Meet the Executive Team

Eric Oppenheimer was appointed as Executive Director of the State Water Board in January 2024, where he is responsible for overall leadership and management of the agency. From 2016 to 2024 he served as a Chief Deputy Director where his responsibilities included water rights, Bay-Delta planning, groundwater management, water conservation, and administration. An environmental scientist by training, Oppenheimer’s career began with water quality protection roles in planning and regulatory programs with the Lahontan and Central Valley regional water boards, interspersed with positions at the Department of Water Resources and the California Coastal Commission. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Keene State College and a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science and Ecology from Sierra Nevada College.

Since 2005, Michael has been the chief counsel to the State Water Resources Control Board and the nine California regional water quality control boards. Michael has been an attorney with the board since 1998, and between 2001 and 2005 he was lead counsel to the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board. Prior to joining the Office of Chief Counsel, Michael was an attorney in private practice. Michael holds an undergraduate degree from Grinnell College, and a juris doctor degree and a master of studies in environmental law from Vermont Law School. The Office of Chief Counsel employs 40 attorneys that advise the water boards' members and staff on all aspects of the laws they implement and oversee.

Erik Ekdahl was appointed as Chief Deputy Director at the State Water Board in April 2025, where he oversees the Division of Water Rights, Office of Sustainable Groundwater Management, Office of Research Planning and Performance, and the Division of Administrative Services. Since joining the State Water Board in 2008 he has worked in the Division of Water Quality, Division of Financial Assistance, and as Director for the Board’s Office of Research, Planning and Performance and Deputy Director for the Division of Water Rights. He is a licensed Engineering Geologist, with an undergraduate degree from Carleton College and a Ph.D. in Geology from the University of Michigan.

Karen Mogus was appointed as Chief Deputy Director at the State Water Board in April 2024, where she oversees the Division of Water Quality and the Division of Financial Assistance among other responsibilities. From 2016 to 2024 she served as Deputy Director of the Division of Water Quality where her responsibilities included statewide water quality planning, policy development and implementation, statewide permitting, and establishing consistency among the nine Regional Water Quality Control Boards. Prior to joining the Division of Water Quality, Ms. Mogus served as the Assistant Deputy Director of the Division of Drinking Water and Director of the Office of Information Management and Analysis and spent her early career as an Environmental Scientist at the Central Valley Regional Water Board. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences from the University of California, Davis.