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Intake pipe for Colorado River water. The Colorado River provides 70% of water supplies to most of the CA 48th District.

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Suzanne Till (Michel), PhD ’00, has built a career at the intersection of geography, public service, and water governance—and is now breaking new ground in elected office in Southern California.

In 2020, Suzanne was elected to the Padre Dam Municipal Water District Board of Directors (Division 2), becoming both the first woman and the first water-resources geographer to serve on the board. She was re-elected in 2024. Padre Dam provides water and wastewater services to 125,000 residents in East San Diego County, and Suzanne’s leadership comes at a pivotal moment as the region advances major water infrastructure initiatives.

Her election in 2020 even sparked a debate about her professional identity: Suzanne’s opponent challenged her ballot designation as a water resources geographer, arguing that such a field did not exist. Working with her PhD advisor, Professor James Wescoat, she successfully defeated the challenge—affirming both the legitimacy and importance of geographic expertise in water management.

Today, Suzanne serves on the board as Padre Dam undertakes one of its most ambitious projects: the East County Advanced Water Purification Project, the first facility of its kind in San Diego County. The project will produce a new, local, drought-proof water supply for the region.

In addition to her elected role, Suzanne continues to teach college-level geography to high school students, bringing her CU �������� training in water resources geography and climate change directly into the classroom. “I use my geography and climate training every day as an elected official,” she says. “I’m so happy I completed my PhD at CU.”

Her career exemplifies a growing trend in which geographers play central roles in public governance, climate adaptation, and water-resource decision-making. Suzanne’s work is a powerful reminder that geographic expertise is not only academically rigorous—it’s essential to solving real-world environmental challenges.