Rick Callender to lead Valley Water as CEO

Callender has worked for Valley Water since 1996, most recently as the Chief of External Affairs

Rick Callender

By Staff Report

The board of directors of Valley Water voted 4-3 in May to appoint Rick Callender as chief executive officer. He takes over for Norma Camacho who announced her retirement in December.

Callender’s immediate priorities will be navigating the agency through COVID-19, while focusing on the Anderson Dam Seismic Retrofit, Pacheco Reservoir Expansion, Rinconada Water Treatment Plant Reliability Improvement, and the Safe, Clean Water and Natural Flood Protection Program.

Callender is the first African American to serve in the role in Valley Water’s 90-year history. A longtime advocate for racial equality, he plans to establish a new unit within Valley Water, the Office of Racial Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. This office will ensure effective diversity and inclusion practices are in place internally and also within the communities Valley Water serves. He is a former president of the San Jose-Silicon Valley NAACP.

“I believe having these conversations around racial equity and taking a look at increasing our diversity and inclusion efforts will result in Valley Water transforming to an organization in which no one feels marginalized,” he said.

Callender has worked for Valley Water since 1996, most recently as the Chief of External Affairs. He led the district’s strategic external communications, all government relations efforts on local, regional, state, and federal levels, and was responsible for keeping the agency informed of public policies that affect the water district.