“I am thrilled to join Valley Partnership as president and CEO,” Lombard says. “In this role, I'll be returning to my development roots, while also being able to utilize my expertise in navigating complex environmental and political issues as they pertain to development and economic growth.

“I've long admired the organization's mission of responsible development, and I'm confident my skill set will bring much to the table in terms of working within that mission and serving our partner base,” she adds.

Prior to her position with The Nature Conservancy, Lombard was a senior associate attorney with the political and election law firm of Bell, McAndrews & Hiltachk in Santa Monica. In this role, she ensured clients were in compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local election laws, rules, and regulations. Clients included then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maria Shriver, The Walt Disney Company, Southwest Value Partners, and several statewide and local ballot measures.

Before practicing law, she was the director of public affairs with Davies Communications in Santa Barbara. She headed the land use/real estate group and led several commercial and residential development clients successfully through the California land entitlement process.

Lombard holds a J.D. from Southwestern University School of Law in Los Angeles. She also has a Master's degree in Public Administration from California State University, Northridge and a Bachelor's degree from the American University in Washington, D.C. She is a member of the State Bar of California.

An active member of the community, both professionally and personally, Lombard is actively involved in Urban Land Institute and is a member of the Arizona Department of Water Resources Director's Advisory Group, the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality Director's Advisory Group, Colorado River Advisory Commission for Arizona. Most recently she was a member of the Arizona Governor's Regulatory Review Council from 2008 to 2014.