SACRAMENTO, Calif. _ Bob Johnson, a former commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation, was elected president of the Water Education Foundation’s board of directors, taking the helm as the organization marks its 40th anniversary in 2017.

Johnson replaces Bill Mills, who had been president since 2007 and will remain on the board as a director. Mills is a water consultant who was general manager of the Orange County Water District from 1987 to 2002.

“I couldn’t be more thrilled to be board president of one of the preeminent organizations in the West devoted to water education and information,” Johnson said. “We are indebted to Bill for his leadership and devotion to the Foundation.”

In addition, the Foundation board of directors elected Mike Chrisman as a new board member. Chrisman served as California’s natural resource secretary for seven years under Gov. Schwarzenegger. His late father, Ira “Jack” Chrisman, a member of the California Water Commission, was the founding president of the Foundation from 1977 to 1984.

“The Foundation is near and dear to my heart,” Chrisman said. “My father and I both viewed his dedication to the Foundation as a true personal legacy and I’m proud to follow in his footsteps as a director on the board.”

Also, Celeste Cantú, general manager of the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority and former executive director of the State Water Resources Control Board, was elected as board secretary. She has been a board member since 2008. Cantú replaces Gary Weatherford, an administrative law judge at the California Public Utilities Commission, who will remain as a board member.

All positions were effective Jan. 1, 2017. Members of the board of directors voted to approve the new positions at their last meeting on Nov. 28.

An impartial nonprofit organization, the Foundation’s mission is to create a better understanding of water resources and foster public understanding and resolution of water resource issues through facilitation, education and outreach. Executive Director Jennifer Bowles oversees a staff of 10 dedicated to carrying out the mission.

The Foundation is governed by a volunteer board of 33 members representing a broad cross-section of water, education, business, environmental, agricultural and public interest communities.

Johnson has been a Foundation board member since 2013. He served as Reclamation commissioner from 2006 to 2009, overseeing the water and power programs of the nation’s largest water wholesaler and second-largest producer of hydropower.

Before becoming commissioner in 2006, he spent more than 30 years with Reclamation where he worked most extensively in the lower Colorado River Basin, serving as the Secretary of the Interior’s senior manager responsible for carrying out the Secretary’s responsibilities as “Water Master” of the lower Colorado River.

As regional director, he initiated and directed significant changes in the management of the Colorado River, including the first water-sharing agreements between California, Arizona, and Nevada and the first water supply guidelines to put California on a path to reducing its use of Colorado River water.

In addition, Johnson played a major role in securing the Quantification Settlement Agreement, which addressed California’s over-reliance on Colorado River water. He also helped develop and implement the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program, a multi-agency effort to conserve and work toward the recovery of endangered species, and protect and maintain wildlife habitat on the lower Colorado River.

Johnson joined Reclamation in 1975, beginning his career in the Mid-Pacific Region in Sacramento, Calif.