Board of Directors

Kay Havens was appointed to the Board of Directors of the El Toro Water District (ETWD) in April 2019 and is currently serving as President.

A native of Southern California, Havens earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Ecology at the University of California at Irvine with a specialization in environmental analysis and water quality.  She was selected for and completed the Teacher Education program at UCI with a credential in K-12 education. Havens has held an appointment with the Office of Research at University of California at Irvine as Community Member since 2007.

After training with the University of California Cooperative Extension as a Master Gardener,  Havens went on to become a UCCE MG Sustainable Landscape Expert, Edible Landscape Expert, Master Composter and trainer.  Within the University of California Cooperative Extension, Master Gardeners of Orange County, Speakers Bureau she was instrumental in the development of many public education programs.  These programs have gone on to win top honors at the both the California Statewide Master Gardener Conference and the International Master Gardener Conference. Havens currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Great Park Garden Coalition a local not for profit corporation (501c.3).

Community activities she has been involved with include Irvine Meals on Wheels, US Masters Swimming, Irvine Swim League and disaster preparedness.

Havens has lived in Laguna Woods since 2015 and has two grown children Courtney and Austin. She is proud to serve the customers of the El Toro Water District.

Jose Vergara has served on the Board of Directors of the El Toro Water District (ETWD) since being elected in 2012 and is currently serving as a Vice President.

Mr. Vergara’s educational accomplishments includes a Master’s degree in Civil Engineering – Water Resources from Loyola Marymount University, Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering, Master of Business Administration, Specializations in Groundwater Development and Military Logistics. He is a registered Civil Engineer in California.

Mr. Vergara has over 40 years of professional experience, the last 25 years as a Water Resources Engineer at the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. At Metropolitan, he focused on local projects development and water demand management. As such, he assisted local water agencies with the development of recycled water and groundwater recovery projects, water conservation and water storage and exchange programs.

Mr. Vergara was appointed to the Water Advisory Committee of Orange County (WACO) in 2012 as the representative for ETWD and has served as Vice-chair since 2014. Mr. Vergara’s professional affiliations include membership in the Orange County Water Association (OCWA), Association of the California Water Agencies (ACWA), WateReuse Association, California Association of Sanitation Agencies (CASA). He has been a resident of Lake Forest for the last 30 years.

Kathryn Freshley was appointed to the Board of Directors of the El Toro Water District in 2018 to fill a recently vacated position and currently serves as a Director.

Ms. Freshley educational accomplishments include a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Kansas. She is a Licensed Professional Engineer in the State of New York. Kathryn’s post graduate and MBA studies included Systems Engineering at Virginia Institute of Technology and SUNY in Albany.

Ms. Freshley has over 40 years of professional experience in executive management, engineering, business/strategic planning and financial control systems. Her professional experience includes 23 years working for the General Electric Company, starting a distribution business introducing Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream into Southern California and management consulting for construction, manufacturing and service industry corporations.

Ms. Freshley recently served as the Alternate Public Member of the Orange County Local Agency Formation Commission (OC-LAFCO). Additionally, she has been involved in El Toro Water District educational activities and those of the Orange County water industry and the California Water Education Foundation.

Kathryn is a resident of Laguna Woods Village and has devoted a large amount of her time to volunteer activities in an international women’s golf association and various clubs in Laguna Woods Village. In addition, she served nine years on the Laguna Woods Village (LWV) boards. In 2015, Ms. Freshley was President of the LWV Golden Rain Foundation and led the community to change its governance model to that of a self-governed municipality.

Mark Monin has served on the Board of Directors of the El Toro Water District (ETWD) since being appointed in January 2015 and is currently serving as a Director.

Mark, has been active with the Association of California Water Agencies, California Association of Sanitation Agencies, Metropolitan Water, Independent Special Districts of Orange County (ISDOC) and the Orange County Water Association. Mark is a member of the Finance Committee of The Association of California Water Agencies and its Education Subcommittee, Investment Subcommittee, the South Orange County Watershed Management Area Executive Committee, the Independent Special Districts of Orange County (ISDOC); the Orange County Water Association, and the Water Advisory Committee of Orange County (WACO).

Mark’s expertise in fiscal responsibility spans over 35 years in the investment management industry.

Mark was a former Orange County Fire Authority PCF fire fighter and is Vice Chairman of the John Wayne Airport Land Use Commission. Mark is a resident of Laguna Woods, served as Chairman of the Laguna Woods Safety Commission and fought to have Automatic Electronic Defibrillators (AED) brought back to the community.

Mike Gaskins was elected to the Board of Directors of the El Toro Water District (ETWD) in December 2018 and is currently serving as Director.

Mr. Gaskin’s educational accomplishments include a Bachelor of Applied Science in Marine Biology with a minor in Geology and his teaching credentials from California State University, Long Beach.

Mike is a Vietnam Veteran who served in country in Vietnam as an Army Sergeant.

Mike has over 40 years of professional experience as a civil servant. For 18 years Mike was a labor relations representative negotiating MOUs with employee associations in the public sector across Southern California. Mike’s experience also includes Human Resources Director for the City of Montebello, Water Quality Chemist/Microbiologist for Santa Margarita Water District and science teacher for the Capistrano Unified School District.

Mike is now retired and has lived in Orange County since 1962. He is a resident of Laguna Woods Village and is proud to serve the customers of the El Toro Water District.