The former director of binational affairs for the city of San Diego is the newest member of the board of directors of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.
Elsa Saxod, who was installed during Tuesday’s board meeting at MWD headquarters in Los Angeles, is the city of San Diego mayor’s appointee to the San Diego County Water Authority, where she has served since 2008.
Saxod joins Michael Hogan, Keith Lewinger and Fern Steiner as San Diego County Water Authority representatives on the 38-member Metropolitan board. She succeeds Yen Tu, who had served on the board since October 2014.
Welcome to Elsa Saxod, representing @sdcwa, who was seated on the MWD board this week https://t.co/kg8CYHJAXv pic.twitter.com/bkJje9x8sa
— MWD of SoCal (@mwdh2o) October 12, 2016
Saxod has spent much of her career working to improve U.S.-Mexico relations and the environment along the California-Mexico border. Most recently, she served as the U.S. chair of the Binational Watershed Advisory Council and chaired the International Committee for the San Diego Chamber of Commerce.
Saxod also has worked as the governor-appointed director of the Office of California/Mexico Affairs; executive director of the US/Mexico Border Progress Foundation; and chairwoman of the San Diego Association of Governments’ Committee on Binational Regional Opportunities.
Born in San Diego, Saxod was raised in Mexico and educated in both countries. She graduated from San Diego State University with a bachelor’s degree in Spanish.
The Metropolitan Water District is a state-established cooperative of 26 cities and water agencies serving nearly19 million people in six counties. The district imports water from the Colorado River and Northern California to supplement local supplies.
— City News Service
