LOS ANGELES (December 13, 2022)– Nurit Katz has been appointed and confirmed as the newest member of the Los Angeles Board of Water and Power Commissioners. The first and current Chief Sustainability Officer of UCLA was appointed to the Board by Mayor Eric Garcetti, and will be the fifth member of the all-female city commission overseeing the largest municipal utility in the nation. Her term will continue through June 30, 2023.
Katz fills the Board position left vacant when Commissioner Jill Banks Barad-Hopkins announced her retirement after nine years of service on the Board.
“Commissioner Katz’s background in and commitment to sustainability will be invaluable to LADWP’s many initiatives that aim to protect our environment and secure reliable water and power supplies, while engaging our communities in the process,” said Board of Water and Power President Cynthia McClain-Hill. “I can’t wait to have her on our dais to help us tackle the important work ahead of us and advance the Department’s sustainability goals.”
A lifelong resident of the San Fernando Valley, Katz is an educator and sustainability professional who cares deeply about creating a sustainable, resilient, and healthy region for all Angelenos.
Katz has served in a number of public sector and non-profit advisory capacities including on the LA 100 Advisory Group, Los Angeles County Climate Vulnerability Assessment Technical Advisory Committee, and the Resilient Infrastructure Working Group for Resilient LA. She currently serves on the Biodiversity Expert Council for the City of Los Angeles, and the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Areas Steering Committee.
As Chief Sustainability Officer for UCLA, Katz led the development of the university’s first comprehensive sustainability plan and fosters collaboration across the leading public university to advance sustainability through education, research, operations, and community partnerships. For six years she also served as Executive Officer for Facilities Management. Katz has over 15 years of teaching experience and is an Instructor for the UCLA Extension Sustainability Certificate Program. She has also taught for the UCLA Institute of Environment and Sustainability and prior to UCLA worked in environmental and outdoor education.
Katz holds an MBA and a Masters in Public Policy from the UCLA, and a BA in Environmental Education from Humboldt State University. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UCLA and is a Trainee in the National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT) Innovation at the Nexus of Food, Energy, and Water Systems (INFEWS) program.
Outside of work, Katz enjoys wildlife photography and urban ecology research and serves as the Outreach Coordinator for the Los Angeles Raptor Study, a community science-based study of nesting raptors, supported by Friends of Griffith Park.
For more information about the Board of Water and Power Commissioners, visit www.ladwpcommission.com.
# # #
