Our Governing Board

The Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority is a Joint Powers Authority composed of the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy, State Coastal Conservancy, City of Long Beach, and City of Seal Beach. The Board of Directors of the Authority consists of four councilmembers, one from each agency.

Suzie Price (Chair)

One member appointed by the City of Long Beach

Suzie Price was sworn into the Long Beach City Council as the Third District Councilwoman on July 15, 2014. As a member of the Long Beach City Council, Councilwoman Price is Chair of the Public Safety Committee, Vice Chair of the Economic Development and Finance Committee and the Tidelands and Harbor Committee, a member of the Budget Oversight Committee, and Chair of the Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority. Serving as Chair of the Public Safety Committee Councilwoman Price was instrumental in dedicating $350,000 to the Long Beach Police Department to target residential burglaries and as Vice Chair of the Economic Development and Finance Committee she established a small business recruitment, retention, and growth pilot program for the City. Additionally, Councilwoman Price is an Honorary Board Member of the Women Shelter of Long Beach and on the Advisory Committee of Long Beach Ronald McDonald House. Suzie Price has served as a Senior Deputy District Attorney for over 15 years. Graduating from California State University, Long Beach with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and a Masters’ degree in Public Policy and Administration. Additionally during her studies Suzie was active with the Associated Students Inc., serving as Associate Justice, Senator at Large, and Student Body President. In 1999 Suzie graduated from Santa Clara University with a Juris Doctorate degree. Councilwoman Price and her husband, Mark, live in Alamitos Heights with their 11 year-old and 7 year-old sons who attend a local Elementary School, where Suzie has been an active member of the Parent Teacher Association. Suzie and her family have the love and support of her mother who resides in the Marina Pacifica residential community.

Joe Kalmick (Vice Chair)

One member appointed by the City of Seal Beach

Joe has served on the Seal Beach City Council since 2018 and has begun a serving a second term as the City’s Mayor in 2022. He chose to fill the City’s board position on the Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority in 2019, and was elected Vice-Chair in 2021. Joe recently completed a board position on the Lower San Gabriel and Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy (RMC). He also sits on the board of the Orange County Fire Authority, and represents the Region 20 cities of Seal Beach, Stanton, Westminster and Los Alamitos on SCAG. The Southern California Association of Governments is made up of 6 counties, 191 cities and serves over 19 million residents. SCAG is the nation’s largest MPA, or Metropolitan Planning Organization. In addition his position also places him on OCCOG, which is the Orange County Council of Governments, and is a sub-regional planning organization.

Joe is a native Californian, born in San Jose, and grew up in the Santa Monica mountains in West Los Angeles. This was a fairly rustic area back in the 1950’s, and he learned early lessons about local wildlife and natural habitats. He attended UCLA, graduating with a degree in Psychology. After a few career changes, Joe moved to Seal Beach in 1973 where he met his wife to be and was taken with the small town way of life. So he established a small Main Street business which kept him busy for the next 40 years. Joe and Adrienne have two grown children, one son is a Los Angeles County Firefighter/Paramedic who lives with his family in Long Beach, and the other who lives in Huntington Beach with his family, and was elected to their City Council in 2020.

Amy Hutzel

One member appointed by the State Coastal Conservancy

Amy Hutzel is Executive Officer at the State Coastal Conservancy, which works to protect and restore habitats, increase public access and recreation, and plan and implement nature-based climate change adaptation along the California Coast, in coastal watersheds, and in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Conservancy’s approximately 70 staff develop and manage multiple state grant programs and have undertaken thousands of projects with state funding. Prior to being appointed EO in November 2021, she served as the Deputy Executive Officer for six years and as the Bay Area Program Manager for nine years. She has a bachelor’s degree in urban and environmental planning from the University of Virginia. She lives in San Francisco with her husband and two children.

Roberto Uranga

One member appointed by the Rivers and Mountains Conservancy

City of Long Beach, Council District 7 Councilmember Roberto Uranga was elected on April 8, 2014 to represent the Seventh District on the Long Beach City Council. Prior to serving on the City Council, Councilmember Uranga represented Area 2 on the Long Beach City College Board of Trustees for 14 years. He led efforts to upgrade classrooms and connect community colleges with other levels of education through the College Promise initiative. Councilmember Uranga is a member of the California Coastal Commission and also serves as a member of the Rivers and Mountains Conservancy, Watershed Conservation Authority and Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority. While a community college trustee, he was the first Latino ever elected to serve as Chair of the National Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT). Councilmember Uranga attended California State University, Long Beach, where he worked for seven years as an administrator in the university’s retention program before beginning his 28 ½ year career with the City of Long Beach, serving in various departments including the Department of Health and Human Services, Civil Service Department and Public Works Department.  Councilmember Uranga’s wife of 30 years is former Long Beach 7th District Councilmember, Tonia Reyes Uranga. He and Tonia have lived in the Wrigley Area of Long Beach for 33 years.

Mark Stanley (Executive Officer)

Mark Stanley is the Executive Officer for the Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority. In addition to serving as Executive Officer of the LCWA, he is the Executive Officer of the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy as well as two other joint powers authorities including Watershed Conservation Authority, and the Azusa-RMC JPA. Under Mark’s leadership these organizations have planned and implemented numerous projects related to parks and open space in the region.

Meetings of the Board are open to the public. Click on Next Meeting for meeting information (location, date, and time). The agenda will be posted there 72 hours prior to each meeting. Details of the agenda will be posted shortly afterwards.