Jason joined Friant Water Authority as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in 2016. In this role, he oversees all activity conducted by the authority on behalf of its member agencies and represents the public face of the organization. Prior to Friant Water Authority, Jason worked for 15 years for the Bureau of Reclamation’s Mid-Pacific Region. His experience at Reclamation included Deputy Regional Director, Area Manager of the Reclamation's Klamath Basin Area Office, based in Klamath Falls, Oregon, and manager of several complex Programs in the Region including the San Joaquin River Restoration Program, Upper San Joaquin River Basin Storage Investigation (the federal Temperance Flat study), and the San Luis Drainage Feature Re-evaluation. Before this, he a was a project planner for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento District, on flood control and ecosystem restoration projects. Jason, his wife Melisa, and their three children live in Fresno. Jason received a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering at Portland State University.

Johnny Amaral joined the staff at the Friant Water Authority on March 25, 2019 as the organization’s Chief of External Affairs. In his role, Johnny oversees and manages Friant’s engagement with San Joaquin Valley farmers, businesses, and related industry groups regarding water policy and water supply matters, as well as legislative, lobbying, and communications activities.

Two of the key areas of his focus include Friant’s efforts to help increase San Joaquin Valley farmers ability to recharge groundwater, and the Friant-Kern Canal conveyance restoration efforts. Friant is engaged with Groundwater Sustainability Agencies, community representatives, farm bureaus, advocacy groups, commodities groups, and other water agencies to develop a strategic plan for long-term sustainability in the San Joaquin Valley. For the Friant-Kern Canal conveyance restoration effort, Johnny is working to help identify partnerships to assist in implementing long-term repairs to the critical facility.

Prior to joining Friant, Johnny served as the Deputy General Manager for External Affairs for the Westlands Water District, a position he held for 4 ½ years. Johnny started his career working on water and other public policy matters as the Chief of Staff for Congressman Devin Nunes, a position he held for more than 13 years.

Johnny is a native of Tulare, and currently lives in Exeter with his wife Stephanie, and two children, Taylor (16) and John Tomas (14).

Don was appointed as Friant’s General Counsel in June 2016. He is responsible for all legal compliance and contracting matters for the organization. Since assuming office, Don has been working closely with the Board and management to update Friant’s policies, procedures and practices, and has been leading efforts to address various regulatory issues regarding the operation and maintenance of the Friant-Kern Canal. Don has provided contract general counsel and city attorney services to public agencies throughout California for nearly 25 years. In addition to representing Friant, he currently serves as the City Attorney for the City of Rolling Hills Estates, Assistant City Attorney for the City of Camarillo, and General Counsel for the Bear Valley Community Services District. Don also provides special counsel services for numerous other public agencies. Don received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Davis School of Law, and his Bachelor of Arts degree from Wake Forest University.

Chris joined Friant Water Authority in July 2015. He is responsible for the Operations and Maintenance of the Friant Kern Canal spanning a length of 152 miles with 14 check structures and 128 District turnouts for Friant Water Authority. Others duties include overseeing the three maintenance yards in Orange Cove, Lindsay, Delano; he further oversees the Instrument Tech department, Water master operations and canal system operations. Before joining Friant Water Authority, Chris was the operations and maintenance superintendent for Berrenda Mesa Water District for10 years. At BMWD he was responsible for 55,000 acres of permanent plantings and a State allocation of 100TAF of contract water from the State Water Project and the operations and maintenance of 8 pumping plants totaling 23,000 HP, 14 miles of canal and 70 miles of distribution pipelines. Before managing the water district he was the owner of a Ready Mix Concrete operation in Kern County and expanded the company to include the transportation of Bulk Commodities that encompassed 5 western States. Chris holds an Associate of Science in Engineering from Taft College and Water Distribution and Treatment certificates from California State University, Sacramento, and is licensed with the Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) from the State of California.

Wilson Orvis joined Friant Water Authority in March 2021. He is responsible for planning and directing financial and accounting services for FWA and providing both operational and programmatic support to the organization. He assists the CEO on strategic and organizational matters as they relate to budget management, cost analysis, forecasting needs, and outside programs that may impact the financial standing of FWA and/or its member agencies. Before joining Friant Water Authority, Wilson spent 14 years with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation where he was responsible Bureau-wide operations and oversight for finance, budget, working capital fund operations, property, fleet, grants and acquisitions. Wilson received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Natural Sciences from the Johns Hopkins University.

Ian joined Friant Water Authority in February 2020. He coordinates with state and federal agencies on regulatory or planning process that could affect the Friant water supply, leads efforts to monitor and defend the reliability of Friant water supplies, and assists the CEO and COO in coordination of activities and strategic goals among Friant member agencies. Before joining Friant Water Authority, Ian was a water resources engineer at Stantec Consulting Services, Inc for over nine years. At Stantec, he supported Federal and local government agencies in water resources planning, infrastructure feasibility studies, engineering, facilitation, environmental compliance, and project management. Ian holds a Master of Civil and Environmental Engineering from University of California, Davis, and a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.