Meet our Board of Directors

Irma R. Muñoz

President

Irma R. Muñoz is the Founder/President of Mujeres de la Tierra. She has held many positions in the public sector, and the position she is most proud of is being a presidential appointee with the Clinton Administration serving in Washington D.C. with the U.S. Small Business Administration. She earned her BA from the University of California, San Diego and her Juris Doctorate from the Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, California.

Irma Muñoz serves as a member of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board.

Teresa Villegas has extensive experience working with environmental concerns throughout the state. Previously worked as a consultant for local governments, state conservancies, and nonprofits where she lobbied, wrote grants and secured funding for various natural resource amenities. Currently, Ms. Villegas is the Senior Deputy for Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis.

Teresa Villegas

Board Chair

Samantha Martinez

Samantha Martinez has over twenty years of experience in advocacy, community engagement, and government affairs. Before starting Kindel Gagan, Samantha was a principal with Rose & Kindel from 1996 through 2009. Samantha has a breadth of experience managing a diverse combination of clients in industries and interests ranging from entertainment and education to public works and technology.  She represents clients before multiple jurisdictions in Southern California and has experience working with officials at all levels of government.  On behalf of both public and private sector clients, Samantha develops and executes comprehensive public affairs programs to gain support for a broad range of issue areas. 

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In addition to her work, Samantha is involved in many civic and non-profit activities.  Samantha serves as Chair of the Board of Homeless Healthcare Los Angeles, sits on the executive board of Los Angeles Conservation Corps, sits on the board of Mujeres de La Tierra and is a former Chair of the Board and current Board Member of the Century City Chamber of Commerce. She is a past-president of the Los Angeles County Young Democrats and is a member of the Valley Industry and Commerce Association, the Los Angeles County Business Federation and the Greater Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce. She is a graduate of the Anti-Defamation League’s Salvin Leadership program and is an alumna of the Leadership LA Program of the Los Angeles Business Council.

Lynda Noriega

Lynda Noriega is the current Vice President/General Manager of California Domestic Water Company, a wholesale mutual water company based in Whittier, California. She started her career in the water industry with Valley County Water District, a retail water district located in Baldwin Park, California, on September 11, 2001, serving as the Operations Assistant, Water Quality Specialist, Finance & Administrative Manager and Interim General Manager before her appointment as General Manager in February 2011. Lynda served in the capacity of General Manager for Valley County Water District until her hire with California Domestic Water Company in March 2016. Lynda obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Accounting Theory from California State University, Fullerton in 2007. She is happily married to her husband, George Noriega, and has two young children, Damien and Audrey.

Adán Ortega, Jr.

Adán Ortega, Jr. is the sole proprietor of AOA, a public, and government affairs practice and is involved in other business ventures involving water conservation and consumer goods.  He has devoted most of his twenty-five year career as a senior executive in strategic planning and communications in the public sector and business arena playing prominent roles as board member on organizations such as the California State Board of Food and Agriculture, Whittier College, Heal the Bay, Roots of Change, Sustainable Conservation and the National Audubon Society. ​

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Adán is 50 years-old, fully fluent in Spanish. Adán has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Whittier College and was a fellow with the California Agricultural Leadership Foundation. 

Elsa Lopez is currently the Manager of Public Affairs for the Water Replenishment District of Southern California.  She is the former head of the Mothers of East Los Angeles and served as the first Director of the Audubon Center located in Highland Park. 

Elsa Lopez

Tracy Egoscue

Tracy Egoscue is the founder of Egoscue Law Group, her unique range of experiences as a former regulator, private sector employee, and public interest attorney makes her uniquely situated to understand and analyze complex environmental matters from a multitude of perspectives. 

Ms. Egoscue also serves on the Board of Directors of the California League of Conservation Voters. Ms. Egoscue received her J.D. from George Washington University in Washington D.C., and her B.A. from the University of California, Santa Barbara and is also licensed to practice in Connecticut.