Mary Wells, Chairman

Mary Wells was elected Chairman of the Northern California Water Association Board of Directors on March 21, 2001. As a founding director of NCWA, Mary has been a major contributor to water policy and legislation in Northern California.

Mary is the fifth generation of a California farming and ranching family. She grew up on a cattle ranch in Merced, California. Mary paved the way for women in agriculture as the first female student in the Merced Unified School District to complete the vocational agricultural curriculum and to receive the Bank of America award in agriculture. A graduate of Cal-Poly, San Luis Obispo, with a degree in Farm Management, her 21 years of staff work began in 1977 as the first employee of Westside Water District. Westside is one of the seventeen districts that developed along the Tehama-Colusa and Corning Canals as part of Northern California.s Central Valley Project (CVP). In addition to her participation with husband Charles in the family rice farming and rangeland operation, Mary held the position of Administrator for Maxwell Irrigation District for four years and then served as General Manager of Westside Water District until 1998.

Now seated as a director on Westside.s Board, she is dealing with the CVP long-term contract renewal process and the related water supply issues. She was very active in advocating the water user issues in the drafting of the 1992 Central Valley Project Improvement Act and the interim renewal contract negotiations in 1994. Mary has served on the Tehama-Colusa Canal Authority Board since 1986 with a focus on Red Bluff Diversion Dam and budget and finance issues. Last year Mary was appointed to the Maxwell Irrigation District Board of Directors where the development of both a conjunctive use project and the office/shop complex are being addressed.

Other activities included twelve years as a 4-H horse leader and twelve years on the Maxwell Unified School District Board. Two daughters, Jamie Traynham and Debbie Pennebaker continue to add a special dimension to Mary.s experiences. Her grandchildren Austin, 4, and Hailey Traynham, 2, have elevated tossing rocks in the creek to one of her favorite pastimes.

Education

B.S., Farm Management, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

Work Experience

1977-1998 - Westside Water District - General Manager
1986-Present - Tehama-Colusa Canal Authority - Director
1992-Present - NCWA - Director
1999-Present - Westside Water District - Director
2000-Present - Maxwell Irrigation District - Director

Community Involvement

Maxwell Unified School District - Past Board Member
4-H Horse Leader - 12 years