Home >
Home

Water Energy Committee

Bill McDonnell
Senior Resource Specialist, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD)

Bill McDonnell leads MWD's water conservation efforts in the commercial and industrial sectors and represents MWD in various forums on matters concerning the interrelationships of California's water and energy resources and infrastructure.  He also manages a variety of programs, including MWD's Innovative Conservation Program that awards grants to developers of new water savings appliances and measures.

Cynthia J. Truelove, Ph.D.
Senior Water Policy Analyst, Division of Policy and Planning, California Public Utilities Commission

Dr. Truelove is the Senior Water Policy Analyst in the Division of Policy and Planning of the California Public Utilities Commission. She is actively engaged in building the CPUC’s Water Policy Program across the arenas of water conservation and water use efficiency; the water-energy nexus; water and climate change. Her work extends across the CPUC’s water and energy industry divisions, both public and investor-owned water utility sectors, as well as across the State’s water resource management and regulatory agencies. She also serves on the State’s Climate Action Team Water and Energy Team, among other initiatives addressing water use efficiency, the economic analysis of water recycling, and regional water resource planning.

Fawzi Karajeh
Chief, Water Recycling and Desalination Branch, Office of Water Use Efficiency and Transfers, California Department of Water Resources (DWR)

In his current capacity, Dr. Karajeh is managing more than 50 water feasibility, research and development, demonstration and pilot, and construction projects in California. He focuses on community-based, integrated regional water management to ensure sustainable water resource use, better water quality, environmental stewardship, efficient urban development, protection of agriculture, and a strong economy. In addition, he is the DWR’s specialist in water recycling and desalination. Karajeh also manages the Proposition 50 Desalination Grants Program, and has served as the executive officer for the Governor's Recycled Water Task Force. In 2003, he served as a technical advisor to the California Desalination Task Force.

Frances Spivy-Weber
Board Member, State Water Resources Control Board

Frances Spivy-Weber is the Public Member of the State Water Resources Control Board. She serves as Vice Chair of the Board and is the Board liaison to the Los Angeles, San Diego, Central Coast, and Lahontan Regional Boards and the Ocean Protection Council Steering Committee. She represents the Secretary of CalEPA on the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission. Prior to joining the Board, she was the Executive Director of the Mono Lake Committee for almost ten years; International Programs Director of National Audubon Society for almost ten years. Fran has served on numerous state and regional water advisory groups and task forces, including the Bay-Delta Public Advisory committee, co-chairing its Water Use Efficiency Subcommittee; State Water Plan 2005 Advisory Committee; California Landscape Task Force 2005; State Water Recycling Task Force 2003; Governor’s Advisory Drought Planning Panel 2000.

Jack Simes
Planning Officer, Bureau of Reclamation’s Southern California Area Office

Jack Simes is the Planning Officer for the Bureau of Reclamation’s Southern California Area Office, located in Temecula, California. The Southern California Area Office has responsibility for water and related resources planning, conservation programs, Native American Affairs, and environmental work in nine Southern California counties. Jack has been employed by the Federal civil service system for the past twenty eight years. He has been with the Bureau of Reclamation since June 2000 and prior to that Jack worked for U.S. Army as a civilian with assignments in Arizona and Germany; and before that with the Marriott Hotels outside Baltimore. Jack completed undergraduate work in two disciplines at the University of Maryland, College Park. While there, he served as Co-Captain of the Fencing Team. Since then, he completed two graduate degrees, one from the University of Baltimore and another from Troy State University. Jack is also a graduate of the Army Command and General Staff College and the Army Management Staff College. He is married to the former Karen Campbell of Pensacola, Florida; and they have a son, Brandon, who is a Civil Engineering major at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.

Jim Lin
Senior Engineer, Division of Statewide Integrated Water Management, Department of Water Resources

Jim Lin currently works on water/energy use efficiency, water conservation, and climate change. From 2006 and 2010 he worked on the Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) program, and served as DWR IRWM coordinator to the Tulare Lake, North Lahontan, and South Lahontan Hydrologic Regions. He had previously worked in consulting companies for 13 years, conducting groundwater flow and transport modeling, risk assessment, and site remediation design and evaluation. He received his Ph.D. from the University of California at Santa Barbara. He holds licenses of Professional Engineer (PE Civil), Professional Geologist (PG), and Certified Hydrogeologist (CHG), all in the State of California.

Kamyar Guivetchi
P.E., Manager, Statewide Water Planning, Department of Water Resources (DWR)

During his 29 years with DWR, Mr. Guivetchi has worked on numerous projects with the Central District, the Bay-Delta Office, the Division of Environmental Services, and the Division of Planning and Local Assistance. In his current assignment, he managed the DWR staff work and the public comment process for the California Water Plan, Update 2005. He is also working on the 2009 update to the water plan, the Delta Vision initiative to develop a vision and strategic plan for sustainable management of the Delta and Suisun, and the FloodSafe initiative to develop a sustainable flood management system and reduce flood risk.

Lillian Kawasaki
Lillian Kawasaki
Director, Water Replenishment District (WRD) of Southern California

Ms. Kawasaki holds key positions in California water, energy and the environment. She was appointed to the California Bay-Delta Public Advisory Committee by the Governor and the U.S. Secretary of Interior, and by the Mayor of Los Angeles as Assistant General Manager for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Previously, she served as General Manager of the City of Los Angeles Community Development Department. She established the Los Angeles City Environmental Affairs Department in 1990. She is co-chair of Friends of Manzanar, a member of the Women's Foundation Donor Circle, and serves on the Enterprise Foundation Leadership Council.

Lorraine White
Water-Energy Program Manager, GEI Consultants

Lorraine White is an environmental scientist, resource management specialist and program manager with more than 20 years of experience in the energy and water resources fields.  Prior to joining GEI Consultants, Ms. White served 20 years with the California Energy Commission (CEC) where she was the expert on the relationship between the water and energy sectors, and represented the CEC as a member of DWR’s 2009 State Water Plan Update Steering Committee, and the Water-Energy Subgroup to the Governor’s Climate Action Team. Among her many achievements isthe development of the CEC's Integrated Energy Policy Report which is the state’s primary energy policy document.  Ms. White also held positions as a water resource analyst and project manager in the CEC's power plant siting regulatory program, energy policy advisor to former Chairman Jackalyne Pfannenstiel, and a legislative analyst for California Assemblywoman Marguerite Archie-Hudson and Assemblyman Phil Isenberg. Ms. White holds a BS in Biochemistry from University of California at Davis and was a California Assembly Fellow.

Martha Davis
Executive Manager for Policy Development, Inland Empire Utilities Agency (IEUA)

At IEUA, Ms. Davis combines policy development with oversight of the Planning and Water Resources Department. Previously, Ms. Davis served as the Executive Director for Californians and the Land and the Mono Lake Committee. Under her leadership, the Mono Lake campaign culminated in the State Water Resources Control Board’s unanimous decision to protect Mono Lake. Ms. Davis serves as co-chair of the CALFED Watershed Subcommittee and is a member of CALFED’s Bay-Delta Public Advisory Committee. She is also President of the Board for Earth Island Institute and a board member for the Mono Lake Committee, the WateReuse Foundation, the WateReuse Association’s California section, the Urban Water Institute, and The Sierra Fund.

Meena Westford
Water Policy Manager, San Diego County Water Authority

Meena Westford is Water Policy Manager for San Diego County Water Authority.  Prior to working for the Authority, Ms. Westford worked for the Bureau of Reclamation for 16 years. She is experienced in managing regional, state, and local planning projects that involve potable and recycled water use, storm water augmentation, conjunctive use management, and watershed restoration planning. She specializes in integrated regional management planning, water use efficiency implementation, and drought management planning. Ms. Westford was a participant in the California Department of Water Resource’s Recycled Water Task Force and the Governor’s Landscape Task Force. In 2007, she was selected to participate in the Reclamation's Leadership Development Program. Ms. Westford is also temporarily serving as assistant regional director for Reclamation’s Upper Colorado Region.

Richard Sapudar
Water & Energy Efficiency Specialist, Public Interest Energy Program (PIER), California Energy Commission

Mr. Sapudar has worked in the water resources field for about 20 years. His experience includes the private sector; the State Water Resources Control Board in the areas of aquatic sediment, surface water, and groundwater quality; and the Department of Water Resources in source water quality assessment. Most recently, Mr. Sapudar performed water resources analyses for power plant licensing. Mr. Sapudar is the water and energy efficiency lead and research project manager for PIER’s Industrial/Agricultural/Water End-Use Energy Efficiency Program.

Robert Wilkinson, Ph.D.
Robert Wilkinson
Director, Water Policy Program, Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at the University of California, Santa Barbara

Dr. Robert C. Wilkinson, Director of the Water Policy Program at the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at the University of California, focuses on water, climate change, and environmental policy issues.  Dr. Wilkinson advises the California Energy Commission, US DOE National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the US EPA, and other state and federal agencies on water and climate research.  Recently, he coordinated the climate impacts assessment of the California Region for the US Global Change Research Program and the White House Office of Science and Technology.  Dr. Wilkinson also served on the public advisory committee for California's 2005 State Water Plan and the Governor's Task Force on Desalination.

William J. Bennett
Vice President GEI Consultants, Inc.

Mr. William Bennett has 36 years of experience in water resources and geotechnical engineering, including managing water resource planning programs and planning organizations for the California Department of Water Resources. Mr. Bennett’s experience at DWR included being Chief of California’s Water Use Efficiency and Water Transfers Office and also the Division of Planning and Local Assistance where he supervised the production of the California Water Plan Update. Mr. Bennett served as DWR’s representative to the CPUC and CEC on water-energy matters. Currently he is the program manager for various water-energy projects for GEI Consultants. Mr. Bennett has extensive experience in collaborative planning and controversial, stakeholder resource management decision-making.