Water, environmental advocate returns to Metropolitan's board

Bringing over 35 years of environmental advocacy and water resource management experience, Dr. Mark Gold returned to the Metropolitan Water District's Board of Directors today as the city of Santa Monica's representative.

The director of water scarcity solutions for the Natural Resources Defense Council, Gold succeeds board Vice Chair and Director Judy Abdo, who represented Santa Monica on Metropolitan's board for more than 25 years. He previously served as a city of Los Angeles representative on Metropolitan's 38-member board from April 2016 to July 2019.

"Judy Abdo will be greatly missed. As vice chair of our board, she has been a source of wisdom and a unifying force through our decisions on many water projects, initiatives and issues," said board Chair Adán Ortega, Jr.

Ortega also welcomed back Gold, hailing his expertise and experience as among the most accomplished water professionals in the state.

"In appointing Dr. Gold to our board, the city of Santa Monica is sharing a leader who will help us adapt to the challenges of climate change and secure reliable water supplies for generations to come," Ortega said. "He re-joins our board as a highly valued member."

In his role at NRDC, Gold focuses on building climate resilience through integrated water management in California and across the western United States. He 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.

Prior to joining the Newsom administration, Gold was 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 joined the organization in 1988 as its first employee as a staff scientist under founding president Dorothy Green. Gold became Heal the Bay's executive director of the organization in 1994 and served as president from 2006-2012.

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