The first Urban Waters Ambassador was selected for the Los Angeles River watershed pilot project. Pauline Louie is also the sustainability officer from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Los Angeles Field Office in Region IX.

Additional ambassadors will be selected for the Anacostia River watershed (Washington, D.C. and Maryland), the Patapsco River watershed (Baltimore, Maryland), the Bronx and Harlem River watersheds (New York City), the South Platte River (Denver, Colorado), Lake Pontchartrain (New Orleans, Louisiana) and Northwest Indiana.  Each of the pilot locations was selected due to the strong local and community leadership spearheading restoration efforts underway.  Lessons learned from these pilot locations will benefit communities across the country.

Pauline Louie is a Field Policy and Management (FPM) employee.  She has represented HUD in the local Urban Waters Federal Partnership.  Ms Louie is assigned to a one-year detail as the Los Angeles Watershed Urban Waters Ambassador.

She will focus on coordinating the pilot project. The Los Angeles River location includes more than 30 partner organizations – federal, state and local governments and non-profit organizations.  They are focusing on a range of restoration projects, studies and outreach in the Los Angeles area. 

Pauline Louie stands by by the Los Angeles River she will help to revitalize

Ms. Louie served in the HUD Los Angeles and Santa Ana Field Offices for over 14 years.  She held a number of positions working with local governments, nonprofit organizations and the private sector for housing and economic development.  She is also recognized as one of HUD’s key field staff in disaster recovery.

Sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of the Interior, Urban Waters Ambassadors will help local partners identify existing federal tools and resources available for their local pilot project.  The Urban Waters Ambassadors program will work with state and local governments, non-governmental organizations and other local partners.

The ambassador will serve as a catalyst to successfully complete on-the-ground projects in the short term, and build relationships and capacity to lay a foundation of continued success for decades to come.

The Urban Waters Federal Partnership is made up of 11 federal agencies.  It closely aligns with and advances the work of the White House’s place-based efforts.  This includes the Partnership for Sustainable Communities, to revitalize communities, create jobs and improve the quality of life in cities and towns across the nation.  The Urban Waters Federal Partnership also advances the work of President Obama’s America’s Great Outdoors Initiative.

HUD’s Los Angeles Field Office