Growing up with both parents in the military (Army and Navy),
Russ Ryan
learned to seek out new adventures wherever he lived.
Much of his childhood was spent along the East Coast, before moving to Hawaii during high school. College brought him to Southern California where he earned his engineering degree from Loyola Marymount University. There, he also played on the university's championship rugby team and even competed against
Kevin Donhoff
(also a Met employee) who played for Cal Poly Pomona at the time.
After graduating,
Russ
worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and then LADWP before coming to Metropolitan in 1991, where he started in Water Resource Planning.
About 10 years ago,
Russ
joined the Bay Delta Initiatives group. He spends much of his time managing Metropolitan’s islands in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and representing the district on various policy, data and science projects. He was recently named to the Delta Protection Commission Advisory Committee where he’ll provide a water agency perspective to advance work to help preserve the Delta environment and economy.
Outside of work,
Russ
has raised and shown Arabian horses, including some that have won national awards. For a time, he also did team roping and owned a breeding ranch for Arabians. These days, he and his trusted Paint horse, Takoda, enjoy outings in the vineyards of Lodi.
Russ
is in the process of moving to northern California and has found his voice – literally – landing a coveted spot on the community Chamber Choir in the city of Woodland, his new home.
