Michael Minkler began his tenure as the general manager of the Calaveras County Water District on February 19, 2019. He lives in Murphys with his wife Nancy and their two children. Prior to being hired at CCWD, he served as the general manager of the Utica Water and Power Authority (UWPA) for three years.

Minkler was raised in the foothill town of Oakhurst, which is two hours southeast of Calaveras at the south terminus of Highway 49. He graduated from Yosemite High School and went on to attend Diablo Valley College in Concord. In 1997, he joined the United States Coast Guard and was stationed in Southern California, Michigan and Massachusetts during his four-year enlistment. At the conclusion of his service, Minkler enrolled at the Monterey Institute of International Studies, earning a bachelor’s degree in International Studies and a master’s in International Environmental Policy.

In 2006 he enrolled at U.C. Davis Law School and earned his Juris Doctor. After passing the California Bar Examination in 2009, Minkler moved to Sacramento and worked for various law firms and as a sole practitioner. He focused on land use and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and was assistant general counsel for several public agencies. Minkler and his wife Nancy, who is also a lawyer, decided to move to Arnold in 2013 and open their own practice – Park Minkler Attorneys at Law. Their firm was soon hired as legal counsel for the Blue Lake Springs Mutual Water Company in Arnold and the Utica Water and Power Authority (UWPA), which operates two hydropower generation plants and provides raw water to the Union Public Utility District, the city of Angels Camp and to irrigation customers in the area. In November 2015, Minkler was hired by UWPA as general manager and was in that position until being hired by CCWD.

As general manager of CCWD, Minkler said he will also focus on preserving and protecting water rights, capital improvement projects, implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), exploring hydropower opportunities and building trust with other agencies and stakeholders throughout the County.