Meet Our Staff

Burbank Water and Power (BWP) is a community-owned utility that serves the businesses and residents of Burbank with water and power. Burbank has some of Southern California's highest reliability and lowest utility rates.

Mandip Samra, General Manager

Ms. Mandip Samra holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics from UCLA, a Master's in Public Administration from The Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, and a Master's in Urban Planning from USC. Mandip joined Burbank Water and Power in March of 2021. She started her career as a Graduate Management Intern in the Customer Relations Division of Pasadena Water and Power in 2004. She has worked in various Management positions at Anaheim Public Utilities, Southern California Edison, and Pasadena Water and Power. Her experience is in Power Supply, focusing on regulatory compliance, managing the Integrated Resources Plan, negotiating power resource contracts, representing the utility on various resource and transmission committees, and leading stakeholder engagement efforts related to Power Supply.

Email Mandip at [email protected].

Joseph Lillio, Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Joseph Lillio has a long history of achieving financial performance goals through effective strategic leadership and long-term financial planning. He has modernized several processes, increasing effectiveness as part of his prudent financial management. He is a collaborative leader with a passion for positivity. He is the right leader to help BWP navigate the rough seas of our adaptive challenge: finding a path to full environmental sustainability while remaining reliable and affordable across all our services. Joe came to us from El Segundo, where he served as the CFO for seven years. Before that, he served the City of Oxnard in the same role and has over 20 years of experience in municipal finance. In his free time, Joe enjoys spending time with his wife of twenty-seven years and four children, engaging in various outdoor activities, visiting national parks and cruises, and spending quality time with family and friends on weekends. He also enjoys attending his kids' club and high school soccer games.

Email Joe at [email protected].

Richard H. Wilson, Assistant General Manager/Water

Mr. Richard H. Wilson, P.E., holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts. He has over 30 years of design and construction experience in several industries, including shipbuilding, oil, mining, and public utilities, including the East Bay Municipal Utility District and the City of Vallejo. He holds Civil and Mechanical engineering licenses in the State of California. Mr. Wilson joined Burbank Water and Power on November 26, 2018.

Email Richard at [email protected].

Riad Sleiman, Assistant General Manager/Electric Services

Mr. Riad Sleiman, P.E., PMP, holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Loyola Marymount University and a Master of Business Administration from Woodbury University. Riad joined Burbank Water and Power in 2005 as an Electrical Engineering Assistant working on street lighting, major development reviews, project management, system planning, development agreements and contract negotiations, AMI deployment, and advanced grid analytics. Riad has worked on utility-scale battery storage, electric vehicle infrastructure planning and deployment, implementing small cell policy and agreements, and introducing analytics and applications through the GIS and records group while at Silicon Valley Power. Riad rejoined BWP in 2021 as the Assistant General Manager of Electric Services; he is a licensed Electrical Engineer in the State of California and is a certified Project Management Professional.

Email Riad at [email protected].

Erik Olsen, Acting Assistant General Manager/Power Supply

Erik Olsen, Assistant General Manager/Power Supply, holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles. He is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of California with over 20 years of experience in the electric industry. Mr. Olsen joined BWP in June of 2014 and has served in various roles, most recently as the Manager of the Energy Control Center and Principal Electrical Engineer in Electric Services for the Substation Engineering group. His career began as an Electrical Engineering Assistant with Glendale Water and Power in 2003, where he held several engineering and management positions. His expertise spans North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) compliance, system planning, engineering, operations, and utility management.

Email Erik at [email protected].

Sean Aquino, Assistant General Manager/Customer Service Operations

Mr. Sean Aquino holds a Masters degree in Organizational Leadership from Woodbury University. He has been in the municipal government and utility industries since 2000. Sean began his career in BWP's Water Division in 2000 before moving to the Customer Service Division in 2003, managing call center, collections, billing, and field service sections. From 2016 to 2022, Sean served as BWP's Administrative Officer, leading BWP's human resources, environmental, health, and safety initiatives, including recruitment, training, diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

Email Sean at [email protected].

Jeannine Edwards, Assistant General Manager Strategy/Communications and Outreach

Ms. Jeannine Edwards is focused on leveraging Burbank Water and Power's (BWP) innovation and agility to pave the way for a sustainable future for our community. At BWP, she oversees the successful adoption of sustainability programs. Jeannine has over 20 years of experience driving organizational transformation, with 15 of those in the utility industry. She has worked at investor and community-owned utilities, leading initiatives to drive renewable integration, optimize conservation programs, and improve customer engagement. Ms. Edwards holds an MBA from UCLA Anderson, a Bachelor of Arts from UC Berkeley, and a green belt in Lean Six Sigma. Before working in utilities, Ms. Edwards worked as a teacher, program manager, and consultant in public education. She lives in Burbank with her husband, two children, and dog, Sweet Tea.

Jeannine Edwards is on temporary leave, please direct inquires to Joseph Lillio, CFO. If you represent a media outlet or need to contact the Public Information Officer, contact Armand Canyon, Marketing Manager, [email protected].

Drew Johnstone, Sustainability Officer

Mr. Drew Johnstone has worked for 14 years with cities, businesses, schools, and residents to advance sustainability practices. Drew has experience balancing innovation and leadership with practicality and bringing multiple voices to the table to implement cutting-edge sustainability programs that succeed. Drew comes to BWP from the City of Santa Monica, where he was a Senior Sustainability Analyst, leading the City's green building and energy policies and programs. He implemented zero-emission building policies, electric vehicle programs, community engagement activities, and greenhouse gas inventories. His professional career started at EcoMotion, a sustainability consulting firm where he performed utility rate analysis, solar feasibility studies, and climate action planning. Drew received his Bachelor's degree in Organizational Studies from Pitzer College.

Email Drew at [email protected].

Alexander Prestia, Assistant General Manager/Utility Administrative Services

Mr. Alex Prestia holds a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish from the University of Florida and a Master of Education in Human Resources and Organizational Development from the University of Georgia. Alex has over 15 years of human resources and organizational development experience, having worked in the private sector as a consultant and 6+ years in public service - most recently at the San Francisco Bay Area Metropolitan Transportation Commission. He has experience building and managing small, mid-sized, regional, and global strategic programs that help people reconnect with how they can bring their best selves to work. Mr. Prestia joined BWP in February of 2024. When not at work, Alex enjoys painting, traveling, and relaxing with an audiobook and his hairless Sphinx cat, Jupiter.

Email Alexander at [email protected].

Kyle Wilson, Acting Assistant General Manager - CTO, Operational Technology

Mr. Kyle Wilson brings over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He launched his career in Silicon Valley, working for a Fortune 500 semiconductor company where he contributed to developing the first 64-bit x86 microprocessor. Kyle co-founded a successful data analytics and marketing firm and later worked at one of the world's most extensive internet search and web services companies. Since 2008, he has served in the public sector, first in the Information Technology Department for the City of Burbank and then in the Operational Technology Department at Burbank Water and Power. In these roles, Kyle has led and managed numerous initiatives to implement cutting-edge technologies for the city. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Mathematics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Email Kyle at [email protected].

Contact Burbank Water and Power

Have a question or need some help? Visit our contact page to see a list of ways you can connect with BWP.