Executive Management

Dennis Herrera is the General Manager of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. He provides leadership and management of the agency’s public policies and strategic initiatives, and oversees all assets, resources, and functions of the agency.

He joined the SFPUC in 2021 after serving as San Francisco City Attorney for nearly 20 years, where he built one of the premier public law offices in the country and spearheaded cases of national importance on civil rights, health care and environmental protection.  As the SFPUC’s lawyer for nearly two decades, Dennis was at the forefront of pivotal water, power and sewer issues facing San Francisco. He represented the agency before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, brought pioneering litigation to protect the SFPUC’s combined sewer and stormwater system from sea-level rise, and defeated a years-long attempt to drain Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, the crown jewel of the SFPUC system.

Dennis earned his bachelor’s degree from Villanova University in Pennsylvania and his juris doctor from the George Washington University School of Law in Washington, D.C. He lives in San Francisco’s Dogpatch neighborhood. 
 

Michael Carlin  is the Deputy General Manager of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. Appointed to this role in 2009, Michael supervises the agency’s efforts in capital planning, emergency response, asset management, and other functions across the three business lines—water, power and wastewater.

Prior to this position, Michael served as the Assistant General Manager for Water and led the effort to diversify the water supply portfolio. In that role, he continues to lead many of the environmental initiatives including addressing the impact of climate change on the organization.

He joined the SFPUC in 1996 as the Water Resources Planning Manager and spearheaded the effort to develop comprehensive capital plans. That effort led to the establishment and execution of the Water System Improvement Program. Prior to joining the City, Michael worked for more than a decade at the San Francisco Regional Water Board where he was the Planning Chief. Michael is a native San Franciscan and continues to live in the City today.

Ron Flynn is the Chief of Staff of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. In this capacity, he works with the General Manager on all policy and strategic initiatives, oversees the agency’s daily operations, including business services (finance, accounting, audits, customer services, information technology), external affairs (communications, legislative, community benefits, equity), and Human Resources. 

Prior to this position, Ron served for almost 16 years in the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office under Dennis Herrera. For the last seven years he was the Chief Deputy City Attorney, where he oversaw the City’s litigation teams, as well as worked closely with departments and agencies, including the SFPUC, on procurement, financial, and litigation matters.  He worked on Hetch Hetchy litigation, PG&E’s bankruptcy, and other SFPUC-related issues. Ron previously served as Team Leader of the Construction and Public Contracting Team in the City Attorney’s Office, working on many SFPUC projects, including the Water System Improvement Program (WSIP).

Ron is a Bay Area native who lives in San Francisco. He graduated from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (B.Sc.), Harvard University (Ed.M.), and University of California, Berkeley School of Law (J.D.)
 

Barbara Hale is Assistant General Manager of the Power Enterprise, with an annual operating budget of $150 million and annual capital budget of approximately $25 million. She oversees all aspects of the sales of 1.6 billion kWh/yr to retail and wholesale customers; needed purchases of energy, transmission, and distribution services; development and implementation of energy efficiency and renewable generation projects and programs; and maintenance and operation of City-owned and located streetlights, switchgear, and substations. She provides strategic advice on energy policy matters to the SFPUC Commission, and she acts as liaison for the SFPUC with State and Federal agencies responsible for energy policy. She previously worked for the State of California Public Utilities Commission in various positions, including Advisor to the President, Administrative Law Judge, and Director of Strategic Planning.

Greg Norby is the Assistant General Manager of the Wastewater Enterprise. His professional background includes more than a decade in water and wastewater utility management and 14 years in the private sector, providing civil and water resources engineering solutions to utilities throughout California. He served for five years at the Ross Valley Sanitary District, where he led a comprehensive modernization of the operations and maintenance systems and practices, capital program, infrastructure asset management systems, competency-based training and certification, and organizational structure refinement. He also spent 14 years at CH2M HILL, where his duties included conveyance systems design, strategic planning, hydraulic modeling of wastewater and stormwater systems, integrated water resource planning, and project team management for local, state, and federal water clients. He earned a BS in civil engineering from CSU Chico and a Master’s degree in water resources engineering from Utah State University. His professional affiliations include WEF, CWEA, AWWA, CASA, ASCE, and ACWA.

Alan Johanson is the Acting Assistant General Manager for Infrastructure, where he is responsible for capital programs and project implementation for SFPUC facilities, including the Water System Improvement Program, the Sewer System Improvement Program, and the Hetch Capital Improvement Program. Previously he was the Construction Bureau Manager where he oversaw construction management on all capital projects. He is a licensed general building contractor and a licensed civil engineer holding a BA in Anthropology from the University of Chicago and an MS in Civil Engineering from San Jose State University.  

Steven Ritchie is Assistant General Manager of the Water Enterprise, where he oversees water system operations and planning from Hetch Hetchy through the Regional Water System to the City Distribution Division, and the management of lands and natural resources. He served as Manager of Planning from 1995-98. Previously, he managed the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project, a multi-agency effort to restore 15,100 acres of valuable habitat in South San Francisco Bay while providing for flood risk management and public access. He has served in management positions at the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board (1987-95), the CalFed Bay-Delta Program (1998-2000), and URS consultants (2000-04). He holds a B.S. and M.S. in civil engineering from Stanford University.

Eric Sandler is Chief Financial Officer/Assistant General Manager of Business Services, where he manages a range of internal and external service functions including finance, customer service, information technology, and strategy, innovation, and change. Appointed in 2015, he has more than 30 years of experience in public utility management and infrastructure development and financing. He previously served as Director of Finance/Treasurer for the East Bay Municipal Utility District, Director of Finance/Treasurer for the San Diego County Water Authority, and Director of Financial Planning for the SFPUC. Prior to his public service career, he worked in early-stage venture capital, renewable energy project finance, and municipal investment banking. He has served on boards and committees of industry organizations including the Association of California Water Agencies and the National Association of Clean Water Agencies. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in biology from Stanford University and a Master’s degree in business administration from UC Berkeley.