CALIFORNIA DOMESTIC WATER COMPANY - Key Persons
Christopher Blake was nominated by the City of Brea and has served on the Board of Directors since 2016. He earned his bachelor's degree in finance from California State University, San Diego and his J.D. from Western State University Law School. Mr. Blake has worked in the banking industry since 1982, primarily in commercial/industrial lending and commercial real estate/construction lending.
He joined Pacific Western Bank in 1994 as head of Corporate Banking, was appointed Chief Credit Officer in 1996, Chief Operating Officer in 1999, President of the Eastern Region in 2002, Executive Vice President of Human Resources in 2014 and President and CEO of the Community Banking Group in 2018. Pacific Western Bank is a $21 billion nationwide commercial bank with approximately 1,700 employees.
Donald Hannah was nominated by the City of La Habra and has served on the Board of Directors since 2017. Mr. Hannah was a Ph.D. Candidate in School of Human Behavior from the United States International University. He earned his master's in public administration from the University of Southern California; his bachelor's in recreation administration from California State University, Long Beach, and an associate's degree in criminal justice from Rio Hondo College.
Mr. Hannah also graduated from Law Enforcement Executive Management Training at the Southwest Command College, and from the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia. He retired from the City of La Habra, where he served as the City Manager and Assistant City Manager for nearly eight years. Mr. Hannah served the City of Whittier Police Department for 27 years and retired as Police Captain.
Mr. Hannah was an instructor in the Public Services Department at Rio Hondo College for 30 years and served as an instructor for the Delinquency Control Institute at the University of Southern California for 27 years. He has many years serving on boards such as the Board of Directors for the Greater Whittier Area YMCA, the Board Finance Committee Strategic Planning Taskforce, the Board of Directors for the La Habra Community Resources Care Center, and the Rio Hondo College Foundation. He also served as the District Chair for the Rio Hondo District of the Boy Scouts of America and as Scoutmaster for Troop 833 in the Orange County Council.
Job Titles:
- Director of Water Operations
Che Venegas serves as Cal Domestic's Director of Water Operations. He began his career with the Company in 1998 and has served for more than two decades as the Chief Operator of water system facilities and operations. Mr. Venegas maintains operator certifications with the State Water Resources Control Board, including a Water Distribution D5 and a Water Treatment T5. These are the highest levels of operator certifications available in the State of California, and Mr. Venegas is one of only 70 individuals credited with this accolade.
Mr. Venegas started his career in water at Suburban Water Systems in 1978 as a laborer on the construction and maintenance crew. In 1979, he accepted a water maintenance worker position in public works with the City of La Habra. Throughout his nineteen years of service there, he held a variety of positions in water operations, including lead maintenance worker for both construction and customer service. In 1992, Mr. Venegas was recognized by the City of La Habra as employee of the year.
Mr. Venegas brings his extensive knowledge of effective water system operations, and he continues to apply new technologies and techniques that improve the efficiency and reliability of the water system. He enjoys being part of a team committed to moving large quantities of cost-effective and high-quality water for the benefit of the shareholders.
Che Venegas, the Director of Water Operations, is certified as a Grade 5 operator in both treatment and distribution-one of only about 70 people in California with this dual top-level certification.
Lynda Noriega serves as Cal Domestic's President. She began her career in water in 2001 with Valley County Water District, a retail water district based in Baldwin Park, California. She served as Operations Assistant, Water Quality Specialist, Finance & Administrative Manager, and Interim General Manager prior to her appointment as General Manager in 2011. In 2016, Ms. Noriega was hired as Vice President/General Manager of Cal Domestic as part of its leadership succession plan, and in January 2018 she officially transitioned to the position of President. She maintains operator certifications with the State Water Resources Control Board, including a Water Distribution D2 and a Water Treatment T2.
Ms. Noriega holds a bachelor's in business administration from California State University at Fullerton. She serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Main San Gabriel Basin Watermaster and as Vice President of the Board of Directors of the San Gabriel Valley Water Association. She also serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the San Gabriel Basin Water Quality Authority, an organization established by the State Legislature to develop, finance, and implement groundwater treatment programs in the San Gabriel Basin, and as Vice Chair of the Board of Directors for Mujeres de la Tierra, and environmental advocacy non-profit based in Los Angeles. In March 2018, Ms. Noriega was selected as a Woman of Achievement for the 22nd Senate District of California by former Senator Dr. Ed Hernandez in recognition of her work and contributions to environmental protection and environmental justice.
Michael Quinn was nominated by Suburban Water Systems and has served on the Board of Directors since 1995. Throughout his tenure, he has held the positions of Chief Financial Officer and Vice Chairman.
Following his 47-year career in the water and wastewater industry, Mr. Quinn announced his retirement from SouthWest Water Company at the end of 2017. Before his retirement he served as President and CEO of SouthWest Water Company and President of Suburban Water Systems. Other positions and appointments included President of the SouthWest Water Company Utility Group from its inception in June 2002 until December 2009; Chief Operating Officer for Suburban Water Systems from 1992 to 1996; President of ECO Resources, Inc. from 1985 to 1992; and Controller/Treasurer of Suburban Water Systems from 1981 to 1985.
Mr. Quinn is a past president of both the California Water Association and the National Association of Water Companies, and he represents Suburban Water Systems as a member on the boards of California Domestic Water Company, Cadway, Inc., and Covina Irrigating Company. He also is a past director of the Main San Gabriel Basin Watermaster.
Richard Jones was nominated by the City of La Habra and has served on the Board of Directors since 1993. He has also served as Chairman of the Board of Directors since 1995. He is the City Attorney for the cities of La Habra, Whittier, Fullerton, and Westminster. He is General Counsel to the Gateway Cities Council of Governments and represents special agencies and Joint Power Authorities. He has more than 40 years of experience, most of which are in the area of municipal law, and has practiced in this area exclusively since 1977.Through his public and private experience, Mr. Jones offers expertise on nearly every issue confronting municipalities. He is responsible for municipal personnel matters, including negotiations with labor organizations, development of general plans, and zoning. He is also expert on conflict and procedural issues, including the Brown Act. Prior to establishing the Law Office of Jones & Mayer, Mr. Jones owned the Law Office of Richard D. Jones, and before that was a member of the firm of Shay, Stirling, Jones and Jones.
Mr. Jones has lectured at the California League of Cities and other conferences on labor negotiations, punitive damages, and seeking gang injunctions. He was also a professor at Whittier College in Professional Ethics and Business Law for more than 10 years. He served 17 years as an elected member of the Lowell Joint Elementary School District Board of Trustees, and was appointed as president of that board on four occasions.
He has been president of a local Chamber of Commerce, Boys & Girls Club, Kiwanis Club, and Citizen of the Year. He has been a Rotarian for over 20 years and serves on the Board of Trustees for the Marshall B. Ketchum University. He is a past president of the Orange County City Attorney Association and served as a statewide representative to the California League of Cities Legal Advocacy Committee.
Richard J. Rich was nominated by Suburban Water Systems and has served on the Board of Directors since 2011. Mr. Rich possesses more than 20 years of experience in the water industry. Before transferring to Suburban Water Systems in 2008, he held the position of General Manager for New Mexico Utilities, Inc. There he managed and oversaw the daily operations, accounting, and regulatory compliance of a regulated water utility with over 17,000 water and 16,000 wastewater customers with annual revenues in excess of $10 million.
He then became the General Manager of Suburban Water Systems, where he managed the daily production for a regulated utility with more than 70,000 connections before being appointed as the Chief Operating Officer of SouthWest Water Company. Mr. Rich earned his bachelor's in accounting in 2006 from the University of New Mexico and his master's in business administration in 2017 from the University of Southern California.
Simon J. Murphy founded the East Whittier Land and Water Company in 1889. A newly constructed pumphouse served the communities we know today as Whittier, La Habra and Brea. While the pumphouse was taken out of service and abandoned in the early 1900s, easements created during those early days are still used by Cal Domestic to deliver water.
Job Titles:
- Accounting and Office Manager
- Company 's Accounting and Office Manager
Stephanie Alvarado serves as the Company's Accounting and Office Manager. She began her career with the Company in 2018 as the Staff Accountant before transitioning to her current role in 2021. Ms. Alvarado's prior professional background includes four years at a full-service accounting firm, where she provided accounting services across various industries. Ms. Alvarado holds a bachelor's in business administration, with a concentration in accounting, from California State University, Fullerton.
Thomas "Tom" Prenovost was nominated by the City of Brea and has served on the Board of Directors since 2015. Mr. Prenovost is the Managing Partner at Prenovost, Normandin, Dawe & Rocha and practices law in the fields of banking, bankruptcy, real estate and commercial/civil litigation. He has a J.D. from Loyola Law School (Los Angeles), an undergraduate degree in political science and public administration from California State University, Long Beach, and graduate studies in architecture and urban planning from University of California, Los Angeles.
Mr. Prenovost has previously served 16 years as a Planning Commissioner for the City of Brea Planning Commission, in addition to serving as a Judge Pro Tem in Orange County Superior Court and an Associate Professor at Chapman University. A licensed California real estate broker, Mr. Prenovost is often a guest speaker before professional law organizations on a variety of topics.