Term expires: January 2011
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, which includes the southern portion of Santa Clara County and the cities of Morgan Hill, Gilroy, the Town of Los Gatos, and a portion of south San Jose.
The first woman elected to the Board, Rosemary served as Chair of the Board in 1995, 2002, and 2008, and represented the District during a period of emergency with two flood disasters.
Rosemary currently serves as the District representative on three Board Advisory Committees: the Environmental Advisory Committee, the Santa Clara Valley Water Commission 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
Rosemary is Vice President of Development for Planned Parenthood Mar Monte (PPMM), overseeing fundraising 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 teaches classes in Urban Community and Development at San Jose State University, where she holds a master's degree in Urban and Regional Planning. She earned her 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 and has two children, Ellen and Jonathon.
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.