Ed Reyes

Title: 
Executive Director
Organization: 
River LA
Biography: 

Ed P. Reyes is the Executive Director of River LA where he spearheads the organization’s efforts to revitalize all 51 miles of the LA River. Ed Reyes brings two decades of experience working in the public sector and improving the quality of life for all Angelenos, having served on the Los Angeles City Council for 22 years, 10 years as Chief Planning Deputy for District 1 and 12 years as City Councilmember. 

Both in his tenure on City Council and beyond, Ed has been a staunch advocate and champion for the Los Angeles River. During his time in City Council, and with the support of his Council colleagues, Ed established the Ad-Hoc River Committee to revitalize the Los Angeles River and served as Chair for 10 years. 

As chair of the Los Angeles River Ad Hoc Committee, Ed brought a renewed focus to the once-ignored Los Angeles River. He championed a multidisciplinary focus to promote a multi-purpose role along the river corridor and secured more than $3 million to create a neighborhood-driven plan that included enhancing water quality, environmental protection, increasing open space and improving flood control.

In 2007, Ed led a comprehensive community participation process that led to the adoption of the City of LA’s Los Angeles River Master Plan. The plan focuses on a regional strategy to address the deterioration of natural habitats while enhancing flood control capacity.

Ed was appointed by Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis as an LA County Park Commissioner, and by then-Governor Jerry Brown to the governing board for the Designated Local Authority for Former Community Redevelopment Agency overseeing the transfer of assets and land use authority from the Community Redevelopment Agency. He is currently appointed to the Measure W Committee to facilitate the goals for implementing stormwater harvesting.

Category: 
Speaker
Conference: