Two New Directors Seated on Metropolitan Water District’s Board of Directors

Natural Resources Defense Council’s (NRDC) Tracy Quinn and Glendale City Councilman Vartan Gharpetian recently joined the Board of Directors for Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. Quinn succeeds Mark Gold, who served as a NRDC director since April 2016. Gharpetian replaces Zareh Sinanyan, who represented the Glendale City Council on MWD’s board since December 2016.

Quinn is a registered engineer and holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agricultural and biological engineering from Cornell University (New York). She is the current director of water efficiency for NRDC, a nonprofit environmental organization that advocates for the protection of natural resources, with a focus on issue areas such as water, climate change, energy food and health. Quinn was nominated by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti to represent the city on Metropolitan’s 38-member board.

Previously Quinn was a water resources engineer for Kennedy/Jenks Consultants (KJC), prior to joining the NRDC in 2011. While at KJC she focused on a wide range of water-related issues, including resources planning, infrastructure design and stormwater regulation compliance. Quinn, who has worked for nearly two-decades, has dedicated her career on ensuring safe, sufficient and affordable water for Californians and most recently has centering her efforts on the challenges and opportunities for California in the face of climate change.

Gharpetian is the CEO of Glendale Commercial Inc., a real estate and development company. Additionally, he serves on a number of Glendale community organizations, including as vice chair of the Glendale Housing Authority, Glendale Chamber of Commerce, Glendale Police Foundation, Glendale Adventist Health Civic Advisory Board and the Glendale Historical Society.

Outside of Glendale, Gharpetian is secretary of the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority, and serves as a member of the League of California Cities’ Transportation, Communication and Public Works Policy Committee. He also serves on the Southern California Association of Government’s Community, Economic and Human Development Committee and on the California Contract Cities Association Board of Directors.