LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Elsa Saxod, former director of Binational Affairs for the city of San Diego, has been seated on the board of directors of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.
Saxod, who was installed during Tuesday’s board meeting, 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 served on the Metropolitan board since October 2014.
She is the city of San Diego mayor’s appointee to the San Diego County Water Authority, where she has served since 2008.
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. chairwoman of the Binational Watershed Advisory Council and chairwoman of the International Committee for the San Diego Chamber of Commerce. She is the founder of SAXOD Enterprises, which helps clients working with the Hispanic community and in Mexico, facilitating partnership building and language training.
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. In her early career, she worked as a Spanish instructor, Peace Corps volunteer and on the staff of Sen. John Tunney.
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is a state-established cooperative of 26 cities and water agencies serving 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.
