Board Members

MPWD Board of Directors 2022

Louis Vella

Louis Vella

President

Term Ends: November 2024
Email: lvella@midpeninsulawater.org

Louis J. Vella was first elected to the Board in November, 1999. Vice President Vella has more than 40 years of professional work experience both in the private and public sector. He retired as Administrative Chief-Fire Marshal in 2008 after serving 28 years with the City of Redwood City. Director Vella was appointed by the MPWD to the Board of Directors of the Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency (BAWSCA) and has served since it was established in 2003. He also serves as a member of the BAWSCA Board Policy Committee.

Education: B.A. in Management, St. Mary’s College, Moraga, 1988.

*Per California Elections Code Section 10404, the MPWD elections were consolidated (via Resolution 2016-16) with the statewide General Elections, which are held in even-numbered years. This resulted in the extension of Directors’ terms by one year.

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Matthew P. Zucca

Matthew P. Zucca

Vice President

Term Ends: November 2024
Email: mzucca@midpeninsulawater.org

Matthew P. Zucca was first appointed to the Board in October, 2005. For more than 20 years, Director Zucca has been a professional engineer in the Bay Area specializing in capital program management and a wide range of stormwater projects in California. Currently, he is Principal Engineer with Erler & Kalinowski, Inc., (EKI) Consulting Engineers and Scientists.

Education: B.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Davis, 1993 (Dual Specialization in Structural and Environmental Engineering).

*Per California Elections Code Section 10404, the MPWD elections were consolidated (via Resolution 2016-16) with the statewide General Elections, which are held in even-numbered years. This resulted in the extension of Directors’ terms by one year.

View Form 700 »

View Public Service Ethics Education Certificate »

Catherine M. Jordan

Catherine M. Jordan

Director

Term Ends: November 2026
Email: cjordan@midpeninsulawater.org

Cathy Mostasisa Jordan was appointed to the board in July 2021. Director Jordan previously served two terms on the Belmont Redwood Shores School Board, serving as President twice. She also served as the first Asian-American woman on the Belmont City Council. For more than 10 years, Director Jordan has held various marketing roles in the software industry, and currently leads a Global Customer Advocacy team.

Education: B.A. in Speech and Communication Studies, concentration in Organizational Communication, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA

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View Public Service Ethics Education Certificate »

Brian Schmidt

Brian Schmidt

Director

Term Ends: November 2026
Email: bschmidt@midpeninsulawater.org

Brian Schmidt was elected to the Board in November 2018. Director Schmidt is an environmental and water resources attorney and leads Greenbelt Alliance’s Natural Landscapes and Farms & Ranches Forever Initiatives.

Education: JD, Environmental Law, Water Law, Administrative Law, Stanford University Law School; BS in Government, Economics and Philosophy, Georgetown University.

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Kirk R. Wheeler

Kirk R. Wheeler

Director

Term Ends: November 2026
Email: kwheeler@midpeninsulawater.org

Kirk R. Wheeler was elected to the Board in November, 2018. Director Wheeler has more than 30 years of work experience as a professional water resources engineer in California. His experience includes planning and design of water supply, drainage and water quality projects, as well as environmental review and permitting.

Education: B.S. in Environmental Engineering, Northwestern University, 1975. M.S. Civil Engineering, Stanford University, 1976.

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Appointed Officials

Rene A. Ramirez

Rene A. Ramirez

Interim General Manager

Email: rramirez@midpeninsulawater.org

Rene Ramirez was appointed by the Board of Directors as Interim General Manager in July, 2022. Mr. Ramirez served as Operations Manager since 2015. He has more than 30 years of service in the public utility field. During his career, Mr. Ramirez has been responsible as the department head in cities large and small for water distribution infrastructure and water treatment facilities, wastewater collection infrastructure and wastewater treatment facilities, solid waste and diversion programs, and a natural gas distribution system.

Education: B.S. in Agricultural/Bio Resource Engineering, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, 1984.

View Form 700 »

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Kat Wuelfing

Kat Wuelfing

Assistant General Manager

Email: kwuelfing@midpeninsulawater.org

Kat Wuelfing joined the MPWD leadership as Assistant General Manager in July, 2022. Ms. Wuelfing comes to the MPWD after 15 years in water resources consulting, supporting water agencies throughout California, and 8 years in special district governance. She supports the General Manager with managing operations and activities of the MPWD.

Education: MESM in Water Resources and Pollution Prevention and Remediation, University of California Santa Barbara, 2006; B.S. in Environmental Science and Biology, Santa Clara University, 2004.

View Form 700 »

View Public Service Ethics Education Certificate »

Monique Madrid

Monique Madrid

District Secretary

Email: moniquem@midpeninsulawater.org

Monique Madrid joined the MPWD in 2020 bringing with her nearly 25 years experience in municipal community services and is a Certified Municipal Clerk. She worked for four years at Templeton CSD, and then 20 years at Cambria CSD in various positions, including Administrative Services Manager, District Clerk, and Interim General Manager.

Monique currently serves as MPWD’s Administrative Services Manager and District Secretary.

View Form 700 »

View Public Service Ethics Education Certificate »

Joubin Pakpour, PE

Joubin Pakpour, PE

District Engineer

Joubin Pakpour, P.E., Pakpour Consulting Group, Inc., was appointed as the District Engineer for the MPWD in 2011. He is a registered professional civil engineer with over two decades of project design and construction management experience in water distribution throughout the Bay Area and California. Mr. Pakpour also serves as the District Engineer for Purissima Hills Water District and Westborough Water District.

Education: M.S. in Civil Engineering, San Jose State University, 1998; B.S. in Civil Engineering, San Jose State University, 1995.

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Julie Sherman

Julie Sherman

District Counsel

Julie Sherman, Hanson Bridgett, LLP, has practiced in the field of municipal law for 10 years, and has served as District Counsel for the MPWD for the past several years. She is General Counsel for the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District, and serves other special districts and cities.

Further information about Julie Sherman can be found here.

Education: J.D., University of California, Berkeley Boalt Hall School of Law, 2007; B.A., cum laude, State University of New York at Buffalo, 1989.

View Form 700 »

View Public Service Ethics Education Certificate »

Sheldon Chavan, CPA

Sheldon Chavan, CPA

District Treasurer

Managing Partner of Chavan & Associates, LLP

Sheldon Chavan, CPA, Chavan & Associates LLP, was appointed as the District Treasurer on April 28, 2022.

Sheldon Chavan began his career in public accounting in 1998 and is a CPA licensed in California. He has also been a member of the GFOA Special Review Committee, with responsibility for reviewing ACFR’s for award of the Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting. Sheldon has been a board member and financial advisor for the Redwood City Education Foundation. He was also a member of the Moreland School District Parcel Tax and Bond Oversight Committees.

Sheldon has audited various types of local governments, nonprofit organizations and privately held companies, which have been funded through local, state grants, federal grants, sewer and water charges, property taxes and various other revenue streams. He also provides monthly budgeting, accounting and financial reporting services to local governments, nonprofits and privately held companies.

Education: B.S. in Accounting from San Jose State University.

Board Member and Employee Compensation

The following compensation reports and information for MPWD Board Members and employees are available:

California State Controller – Government Compensation in California

Board Compensation and Reimbursement Policy

The policy regarding Board Member compensation and reimbursements can be downloaded here (PDF)