For Immediate Release

Contact: Kelsey Hinton, 765-729-1674

February 12, 2019

SACRAMENTO/VISALIA/WATSONVILLE -- We are thrilled to announce that Community Water Center’s Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director Laurel Firestone was appointed today by Governor Gavin Newsom as a Board Member of the State Water Resources Control Board. The Board has broad regulatory oversight and administers significant funding resources impacting California’s water, including access to safe and affordable drinking water.

Statement from Laurel Firestone

In 2006, Susana De Anda and I started the Community Water Center based on a simple idea: that access to safe drinking water is a basic human right. Since then we have worked alongside thousands of local community members and have achieved real progress. But it will take the continued efforts of CWC and community leaders in order to finally secure the California promise of safe, clean, affordable drinking water for all. I accept the Governor's appointment to the State Water Board knowing that CWC is stronger than ever, and I remain committed to working together as part of the movement for water justice.

Statement from Susana De Anda

Laurel has been a champion for the Human Right to Water since the founding of the Center. I know she will continue to be a champion at the State Water Board. Thanks to over a decade of community leadership, the movement for water justice is strong. But the fight for safe drinking water remains urgent. CWC will continue this year to lead alongside community partners to end our state's drinking water crisis which impacts more than 1 million Californians each year, through passage of the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund. CWC will continue to advocate for protection of groundwater and lift up the needs of communities on the frontline. CWC will continue to organize and build community-centered leadership from the ground up. This is a victory for the community -- today we celebrate Laurel’s appointment, tomorrow the fight for water justice continues.

Statement from Bessma Mourad -- President of the Center’s Board of Directors

Today’s appointment of Laurel Firestone is a reflection of the leadership and impact of the Community Water Center. CWC is a strong organization with a smart, dedicated staff and has relationships within communities impacted by unsafe water going back more than a decade. Led by Co-Founder Susana De Anda and supported by CWC’s leadership team, we are confident that CWC will continue to be at the forefront in the fight for water justice. We congratulate Laurel and look forward to this new chapter in her leadership and impact.

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Community Water Center (CWC) was founded in 2006 as a community-based organization that believes all communities should have access to clean, safe, and affordable water. CWC works as a catalyst for community-driven water solutions through organizing, education, and advocacy in California. For more information, visit www.communitywatercenter.org.