Our Services
OSG helps clients own their stories to achieve their goals. We navigate government, media and public scrutiny, and manage complex issues through strategies that lead to environmental advocacy, civic engagement, and business growth.
Association Management
OSG has extensive experience and resources managing trade associations and advocacy programs at local and state levels.
OSG orchestrated the creation of the California Association of Mutual Water Companies (“CalMutuals”) to advocate for small community-owned water systems; and its sister organization, the Joint Powers Risk Insurance Management Authority (“JPRIMA”) that provides low-cost liability and workers compensation coverage for small water systems – the first of its kind in the nation.
OSG is the co-founder of Water Education for Latino Leaders (“WELL”). Within five years, WELL has reached over half of California’s Latino county supervisors, mayors and councilmembers and prepared them to engage in the complex world of California water policy.
OSG manages the San Gabriel Valley Water Association’s legislative and communications efforts and quarterly membership meetings.
Crisis Management
OSG has worked with private and public sector clients, including water agencies, cities, developers and trade groups, avert millions of dollars in regulation and legislative compliance costs.
OSG helps clients effectively navigate through difficult situations minimizing the impact to the client’s operations.
Government Affairs
OSG plans and executes government affairs programs that include building relationships of trust with regulators and legislators as well as building lobbying campaigns. OSG specializes in helping entrepreneurs work through the regulatory process permitting the use of new technologies in water and the natural resources arena reaching to special districts throughout the state.
Media Relations
In 2015, OSG managed national and international media relations for the International Longshore & Warehouse Union Local 13 (ILWU Local 13) during contentious contract negotiations. OSG’s work helped ILWU Local 13 avert a lock-out by employers at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
With seasoned news media experts on our team who posses access to a broad network of reporters and news resources, OSG has helped clients navigate the ever-changing broadcast, print, blogs, and social media landscape.
Fundraising
OSG has raised millions of dollars for political and non-profit entities. Our client’s loyalty and continued trust is indicative of our commitment to their values and goals. With a seasoned team, OSG manages program development, donor recruitment, database management and development, event planning, or major donor or PAC solicitations. We leave “no leaf unturned” to help our client’s maximize their fundraising capabilities.
News & Views
OSG Principal Adán Ortega discusses gas price increases in California with Telemundo.
By Maria Paula Ochoa
for Telemundo News
El aumento del costo de la gasolina se debe a un nuevo impuesto de 12 centavos en ese estado; el impacto de la subida del combustible deberá afectar a todo el país . . .
read more
Opinion: Pitching desalination as an environmental justice issue is way off base
By Ronald R. Gastelum
for The Orange County Register
Development of water projects in California is hard enough without introducing ethnicity into the mix. Rarely, if ever, has a proposed water project been promoted as essential . . .
read more
Opinion: Small water districts get a break on chrome 6
By Lisa Yamashita-Lopez and Ray Kolisz
for The Sacramento Bee
Water suppliers in California’s disadvantaged communities were struggling to comply with a prohibitively expensive regulation that only wealthy and larger water districts could afford.
read moreClick for more articles . . .
Stormwater Quality In L.A. – Breaking Through Fear Itself
By Maria Mehranian & Adán Ortega
Bans against ex-parte discussions with regulators. Potential third-party lawsuits. Threatened court challenges against enforcement authority of regulators.
Health Officials Order Paramount Metal Plants to Stop Emissions or Suspend Operations
By Tony Barboza, Los Angeles Times
In a rare intervention, county health officials ordered two Paramount metal-processing plants to stop emissions of hexavalent chromium or shut down operations contributing to high levels of the cancer-causing air pollutant.
Awakening About Race and Waters Systems
By Adán Ortega, Jr., Ortega Strategies Group
In 2011 I had an unexpected epiphany about “white” people and water infrastructure. In the midst of a blinding migraine headache, I attended a forum in Fresno on the subject of racism.
Disadvantaged Communities: Keystone to Water Efficiency
By Adán Ortega, Ortega Strategies Group
The term “Disadvantaged Community” (“DACs”) is loaded with unspoken connotations that must be dispelled, especially as it relates to water.
The Art of the California Water Deal
By Adán Ortega, Ortega Strategies Group
Not a month goes by that an investor or an inventor comes by our office looking to market water related services and technologies in California.
Dealing With Climate Change: Better Together
By Adán Ortega, Ortega Strategies Group
With wide acceptance of climate change, Californians have an opportunity to create a common heritage through a new approach to public investments.
The Drought is Over?
By Adán Ortega, Ortega Strategies Group
Recent news about easing water use restrictions by California water agencies encourages the false impression that the drought is over.
Is a Plan to Use High-Speed Rail Money for Water Projects Too Political to Win?
By Steve Scauzillo, San Gabriel Valley Tribune
Water or trains? A ballot measure proposed by two Southern California Republicans asks voters to make that choice by siphoning more than $8 billion from the high-speed rail bond measure into surface and ground-water storage, making water the No. 1 priority in the state.
Night Shifts at L.A. Area Ports to be Cut in Latest Move During Talks
By Andrew Khouri, Los Angeles Times
Employers at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will no longer order dockworkers to unload ships at night, a move they contend will help relieve crushing congestion on the waterfront.
Governor Announces Two Appointments to California Water Commission
By Lisa Lien-Mager, Association of California Water Agencies
Governor Jerry Brown has appointed David Orth, general manager of the Kings River Conservation District, and Adán Ortega, sole proprietor of Adán Ortega Associated, to the California Water Commission.
OUR TEAM
Adán Ortega
Principal
About Adán . . .
Adán has a history of handling complex strategic planning, and communications challenges excelling in the water and natural resources arena. He has 30 years of experience and understanding of resource and environmental issues through senior leadership roles in government, business, and environmental organizations throughout Southern California, California, and the United States.
Before creating OSG, Adán was Managing Director of Rose & Kindel; Vice President of External Affairs at the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California; Chief California Deputy Secretary of State; and Assistant General Manager of West and Central Basin Municipal Water Districts.
Adán is Chairman of the Mujeres De La Tierra Board of Directors, a Board Director of Sustainable Conservation, and a trustee of the Southern California Water Committee. He is a former board member of the California Water Commission, the State Board of Food and Agriculture, Heal the Bay, the National Audubon Society, and Whittier College.
Adán is a graduate of Whittier College.
Monica Valencia
Media Relations Manager
About Monica . . .
Monica Valencia brings more than 20 years of communications experience in journalism, government and non-profits to Ortega Strategies Group. She wrote for several daily newspapers including the Orange County Register, Los Angeles Times and the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. Her coverage topics include prisons, politics, education, government and the environment.
After newspapers, Monica served as the Deputy of Press and Legislative Affairs for Los Angeles City Councilmember Ed P. Reyes, who spearheaded the Los Angeles River Revitalization. She was also an adjunct instructor at the University of La Verne, where she taught news writing and reporting. Monica went on to become the Director of Media Relations for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the nation’s largest Catholic diocese, under the leadership of Archbishop José H. Gomez and Pope Francis.
Monica has served on the boards for The Daily Californian and The Pasadena Symphony. She received a Society of Professional Journalism award for her coverage of corruption at the Rialto Police Department and was nominated for a local Emmy for a documentary she co-produced on the Los Angeles River Revitalization.
Monica earned a master’s degree in English literature from the University of California, Irvine and a bachelor’s degree in comparative literature from the University of California, Berkeley.
Denise Peralta Gailey
Managing Director
About Denise . . .
Denise brings expertise in the areas of government affairs, fundraising and management to OSG.
Denise brings expertise in the areas of government affairs, fundraising and management to OSG.
As Managing Director of California Association of Mutual Water Companies, she focused on outreach to small community-owned water suppliers.
She has also managed a political consulting business specialized in strategic fundraising development for local and state elected officials.
Denise developed her strong political acumen while serving as a staff member in the state legislature.
She holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Southern California.
Robin Murphy
Graphic Design Partner
About Robin . . .
Robin is an award-winning graphics designer whose professional career spans more than 25 years in infographics, illustration, and communications.
As a graphics editor, she was part of the Pulitzer Prize-winning news team at the Orange County Register and has also won numerous graphics reporting awards including Best of Gannett/Artist of the Year, Society of News Design, and Society of Professional Journalism. As a Senior Designer, Robin has created print and web design content for UC Riverside and Samuel Merritt.
A gifted visual storyteller, she has produced design and illustration for private aviation companies that include a Boeing supplier, Interaction Research Corp., one of the largest producers of airline safety cards, and Illustrative Evidence, a supplier of courtroom presentations.
More recently, she has produced graphic work educating city leaders and community on environmental measures to improve air quality in south Los Angeles.
Henry Vandermeir
Communications Partner
About Henry . . .
Henry Vandermeir began his career as a Computer Science instructor for the University of Maryland before becoming a project management training consultant for Mazda, IBM and other Fortune 500 companies. He has written more than 300 training manuals that have been sold to corporations, NGO’s, schools and universities around the world.
Almost two decades ago, Mr. Vandermeir expanded his business, creating Internet strategies which include online advertising, web development, social media and other communication tools that merge an organization’s marketing strategy with their online presence.
Mr. Vandermeir has also used his expansive skillset to help candidates and political organizations create successful outcomes, winning in areas that were seen as impossible. As a result of using his skills within the political arena, Mr. Vandermeir was named one of Orange County’s “2016 Most Influential” in government.
Henry has a Master’s Degree from Boston University.
Susan Allen
Administrative Director
About Susan . . .
Susan brings expertise in the areas of crisis management, conflict resolution, community relations, program development, workshop facilitation and grant writing.
Susan most recently served as Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs at the University of California, Riverside.
Her experience in public affairs includes handling managing tensions and resolving disputes between opposing groups related to a range of issues including product boycotts, fee increases, policy changes, race, gender and sociopolitical conflicts.
She holds a doctorate in Education Administration from Syracuse University, a masters in Counseling from Southern Connecticut State University and a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from University of Hartford.
Lori Vandermeir
Communications Partner
About Lori . . .
Lori Vandermeir has spent more than two decades designing websites and building communication strategies for corporate, nonprofit and political clients. She has handled media relations and message development for local, state and national entities.
Lori served as California Communications Director for the National Organization for Women and National Communications Director for United Nations (UN) Women.
Through the strategic use of digital media and online marketing tools, Ms. Vandermeir has a history of helping clients better communicate with their targeted audience to build their brand and shape public opinion around controversial issues.
Lori has a Master’s Degree from Boston University.