Adán Ortega, Jr.

Professional and community activities:

Adán Ortega, Jr., took office as chair of The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California on January 1, 2023. As board chair, he has organized the board's leadership and committees around climate adaptation action to secure long-term water reliability. He was unanimously re-elected by the Board in October 2024 for a term that expires December 31, 2026.

During his terms as chair of the board, a decision-making framework for water projects was approved as part of the Climate Adaptation Master Plan for Water (CAMP4W). CAMP4W envisions a new business model reflecting the challenges of increased weather volatility. The settlement of 15 years of litigation with the San Diego County Water Authority introduced the most significant change to Metropolitan's business model as a cornerstone of CAMP4W. The litigation settlement, for the first time, allows a member agency to exchange surplus conserved supplies for sale to other member agencies.

Ortega served as Metropolitan’s vice president of external affairs from 1999 to 2005. Prior to joining Metropolitan, Ortega served as chief deputy for then-Secretary of State Bill Jones and as assistant general manager of both West Basin and Central Basin municipal water districts. He is the first Latino to serve as the Board's chair.

The principal of Ortega Strategies Group, he has worked in government relations for 30 years and has helped lead efforts to bring technical assistance to small community water systems in disadvantaged communities around California.

In 2013, he was appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown to the California Water Commission. Prior to that, he was appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to serve on the California State Board of Food and Agriculture, where Ortega chaired its water committee from 2005 to 2012.

A Fullerton resident, Ortega has a bachelor's degree in English and History from Whittier College.