Rosemary Kamei, District 1
Term expires: January 2011

2008 Chair

Rosemary Kamei was appointed to the Santa Clara Valley Water District Board of Directors in 1993 following the resignation of Joe Pandit. In 1994 she was formally elected to the board to represent District 1: the southern portion of Santa Clara County and the cities of Morgan Hill , Gilroy , the town of Los Gatos , and the southern area of San Jose .

The first woman elected to the board, she was the chairperson in 2002 and in 1995, and represented the district during a period of emergency with two flood disasters.

Water industry leadership: Rosemary currently serves as district representative on both the Environmental Advisory Committee and the Uvas/Llagas Flood Control and Watershed Advisory Committee.

She has extensive experience in dealing with critical water resource policy issues, including:

• water quality
• MTBE contamination and perchlorate issues
• underground storage tank challenges
• non-point source pollution prevention
• flood management, awareness and preparation issues
• environmental protection with watershed and stream management, and
• water use efficiency - conservation and water reuse

Professional and community activities:
Rosemary is Vice President of Development for Planned Parenthood Mar Monte (PPMM), overseeing fundraising for Planned Parenthood Advocates throughout its service area in California and northern Nevada. Previously she was Development Director for PPMM in Santa Clara/San Benito Counties.

She is a former businesswoman and general manager for Kamei Nursery, Inc. She is the founding member and president of Asians for a Better Community, a board member of Economic and Social Opportunities, former board member of Girl Scouts of Santa Clara County, and currently a member of the Latina Coalition, Association of California Water Agencies and League of Women Voters.

Rosemary holds a master's degree in Urban and Regional Planning from San Jose State University and a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. She is fluent in Spanish and has studied Mandarin.

She resides in Morgan Hill.

Santa Clara Valley Water District Board Members may be contacted by e-mail at clerkoftheboard@valleywater.org.
This e-mail address is for letters and correspondence to the Board only.