SUSANA Reyes was recently elected to serve as vice president of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP)’s board of commissioners.
“This is a tremendous honor and responsibility and a boost for [Asian American and Pacific Islander] representation,” Reyes wrote in a Facebook post.
Reyes, a 32-year veteran of the city, became the first Filipina American and retiree to join the board in June 2019. The city council unanimously voted for her to serve five more years this past June, as previously reported by the Asian Journal.
She will serve alongside Cynthia McClain-Hill, an attorney and public policy strategist, who was elected president of the commission.
“Two women leaders. Two people of color. Two changemakers. The time is ripe for transformational change,” Reyes added.
The five-member commission oversees the country’s largest municipal utility by setting policy for the department and voting on utility rates and renewable energy projects.
Reyes previously was the director of the LADWP’s Low-Income Customer Access, a position that helped ensure low-income ratepayers could access financial assistance, discounts, and rebates offered by the utility.
She also served as a senior analyst on Garcetti’s sustainability team, where she oversaw the implementation of Los Angeles’ first Sustainable City pLAn and helped the City secure a $1.7 million grant from the California Air and Resources Board to help launch BlueLA, an EV car-sharing pilot program in low-income communities.
“I want to be the commissioner who will continue to champion equity and disrupt mediocrity in the ways LADWP does and operationalizes its business,” Reyes told the Asian Journal in July. “Although LADWP has weathered disruptive periods before, including restructuring, many of the current issues bring challenges for which there is no playbook for guidance. I’m taking notes of best practices and lessons learned as I execute the responsibility entrusted to me.” (AJPress)
