municipal Water District of Orange County

Three new directors representing the cities of Los Angeles and San Fernando, and the Municipal Water District of Orange County were seated today on the board of directors of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

Environmental and social justice advocate Miguel Luna joins the 38-member board as a Los Angeles representative, succeeding Jesús Quiñonez, who served since 2006. Government relations consultant Adan Ortega returns to Metropolitan to represent San Fernando, replacing Sylvia Ballin, who served as a director from 2007 to 2018 and from May 2019 to February 2021. Water industry veteran Dennis Erdman joins the board to represent the Municipal Water District of Orange County, following Larry McKenney, who served for six years.

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 various 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 70s, and presently lives with his wife and two children in Los Angeles’ Historic Filipino Town.

Ortega returns to the Metropolitan board after serving as the city of Fullerton’s representative from February 2019 until February 2021. Ortega has worked in government relations for 30 years and has helped lead efforts to bring technical assistance to small community water systems in disadvantaged communities around California.

He served as Metropolitan’s vice president of external affairs from 1999 to 2005. Prior to joining Metropolitan, Ortega served as Secretary of State Bill Jones’ chief deputy, and as assistant general manager of both West Basin and Central Basin municipal water districts.

In 2013, he was appointed by former Gov. Jerry Brown to the California Water Commission. Prior to that, he was appointed by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to serve on the California State Board of Food and Agriculture, where Ortega chaired its water committee from 2005 to 2012. A Fullerton resident, Ortega has bachelor’s degrees in English and history from Whittier College.

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 for 16 years at Tri-Cities Municipal Water District and eight years at Capistrano Bay Park and Recreation District.

Erdman is a graduate of Stevens Institute of Technology. He and his wife moved to Dana Point in 1971 and have four children and 10 grandchildren.

Luna will serve on Communications and Legislation, Water Planning and Stewardship, and Integrated Resources Plan Special committees; Erdman was appointed to the Communications and Legislation, Conservation and Local Resources, and Real Property and Asset Management committees; and Ortega will serve on the Finance and Insurance, Organization, Personnel and Technology, and Integrated Resources Plan Special committees.

Note to editors: Photos of Metropolitan’s new directors are available upon request.

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is a state-established cooperative that, along with its 26 cities and retail suppliers, provide water for 19 million people in six counties. The district imports water from the Colorado River and Northern California to supplement local supplies, and helps its members to develop increased water conservation, recycling, storage and other resource-management programs.