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THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
ABOUT MET THIS WEEK
A weekly newsletter by and for Metropolitan employees
May 14, 2018
Chairman Record's Keynote Address
Last week, Chairman Record gave the opening speech at the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) spring conference in Sacramento, providing perspective on Metropolitan’s past leadership and future vision for investing, planning and delivering water.

He opened with the story of a tunnel project, but to the surprise of some in the audience, it wasn’t about the California WaterFix tunnels. Instead this was, as Chairman Record said, “a very personal story that involves my family’s land and my grandfather.” 

When Metropolitan built the 240-mile Colorado River Aqueduct, it had to tunnel through the San Jacinto mountain range that was close to the Record’s ranch near Hemet. Neighbors, including the Records, knew there could be impacts on groundwater from the project, but also understood its importance. Working with Met, they ensured a replacement supply for the groundwater. That led to the creation of the Eastern Municipal Water District, where Chairman Record now sits on their board.

Fast forward to 2017 and 2018 and Metropolitan’s ‘leadership moment’ with historic votes to support the two-tunnel California WaterFix project. “We are on the verge of breaking through the status quo in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta,” Record told the audience. 

“As chairman of Metropolitan, this is truly a humbling moment. Our challenges are so big and so complex, but we can make progress together.”

That’s not tunnel vision. That’s big thinking.
MWD Shines at the Talent Development Conference
Suresh Radhakrishnan , Metropolitan’s Organizational Development & Training Manager and Kelly Bowen , Principal Organizaitonal Development & Training Specialist are just back from the 75 th Annual Association for Talent Development ( ATD) conference in San Diego.

While there, they were front and center to hear a speech from a very special guest - President Barack Obama. Here is a recap of the speech.

The former president’s messages were echoed and expanded upon during the variety of sessions that the attendees were able to choose from throughout the rest of the week.

Kelly said, “The best thing I heard came from President Obama” who said it was “important for leaders to listen to and ask for feedback from employees, not just peers.” He told the audience “leaders must make decisions in a timely manner based on the information available to them, knowing you’re not always gonna get it right, but can learn quickly when you make a mistake, own up to it, and fix it.”

Suresh resonated with President Obama’s comments that organizations “are not just training employees on skills” but “to touch the minds and hearts of people.” Rather, “training helps people tap into their best.”

The conference was attended by 10,000 professionals from 122 countries. Vendors shared the latest trends in learning technologies. “The conference provided cutting-edge tools so Met’s OD & Training Unit can keep developing MWD’s workforce for the future,” said Suresh
Keeping Met and
Nature in Balance
“T here are so many tangible, and often simple ways we can help other living things and accomplish our project goals at the same time,” says senior environmental specialist Wendy Picht. 

Wendy has kept many living things alive under her 25-year Met watch, all while accomplishing some of our most monumental projects including the building of Diamond Valley Lake. In a few short weeks, Wendy will retire leaving an unparalleled environmental legacy. She has preserved endangered species, archeological and paleontological finds (enough to fill museums), and built lasting relationships with Native American tribes, municipalities. NGOs and environmentalists.

“Like most people who worked on the Eastside Reservoir Project (DVL), that was without question the most challenging and professionally rewarding experience of my career,” Wendy said. "The legacy continues today in our ongoing stewardship and obligations to thousands of acres of conservation land in Riverside County."

Wendy came to Metropolitan with a background in environmental science and having worked as a system safety engineer for Rockwell International on their Mintueman missile upgrade program as well as for an Orange County environmental planning firm. 

She leaves with her sights set on spending quality time with family and friends, tending to her native plant garden and her “entirely too smart German Shepherd." She also plans to work with local groups to train women in the use of firearms for self-defense. 
New hires, transfers, promotions &
retirements are posted here each month.   
NEXT LIST: June 4
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