LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Three new directors representing the cities of Fullerton and Santa Ana, and the Inland Empire Utilities Agency were seated today on the board of directors of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.
Adán Ortega, who owns a Fullerton-based public affairs firm, will represent Fullerton on Metropolitan’s 38-member board. He replaces Peter Beard, who served since July 2014. Santa Ana City Councilman Jose Solorio will represent the city, replacing Michele Martinez, who joined the board in March 2015. Jasmin A. Hall, a retired Southern California Edison employee of more than 27 years, will represent the Inland Empire Utilities Agency, succeeding Michael Camacho, who was named to the board in February 2011.
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, he 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, and by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to the California State Board of Food and Agriculture, where he chaired its water committee from 2005 to 2012. Ortega has bachelor’s degrees in English and history from Whittier College.
Solorio is a government affairs officer for the Moulton Niguel Water District. He served in the state Assembly from 2006 to 2012, representing the 69th District, which includes the city of Santa Ana and parts of Anaheim and Garden Grove.
He served on the Santa Ana City Council from 2000 to 2006, and was re-elected to that governing body in 2016. Solorio also has served on the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board, Orange County Water District Board, and on water committees in the State Assembly.
A son of migrant farm workers, Solorio worked in the fields alongside his parents as a teenager, and earned his bachelor’s degree from University of California, Irvine and a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University.
Hall is vice president of the IEUA Board of Directors, which she joined in 2013. Representing the city of Fontana and portions of Rialto and Bloomington, she serves as the agency’s representative to the Association of California Water Agencies and to the Chino Basin Desalter Authority, which manages the Chino Basin’s groundwater resources. In addition, Hall has served on the California Association of Sanitation Board of Directors since February 2017.
She has a history of community involvement, serving as the Fontana Planning Commission’s secretary and as chairwoman for the Fontana Parks and Recreation Commission. Hall holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from the University of Phoenix and a master’s degree in business from National University in San Diego.
Ortega will serve on Metropolitan’s Conservation and Local Resources, Engineering and Operations, and Organization, Personnel and Technology committees; Solorio was appointed to the Organization, Personnel and Technology Committee; and Hall will serve on the Conservation and Local Resources, Legal and Claims, and Organization, Personnel and Technology committees.
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is a state-established cooperative that, along with its 26 cities and retail suppliers, provide water for nearly 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.
Note to editors: Digital photographs of Metropolitan’s new directors are available upon request.
