September 2019 Newsletter
WELL Annual Conference 2020
Save the date! We are excited to announce the WELL Annual Conference 2020, which will take place March 20th–21st in beautiful San Jose, California! Stay tuned for more details as the conference approaches. The countdown begins now with only 172 days until we meet!
Congratulations to the new Mayor of South Gate, Belen Bernal!
South Gate City Council voted for Belen Bernal as the city’s new mayor at their city council meeting on Tuesday, September 24th, 2019. Bernal, a WELLo from the 2019 cohort, has continued to stay active in the WELL Network. She is currently planning to host a water legislative workshop along with Vice Mayor Denise Diaz and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon in South Gate next month. Congratulations, Belen! We look forward to seeing you lead your city in your new role as mayor.
WELL Network Spotlight: City of Huron Mayor Rey León
UpLift California recently published an excellent profile of City of Huron Mayor Rey León for his work in bringing clean transportation solutions to his community. León, a 2019 WELLo, continually advocates for his community and the environment. With help from community and government partners, León developed an electric vehicle rideshare service called Green Raiteros. He was able to secure more than $519,000 to build this program, which officially launched in 2018. León’s innovative environmental initiative has served not only the city of Huron, but also surrounding communities such as Coalinga and Avenal. WELL commends Mayor León for his outstanding work.
Upcoming Legislative Workshops in your region!
The Legislative Water Workshops are strategic opportunities for WELL leaders to interact and collaborate on teaching and learning sessions about local water policy in coordination with state legislators. Upcoming regional workshops will be held in Fresno, Avenal, and South Gate in October and November. See below for more information.
Staff Highlight: Brianne Logasa
Meet Brianne Logasa, who started this month as WELL’s new Program Manager. Brianne is a Sonoma County native who is passionate about water resource management and community development. She recently earned a Master of Urban and Regional Planning degree from UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs along with a Graduate Certificate in Sustainability. She has worked with Valley Water (formerly Santa Clara Valley Water District) and served as a consultant for a social impact consulting firm. Prior to graduate school, Brianne attended UC San Diego, where she attained a Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies and Planning. During her time there, she conducted research on household water conservation technology with the Urban Water Innovation Network and worked for the San Diego Housing Federation.
In her free time, Brianne is an avid runner, having run six half marathons and one full marathon. She is also an exuberant public transit rider who loves exploring Los Angeles by bus and light rail.
We welcome Brianne to WELL and are excited to see her translate her passion into great work for Latino leaders across the state!
Follow WELL on social media!
Follow WELL on social media to get current California water news and updates about WELL programs and events:
Water Education for Latino Leaders
@LatinosForWater
Water Education for Latino Leaders (WELL) educates local Latino elected officials on California water policies to promote timely and equitable actions that strive to develop a robust economy, healthy communities, and a resilient environment for all Californians. Visit our website: www.latinosforwater.org.
