Sacramento, CA – The California Water Data Consortium is pleased to welcome three new members to its Board of Directors: Senator Bill Dodd (ret.), Lacey McBride with Merced County, and Lauren Steely with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. Together, they bring decades of experience spanning state policy, regional water systems, and local groundwater management. Their diverse perspectives will continue to strengthen the Consortium’s work at a pivotal moment for California’s water and ecological data infrastructure.
“As we mark the 10th anniversary of the Open and Transparent Water Data Act, we’re fortunate to welcome three leaders who represent where this work began and where it’s headed. Their combined expertise in policy, local water management, and data science will help ensure California’s next decade of investment in water and ecological data infrastructure is as impactful as possible,” says Meredith Lee, Board Chair of the California Water Data Consortium.
Senator Bill Dodd‘s appointment represents a homecoming of sorts for the Consortium. As a state legislator, Dodd authored Assembly Bill 1755, the Open and Transparent Water Data Act of 2016, whose vision of integrated, accessible water data ultimately led to the Consortium’s creation three years later. He represented California’s 3rd Senate District from 2016 to 2024, championing legislation on water, wildfire resilience, and climate adaptation.
“As the author of AB 1755, the Open and Transparent Water Data Act, I have been impressed with the work of the California Water Data Consortium,” remarks Senator Dodd. “I am honored to be asked to serve on their Board.”
As Water Resources Manager for Merced County, Lacey McBride coordinates Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) implementation across four groundwater basins and assists the County in managing a range of water resources challenges. Before joining Merced County, McBride served as Director of Federal Governmental Relations for UC Merced, where she worked with Congressional representatives on policy priorities including agriculture, water, and natural resources.
“Access to reliable water data will be critical for successfully implementing water management policies like those required by SGMA,” says McBride of her motivation for joining the Board. “The Consortium can play an important role in helping craft best practices and facilitating conversations around water data and access, especially during these early years of SGMA implementation.”
Lauren Steely joins the Board as a Senior Resource Specialist at the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, where she has spent a decade working at the intersection of agricultural water use, data science, and conservation. Steely brings expertise in remote sensing, data visualization, GIS, and open-source data science. She has previously contributed to the Consortium’s work through its Telemetered Water Monitoring Technical Advisory Committee and has served on technical working groups for the California Data Collaborative and OpenET. Before joining Metropolitan, she worked as a field geochemist, mapping solvent plumes at contaminated sites across the U.S.
“Californians have spent the last ten years building new digital tools for water management that have democratized access to data on water rights, groundwater, diversions, and evapotranspiration,” says Steely. “Now it’s time to put them together and see how we can use them to make better decisions.”
These appointments come as the Consortium enters an ambitious new phase of work. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Open and Transparent Water Data Act, and the organization is working with partners to develop a roadmap for the next decade of water data infrastructure investment in California.
“Senator Dodd championed the law that made our organization and work possible. Lacey is on the front lines of SGMA implementation, where reliable data are essential to success. And Lauren has spent a decade building the tools that turn that vision into reality,” says Consortium CEO & President Robyn Grimm. “Each of them brings skills and perspectives needed as we work to lay out a vision for the next chapter of modernizing our water and ecological information systems. We couldn’t ask for a better team at this pivotal moment.”
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The California Water Data Consortium serves as California’s trusted, neutral convener for collaboration on water and ecological data. Since our founding in 2019 to advance the Open and Transparent Water Data Act, we’ve brought together state agencies, water managers, industries, researchers, and community organizations to break down data silos and build the open infrastructure California’s water future depends on. In a connected system facing climate stress and competing demands, data clarity isn’t optional—it’s essential. Learn more at cawaterdata.org.
Media Contact: Alyssa Senturk, Senior Communications and Outreach Manager, asenturk@cawaterdata.org, 619-354-0083
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