SFPUC Commission

Sophie Maxwell is the President of the Commission. She served three terms on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, representing San Francisco's District 10 which includes Potrero Hill, Bayview Hunters Point, Visitacion Valley, Silver Terrace, Dogpatch, Little Hollywood, and the Portola districts.

During her tenure, Commissioner Maxwell worked for more equitable distribution of public resources, increasing economic development opportunities for all San Franciscans, and nurturing and empowering our City's most vulnerable residents. Commissioner Maxwell continues to advocate for environmental justice, clean energy, and children's health and educational programs.

Commissioner Maxwell was the Chairperson of the Land Use and Economic Development Committee, where she focused on sustaining and enhancing San Francisco's communities by investing in its residents.

As a member of the Government Audit and Oversight Committee, she was a driving force for accountability and transparency in local government, and for new business and economic development.

As a member of the County Transportation Authority and a Board member of Workforce Investment San Francisco, Commissioner Maxwell played an integral role in shaping San Francisco's workforce system. One of her goals was to support strong working partnerships involving businesses, educational institutions, community based organizations and City agencies.

"All San Franciscans are a source of true pride, and they represent the most important resource for our City's future."

Commissioner Maxwell serves in Seat 2: Experience in ratepayer or consumer advocacy. Her current term to fulfill the unexpired portion of a four-year term ends 8/1/22.

Anson Moran is the Vice President of the Commission. He brings more than four decades of experience with the City and County of San Francisco and water, wastewater and power issues, including 17 years of leadership positions within the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC). From 1993 to 2000, he served as General Manager of the SFPUC, overseeing the reorganization of the agency that removed Muni and added the Clean Water Program (Wastewater) to the agency’s operations.

From 1988-1993, he held the post of General Manager of Hetch Hetchy Water and Power and previously served as Assistant General Manager for Finance. In his years at the SFPUC and as a founding member of California Urban Water Agencies, Commissioner Moran was instrumental in fostering greater cooperation among Bay Area water agencies and elevating the SFPUC to a position of national utility leadership.

Commissioner Moran has also served as Senior Policy Advisor to U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein with a focus on San Francisco Bay-Delta issues. Until recently he maintained a consulting practice providing water resource development services. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and a Masters in Urban Studies from Occidental College.

In July 2009 he was appointed by Mayor Newsom and confirmed by the Board of Supervisors. In October 2014 was reappointed by Mayor Lee and reconfirmed by the Board of Supervisors. In 2018 reappointed by Mayor Breed and reconfirmed by the Board of Supervisors.

Commissioner Moran serves in Seat 4: Experience in water systems, power systems, or public utility management. His current term ends 8/1/22.

Tim Paulson has over two decades of experience in the labor movement. In 2018 he was elected the Secretary-Treasurer of the San Francisco Building and Construction Trades Council, which consists of 32 unions representing 20,000 San Francisco construction workers.

Prior to this election, he was the Executive Director of the San Francisco Labor Council, which is comprised of 150 local unions representing over 100,000 working men and women in San Francisco. Before joining the San Francisco Labor Council, he worked as the Political Director and Assistant Executive Officer of the San Mateo County Central Labor Council.

A Journeyman Tilesetter since 1981, Commissioner Paulson served as a principal officer and business agent for the 45-county Bricklayers, Tilelayers, and Allied Craftworkers Local 3 and was Apprenticeship Coordinator for the Northern California Tilelayers and Tile Finishers Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee.

He is the chair of the San Francisco State University Labor Archives Board and serves on both the San Francisco City College Labor Studies and the University of California Berkeley Institute for Labor Education and Research advisory boards. He is a director of the United Way of the Bay Area and serves on the executive board of the California Democratic Party as elected Chair of the Labor Caucus.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science from Macalester College and lives in San Francisco.

Commissioner Paulson serves in Seat 3: Experience in project finance. His current term ends 8/1/24.

Ed Harrington. Biography coming soon.

Commissioner Harrington serves in Seat 1: Experience in Environmental Justice Policy and an Understanding of Environmental Justice Issues. His current term ends 8/1/24.

Newsha K. Ajami, is the director of Urban Water Policy with Stanford University’s Water in the West program. A leading expert in sustainable water resource management, smart cities, and the water-energy-food nexus, she uses data science principles to study the human and policy dimensions of urban water and hydrologic systems. Her research throughout the years has been interdisciplinary and impact focused.

Dr. Ajami is a two-term gubernatorial appointee to the Bay Area Regional Water Quality Control Board. She is a member of National Academies Board on Water Science and Technology. Dr. Ajami also serves on number of state-level and national advisory boards. Before joining Stanford, she worked as a senior research scholar at the Pacific Institute, and served as a Science and Technology fellow at the California State Senate’s Natural Resources and Water Committee where she worked on various water and energy related legislation.

She has published many highly cited peer-reviewed articles, coauthored two books, and contributed opinion pieces to the New York Times, San Jose Mercury and the Sacramento Bee. Dr. Ajami received her Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the UC, Irvine, an M.S. in Hydrology and Water Resources from the University of Arizona, and a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Amir Kabir University of Technology in Tehran.

Commissioner Ajami serves in Seat 5: At-Large. Her current term to fulfill the unexpired portion of a four-term term ends on 8/1/24.