Alfred E. Smith II, a Southern California water law attorney and an alumnus of the Water Education Foundation’s Water Leaders program, has been elected president of the Foundation’s board of directors.

As chair of Nossaman LLP’s Water Group and a partner in the firm’s Los Angeles office, Smith serves as general counsel to several Southern California water districts and represents clients on water rights, groundwater adjudications, water contamination litigation and remediation matters.

Over the course of his career, Smith has been recognized repeatedly by the Los Angeles Times as a “Legal Visionary;” named one of the “Top 100″ lawyers in the United States by the National Black Lawyers Association; named by Best Lawyers as one of the leading water law attorneys in California; and honored numerous times by the Los Angeles Business Journal in its annual “Leaders of Influence: Minority Attorneys” rankings. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School and the University of California, Berkeley.

Early Water Leader

In 1999, Smith was a member of the Foundation’s Water Leaders cohort two years after the yearlong program began. Participants deepen their knowledge on water, enhance their leadership skills and learn how to take an active, cooperative approach to decision-making about water resource issues.

“Since I completed the Water Leaders program 25 years ago, I have had tremendous respect and appreciation for the Foundation’s important mission as it educates, mentors, provides vital programming and raises awareness of critical water issues in California and across the West,” Smith said.

While many graduates of the Water Leaders program sit on the board of directors, Smith is the first one to become president.

“I look forward to helping the board and staff enhance the Foundation’s mission as a respected and impartial source of information to inspire a better understanding of water issues,” Smith said.

Unique Connection to Foundation

Smith succeeds Terry Fulp, former director of the Bureau of Reclamation’s Lower Colorado Region, who stepped down on Jan. 1. Other Foundation board presidents have included former Reclamation Commissioner Bob Johnson and former California Natural Resources Secretary Mike Chrisman. Both Johnson and Chrisman passed away in the last few years.

“Alfred’s history with the Foundation is unique and makes his rise to board president a compelling story. We are grateful to have him take on this important role,” said Eric Robinson, a Sacramento-based water resources attorney and managing shareholder at Kronick Moskovitz Tiedemann & Girard who serves as the Foundation’s vice president.

The Foundation’s Board of Directors elected Smith to the post on March 10. The volunteer board of more than 30 members representing a broad cross-section of water, education, business, environmental, agricultural and public interest communities governs the Foundation. The Foundation is led day-to-day by Executive Director Jenn Bowles, who oversees a staff of teachers, journalists and nonprofit professionals.

An impartial nonprofit based in Sacramento, the Foundation focuses on producing news, maps, publications, workshops and tours to raise awareness of water issues in California and across the Colorado River Basin. In addition, the Foundation serves as the California coordinator of Project WET, a K-12 program that helps teachers learn how to bring lessons on water science into the classroom.