John Arena
Business Outreach Program Manager
e jarena@mwdh2o.com
www.mwdh2o.com

Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
700 Alameda St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012

BIO
John Arena is Business Outreach Program Manager at the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (Metropolitan), the region's major water importer and wholesaler.  John manages the Regional/Small Business Program and is responsible for reviewing $500 million annually in contracting activity in an effort to maximize business opportunities for regional and small businesses in the six counties of Southern California. 

As manager of the Regional/Small Business Program for Metropolitan, John and staff provide the outreach to regional and small businesses in the six-county service area of southern California.  Annually, 30 percent of the contract dollars are paid to small businesses in the Southern California region.  

John graduated from California State University Long Beach with a master’s in public administration.

WHAT WE DO
From minority women-owned engineering firms to a two-person virtual reality startup, our Business Outreach Program is helping small businesses across Southern California grow and thrive.

Since the program’s inception two decades ago, we invested more than $1.5 billion in Southern California’s small, local and disabled veteran-owned businesses.

Metropolitan’s business outreach team works hand in hand with small business owners to put them on the path to success. Our team advocates on their behalf, both inside and outside Metropolitan, hosts educational and networking events, and highlights relevant contracting opportunities.

While our Business Outreach Program aims to spur economic development across our region through small business investment, it also has generated cost-effective and creative solutions to Metropolitan. As capable and competitive as their larger counterparts, these businesses have nimbly adapted their innovative ideas to our needs.