Board of Directors
MWD is governed by five publicly elected Directors referred to as the Board. Public elections are held every two years and Directors serve four year terms. Terms are staggered to ensure continuity. Election procedures and questions can be answered by visiting the Santa Barbara County election website.
These five elected officials are responsible for District policies and decision-making. Directors participate in monthly Board meetings and Committee meetings. All board meetings are open to the public and anyone may address the Board on items of concern. Schedules and agendas are available at the District office, on this web site and through the District’s on-line calendar.
Effective January 1, 2024, Board members hold officer positions and provide representation to our affiliated agencies, as noted below.
Ken Coates, President
Term Expires: 12/2026
Committees Served:
- Strategic Planning Committee
- Operations & Customer Relations Committee (Alternate)
- Central Coast Water Authority (CCWA)
- Alternate Representative to Santa Barbara County Chapter of the California Special Districts Association (SBCSDA)
Director Coates was elected in November and sworn into office in December 2018. He has lived in Montecito for more than 15 years with his wife Betsy. He has been active in local community affairs on the boards of Direct Relief and Sansum Clinic, and nationally on the boards of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and the Duke Cancer Institute.
Brian Goebel, Vice President
Term Expires: 12/2026
Committees Served:
- Operations & Customer Relations Committee
- Finance Committee (Alternate)
- Alternate Representative to Cachuma Conservation and Release Board (CCRB)
Director Goebel was elected in November 2018 and sworn into office in December 2018. He is an entrepreneur and attorney who previously held senior positions in the Treasury and Homeland Security Departments. Brian has been actively involved in several community nonprofits since his family moved to Montecito in 2014. He is married with two teenage children.
Cori Hayman, Director
Term Expires: 12/2026
Committees Served:
- Finance Committee
- Representative to Cachuma Operations and Maintenance Board (COMB)
- Alternate Representative to CalDesal
Director Hayman was elected in November 2018 and sworn into office in December 2018. She is an attorney who previously practiced in areas of complex litigation and healthcare regulatory compliance on a national scale. She has lived in Montecito since 2011 with her husband, Russell, and their son, Harry. She is a strong community advocate for Montecito and is involved with local non-profit organizations and academic institutions.
Tobe Plough, Director
Term Expires: 12/2024
Committees Served:
- Finance Committee
- Strategic Planning Committee
- Representative to Cachuma Conservation Release Board (CCRB)
- Alternate Representative to Cachuma Operation and Maintenance Board (COMB)
- Alternate Representattive to Central Coast Water Authority (CCWA)
- Alternate Representative to Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA-JPIA)
Mr. Plough has served on the Board since December of 2016. He is the founder of Plough & Associates, a 27 year practice specializing in management consulting for Fortune 15 energy companies' infrastructure projects. He and his wife, Sally Bromfield, have been residents of Montecito since 1979 and have five grandchildren.  Mr. Plough’s local contributions are significant. He served as Foreman of the Santa Barbara County Grand Jury in 1991. He is a co-founder and current President of the Santa Barbara Bowl Foundation. He was appointed to the Santa Barbara City College Bond V Oversight Committee. Other local boards on which he has served are the Santa Barbara County Taxpayers Association, Santa Barbara Technology & Industry Association and Friends of the Channel Islands National Park. He is an avid cyclist, sailor and scuba diver.
Floyd E. Wicks, Director
Term Expires: 12/2024
Committees Served:
- Operations & Customer Relations Committee
- Strategic Planning Committee (Alternate)
- Representative to Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA-JPIA)
- Representative to Santa Barbara County Chapter of the California Special Districts Association (SBCSDA)
- Representative to CalDesal
Director Wicks joined the Board in December of 2016. He has been a service-focused water industry leader for over thirty years, and lived in Montecito for more than 25 years with his wife, Diana (Dee Dee) and son, Brandon, who now lives in the Los Angeles area of Topanga, with his new bride, Theresa. He enjoys traveling and is still very active in the water community, continuing to support the non-profit Water for People organization and holds an Ambassador designation with that group. Floyd is the principal of his private water consulting firm, founded in 2009.
These five elected officials also comprise the Board of Directors for the Montecito Groundwater Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency.
