November 21, 2008
Contact: Public Affairs (213) 367-1361
NICK PATSAOURAS ELECTED PRESIDENT
OF BOARD OF WATER AND POWER COMMISSIONERS
EDITH RAMIREZ IS RE-ELECTED VICE PRESIDENT
LOS ANGELES- Nick Patsaouras, an electrical engineer, was elected president of the Board of Water and Power Commissioners on Nov. 6. The Board re-elected Edith Ramirez, an attorney, as vice president.
Patsaouras was appointed by Mayor Villaraigosa to the Board in 2005. For more than 35 years, he has served as president of Patsaouras and Associates, Inc., an electrical engineering company that specializes in the design of power, lighting, energy and communications systems. He is also president of Polis Builders, which develops mixed-use projects.
“I am confident that Nick Patsaouras will provide excellent direction and foresight to the Board as the Department of Water and Power takes giant leaps toward environmental leadership, while enhancing reliability of its services, exerting greater fiscal responsibility and demonstrating transparency in its operations,” said Mayor Villaraigosa. “During his term on the Board, Patsaouras has devoted countless hours and tireless energy scrutinizing every dollar spent by the LADWP. I know he will continue representing the rate payers well as Board president.”
Patsaouras is a past member of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and of the Los Angeles City Board of Zoning Appeals. Fluent in both Spanish and Greek, he is the founder and chairman emeritus of the Los Angeles-Athens Sister City affiliation.
A graduate of California State University, Northridge, Patsaouras serves as chair of the Project Advisory Committee overseeing the construction of USC Medical Center, UCLA/Harbor Hospital and the LAPD Headquarters. He has been honored by his alma mater, CSUN, as both an “Outstanding Alumnus” and “Entrepreneur of the Year.”
Ramirez, who also was appointed to the Board in 2005 by Mayor Villaraigosa, is a partner with the law firm of Quinn, Emanuel, Urquhart, Oliver & Hedges, LLP, which specializes in intellectual property and complex business litigation matters. Prior to joining her current law firm, Ramirez was an associate at the firm of Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher for three years. Before that, she served as a law clerk to the Honorable Alfred T. Goodwin, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Ramariz received her A.B. from Harvard-Radcliffe College, and her law degree from Harvard Law School, where she served as a member of the Harvard Law Review. She has participated in a variety of professional and community activities, including serving as a member of the Board of Directors of Volunteers of America of Los Angeles, She is the former president of the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Center for Law and Justice. She also is a former member of the Los Angeles Police Permit Review Panel.
LADWP Board members also announced the following committees:
- Ad Hoc Committee on Pending Retirements at LADWP — Wally Knox, Chair; and Nick Patsaouras.
- Audit – Nick Patsaouras, Chair, and Edith Ramirez.
- Contracts – Nick Patsaouras, Chair, and Edith Ramirez.
- Economic Development — Forescee Hogan-Rowles, Chair; and Edith Ramirez.
- Electrification of the Los Angeles Harbor – Nick Patsaouras, Chair; and Wally Knox.
- Energy and the Environment – Edith Ramirez, Chair; and Nick Patsaouras, Forescee Hogan-Rowles; and Wally Knox.
- Investment Committee Representative – Nick Patsaouras
- Inyo/Los Angeles Standing Committee Representatives – Forescee Hogan-Rowles, Chair; and Wally Knox
- L.A. River –Edith Ramirez, Chair; and Wally Knox
- Personnel Relations – Wally Knox, Chair; and Edith Ramirez
- Retirement Board – Forescee Hogan-Rowles
The Commissioners, who set policy for the Department of Water and power, are appointed to five-year terms and work on a completely voluntary basis.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the nation’s largest municipal utility, was established more than 100 years ago to provide reliable water and electricity to the city’s residents and businesses, serves more than 3.9 million people in Los Angeles. For more information about the LADWP, log on to www.ladwp.com.
