A life-long environmentalist, Megan Close-Dees fell in love with the desert after moving from Los Angeles to Palm Springs, CA, at the age of eight. In high school she discovered her artistic talent, majoring in fine art at College of the Desert and earning her BA at Scripps College in Claremont, CA.
The majority of her professional life has been spent working in various capacities at art foundries and assisting artists in the production of bronze sculpture and custom hardware, some of which she designed. She has several commissioned works on view in Palm Desert-most notable a portrait of Fred Waring at The Mc Callum Theatre-and has works in a few private collections.
After moving to the Morongo Basin in 1995 to raise her two sons in a more natural desert environment, Megan has had several interesting jobs in addition to her artworks: Substitute Teacher, Dental Lab Tech, Host and Caretaker at Kate’s Lazy Desert (Vintage Airstream Hotel) and as a member of the “ground crew” at the Integratron in Landers.
It is while facilitating at the Integratron that she became an advocate and “devotee” of water, and it is this, coupled with her interests in local geology and in serving the community she loves, that brings her to Bighorn-Desert View Water Agency.
A member of the Landers Association and the Morongo Basin Historical Society, Megan currently resides in Landers with her partner, Jeff, assisting him in the restoration and renovation of his historic homestead.
Term: 12/2020 – 12/2024
Megan Close-Dees
Vice President
mclose-dees@bdvwa.org