Gracie Torres joined Western’s Board of Directors in December 2018 and now serves as Vice President. She  represents Division 2, which includes portions of the City of Riverside located southeast of the 91 Freeway and west of the 215 Freeway, portions of Lake Mathews, March Air Reserve Base, and Woodcrest.

Gracie Torres is a longtime Riverside resident and a proud product of Riverside Unified School District schools as well as Riverside Community College. Her passion for water quality and environmental science developed when she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry/Biochemistry and a Master’s in Earth and Environmental Sciences from California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB). She is currently working on a Doctorate in Public Administration at Cal Baptist University (CBU).  Professionally, she is a water chemist and water quality compliance planner with Riverside County Flood Control and Water Conservation District and is an adjunct chemistry professor at CSUSB.

Gracie Torres and her husband live in Riverside with their three children. Her current term on the Western Board of Directors expires in December 2022.

Representing the northern portion of the City of Murrieta, the southwest portion of the City of Moreno Valley, the northern portion of the City of Perris and the unincorporated areas of French Valley, Winchester, Domenigoni, Diamond Valley, Homeland, Juniper Flats, Nuevo, Lakeview, Gilman Hot Springs, and Green Acres.

Philip E. Paule has served on EMWD’s Board of Directors since 2007 and has worked at various levels of government for more than three decades.

Mr. Paule served as Board President from 2013-14 and 2021-24. He serves on EMWD’s Administrative, Executive, Deferred Compensation, and Retirement Trust committees.

Mr. Paule also serves as EMWD’s representative on the Hemet-San Jacinto Watermaster Board of Directors and the Western Riverside Council of Governments (WRCOG) Board of Directors.

He serves on EMWD’s Ad Hoc committees for Lake Hemet Municipal Water District, Western Municipal Water District, the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians Tribal Committee, and the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians Tribal Committee.

Mr. Paule resides in French Valley with his wife and two sons. He is active in several youth organizations in the region.

His EMWD board term expires at the end of December 2026.

Director Channing Hawkins is a founder of IEWorks and led the groundbreaking work to secure key funding to establish IEWorks as a 501(c)3. 

.The people of the West Valley Water District elected Channing Hawkins to the Board of Directors in November 2019. Director Hawkins represents District 4, which includes the communities of Rialto, Colton, Bloomington and unincorporated areas of San Bernardino County. Understanding that water is a vital public resource, he serves based on the belief that the West Valley Water District must be transparent, accountable and create opportunities that benefit local families. Through his role, he is committed to providing safe, reliable and affordable water for the inland empire.

Director Hawkins is a longtime organizer for worker rights, civil rights and social injustices causes and has served as an adviser to members of the California State Assembly, U.S. Congress and U.S. Department of Agriculture. He currently serves as a County of Riverside worker’s rights advocate, City of Rialto human relations commissioner, adult literacy volunteer to City of Colton residents and mentor to County of San Bernardino at-risk youth.

Director Hawkins earned a law degree and undergraduate degree from Howard University in Washington, D.C., is a proud member of the Ecclesia Christian Fellowship in the Del Rosa Community of San Bernardino and is a committed husband and father of three boys and daughter.

Director Jasmin Hall previously served as Secretary of the Fontana Planning Commission and as Chairwoman for the Fontana Parks and Recreation Commission.

Director Hall initiated the process that earned Inland Empire Utilities Agency the Special District Leadership Foundation’s District Transparency Certificate of Excellence.

Director Hall received the Recognition in Special District Governance certificate, which is designed to honor special district Board members and trustees that demonstrate their commitment to continuing education and special district governance. The recognition covers the essentials of good governance, as well as service-specific education.

Director Hall holds an MBA degree with a specialization in Human Resource Management from National University, San Diego, a BS degree in Business Management from University of Phoenix, San Diego, and a Project Management Certification from University of California, Irvine.

Scott Goodell experienced program manager with over 14 years of experience designing and delivering high-profile career pathway training programs for workers in labor/management partnership settings.  His career has included work with UCLA’s Labor Occupational Safety and Health Program, Building Skills Partnership, and most recently, SEIU UHW-West & Joint Employer Education Fund. Scott holds a BA in Latin American and Latino Studies and a holds a Certificate in Project Management from Cal State Los Angeles.

Elizabeth has over 25 years of experience leading workforce education and training strategies, with particular expertise in the utilities and healthcare industries. Elizabeth recently led research to identify workforce capacity and training needs to connect people to water industry jobs in the Bay Area, which resulted in the Water and Wastewater Career Pathways report.

Prior to JVS, Elizabeth served as the Executive Director of the SEIU UHW-West and Joint Employer Education Fund. She received her master’s degree in Public Administration from Golden Gate University and her bachelor’s degree from the University of Kentucky.