One Water: Navigating the Financial, Legal, and Management Opportunities

John Albert is the Deputy CEO of the American Water Works Association (AWWA). Prior to joining AWWA, John was the Chief Research Officer at the Water Research Foundation (WRF).  John has over 25 years of experience in the water sector advancing water science, utility performance, and informed water policy.

John is very proud of the network of water professionals he is a part of in the US, Canada and internationally. Through this network he has engaged on a number of topics including source water protection, asset management, water and wastewater treatment, rate setting, and customer perception.

John holds a Master of Environmental Science and Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines, a Master of Public Administration from the University of Colorado Denver, and a B.A. in Biology from Saint Anselm College in Manchester, NH.

Farshad Allahdadi has served in financial and administrative leadership roles in both public and private sector organizations in Oregon since 2001. In his current role at the City of Portland’s Bureau of Environmental Services (BES), Farshad is responsible for directing the utility’s strategic financial planning, budgeting, and administrative functions. Before joining BES in 2020, he worked for 16 years in Oregon state government roles, including as the Oregon State Lottery’s Chief Gaming Operations Officer, and at the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission where he worked as the License Services Director. Farshad earned a Masters in Economics from the University of New Mexico.

Tad has been the CEO of Central Arkansas Water (CAW) since 2016. CAW provides high-quality, affordable drinking water to around 500,000 consumers across 18 cities and communities. CAW’s revenues are around $100 million per year. With close to three decades of with water and wastewater utilities, Tad is dedicated to enhancing CAW’s operations, positively impacting the lives of its customers and employees, and supporting the communities CAW serves.

A strong advocate for regional collaboration and a vocal opponent of privatization. Tad is frequently asked to speak by both global and national organizations about his perspectives on challenges faced by water utilities today. Known for innovative solutions, Tad remains steadfastly focused on protecting public health, improving employee development, system reliability, environmental sustainability, financial viability, community support, and independent governance.

In addition to his role at CAW, Tad is Chair-Elect of the Arkansas Water and Wastewater Association and President of Association of Regional Water Organizations. He also serves on the Boards of the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies and the Water Research Foundation.

Tad obtained his undergraduate degree from Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas, a Juris Doctorate from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, a master’s in taxation from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, and an MBA from Oxford University in Oxford, England.

Angela Montoya Bricmont is the CFO of Denver Water. She manages the financial resources of the Board of Water Commissioners, a 100+ year-old water utility serving 1.5 million customers in the City of Denver and surrounding suburbs. Angela is responsible for accounting, financial planning and performance, enterprise project management, treasury, rates, customer care and the retirement plan. Since joining Denver Water in 2010, Angela has overseen a credit rating upgrade to AAA, implementation of a new water rate structure, issuance of Green Bonds, funding a lead service line removal program at no direct cost to customers with Federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding.

Prior to Denver Water, Angela worked for several consulting firms providing financial planning and rate setting for utilities. Angela served as Vice President of Rates and Regulatory Matters for Comcast. Angela has a bachelor’s degree in finance and an MBA from the University of Denver. The mayor of Denver appointed Angela to serve on the Denver Urban Renewal Authority Board. She has served on EPA’s Financial Advisory Board since 2020 and was recently appointed to the Advisory Board for the Colorado University Leeds School of Business, Burridge Center for Finance.

Lisa Celaya is the Executive Assistant Director of the City of San Diego Public Utilities Department. Lisa is a lifelong San Diegan with a degree in Business Administration and a Masters of Public Administration. Her experience in public finance, water, and municipal management continue to benefit the San Diego region and the water utility industry. Responsible for the day-to-day operations of the region’s largest water and wastewater systems, Lisa leads over 1,800 positions, along with programs ranging from installing water meters to customer service to the implementation of Pure Water San Diego, which is San Diego’s largest ever capital improvement project which will turn wastewater into drinking water starting in 2027.

Angela Charles is the first African American and first woman to serve as Director of Charlotte Water. Angela has been a City of Charlotte employee since 1988 and served as the chief of operations and division manager for Charlotte Water before stepping into her role as Director in January 2018. She transitioned to the dual role of Assistant City Manager and General Services Interim Director in July 2019, before returning to her passion of serving as the Charlotte Water Director in October 2020.

“Angela is a valuable leader in Charlotte Water. She has been instrumental in affecting change and improving processes for nearly 1 million customers throughout Charlotte and Mecklenburg County,” said City Manager Marcus D. Jones.

As director, Angela is responsible for the countywide water treatment and distribution, wastewater treatment and collection, utilities planning, and most recently the city’s storm water system along with management activities. She leads a staff of approximately 1,300 with an operating budget of over $576 million, and a five-year Community Investment Program budget of approximately $2.46 billion. Charlotte Water maintains more than 11,000 miles of water, sewer and storm water pipelines, with over 330,000 active water connections countywide.

Angela holds a Master of Public Administration degree from UNC Charlotte and a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from North Carolina State University. She was the 2017 chair of the North Carolina American Water Works Association and North Carolina Water Environment Association (NC AWWA-WEA) and is a Grade A water distribution operator. Angela has received many water industry awards, including the prestigious Warren G. Fuller Award and the Arthur Sidney Bedell Award.  Ms. Charles was most recently selected as a 2022 WEF Fellow.

Helen Cregger is a Vice President/Senior Credit Officer in Moody’s San Francisco office. She covers local government credits primarily in California including enterprise systems, cities, counties, and school districts. In addition to her analytical work, Helen leads ESG scoring efforts for municipal utilities within the US and heads up Moody’s municipal utility task force, supporting research and internal training for these credits. Helen serves as a rating committee member on credits nationally for sectors including local government, charter schools, community college and healthcare districts.

Prior to rejoining Moody’s, Helen was an investment banker for Piper Sandler & Co. Among other issuers, Helen worked with a number of municipal utilities including those serving Denver, Aurora, Colorado Springs and Pueblo, and the State of Colorado on its BEST K12 capital construction program. Prior to her initial tenure at Moody’s, Helen was an analyst for the US General Accountability Office in the International Trade, Finance and Competitiveness Division.

Helen holds an MPA from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University and a BA in Latin American Studies from Northwestern University.

Priya Dhanapal’s career in public works management spans over two decades, marked by a steadfast commitment to excellence and innovation.
Currently serving as the Deputy City Administrator for Public Works for City of Portland, she oversees the city’s largest service area, which includes the Bureau of Environmental Services, the Portland Bureau of Transportation, and the Portland Water Bureau. Under her leadership, the service area manages over $60 billion in assets and a $2 billion annual budget, ensuring the resilience and sustainability of Portland’s critical infrastructure. Dhanapal has been instrumental in spearheading the City’s One Water Initiative, integrating water, sewer, and stormwater services to optimize efficiency and reduce environmental impact. Additionally, she has advanced key infrastructure investments, modernized asset management strategies, and championed collaborative approaches to address sustainability, climate resilience, and equitable service delivery.

Before joining the City of Portland in 2024, Dhanapal served as the Public Works Deputy Director for Clark County, Washington. Priya’s journey in public works began with wastewater recycling research for NASA, followed by helping engineer the first permanent direct potable reuse implementation in the United States. Noteworthy achievements in her career include leading the implementation of the innovative Beaverton Purple Pipe program, a pioneering initiative on the West Coast, and a multi-million-dollar potable water infrastructure program that was transformative to Beaverton’s water system. Throughout her career, Dhanapal has championed diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Additionally, she played a pivotal role in enhancing disaster preparedness strategies and asset management for multiple utilities across the West Coast.

A licensed professional engineer in Oregon, Dhanapal holds a Master of Science in Civil/Environmental Engineering from Texas Tech University, complemented by additional degrees in Biological Sciences and Chemical Engineering. Her story is one of determination, resilience and dedication to service, with a commitment to being a servant leader who cares deeply for her team and community, aiming to a create a legacy impact that extends across generations.

Jon Freedman is based in Washington, DC, where he leads Global Policy & Stakeholder Affairs for Veralto – Water Quality.  Previously, he led Global Government Affairs & Policy for Veolia’s worldwide water treatment technology business, and he also led Global Government Affairs & Policy for GE Water and for GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy.  In addition, he led the creation of GE’s global sustainability initiative (Ecomagination).  He also created GE’s water strategy and helped implement it by leading the acquisition of a global NYSE-listed water company that was renamed GE Water.

Jon currently serves on the Board of Directors of the WateReuse Association, where he is an Officer and Chairs the National Policy Committee. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the International Desalination & Reuse Association, where he is First Vice President. Previously, Jon sat on the boards of The Wharton School’s Initiative for Global Environmental Leadership (2012-2020), the US EPA’s Financial Advisory Board (2020-2022), and several other organizations.  Jon has authored numerous articles and speaks frequently on water issues globally. He also just wrapped up his 12th and final year as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania, where this spring semester he taught 75 Wharton MBA students in a course called The Business & Governance of Water.

Jon holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia, a law degree from William & Mary Law School, and an MBA in Finance from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Jim Gebhardt is a Senior Finance Advisor at USEPA working on water sector financial product innovation, international finance engagements and the Agency’s direct water financing program, WIFIA. Prior related experience includes 20 years as Chief Financial Officer to the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation where he was responsible for all financial and investment matters related to the State’s Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds.

Private sector experience includes public finance responsibilities related to credit analysis, guarantee underwriting and fixed income portfolio management.  Jim served for six years on USEPA’s Financial Advisory Board from 2007-2013.  He has also consulted internationally working with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the World Bank, and the U.S. Government on water infrastructure finance matters.

He received a Master of Science from the New York State College of Environmental Science & Forestry and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Jason has more than 26 years of utility experience centered around the development and implementation strategies to increase environmental, social, and economic benefits within communities. He has held executive-level leadership positions across all aspects of the water environment.

As a principal within the Stantec Water group, Jason works with local governments on One Water efforts and project, organizational change, and asset management. In his role, he strives to mentor, support, and build up the people around him so they can achieve not only what they want but can also push the industry forward with their ideas, knowledge, and passion.

When he isn’t busy improving the utility experience for owners and users, Jason enjoys hiking, skiing, and biking around Colorado as well as spending time with his family.

Joseph has had several different positions in his years with Stantec, including global manager of the water knowledge center and manager of municipal technology. Today, he’s vice president and director of research. With over 30 years of experience in environmental health engineering, he specializes in water quality and treatment, water and wastewater disinfection, membrane technology, and public health.

As technical director, principal investigator, project manager, or engineer, Joseph has contributed to the completion of over 80 water and wastewater projects. He’s published over 200 peer-reviewed and proceedings papers, and he was the first to publish in peer-reviewed literature on how low-pressure membrane filtration could be employed for the treatment of municipal water supplies in the US. Today, this is a commonplace technology used throughout the world.

Joseph serves as an adjunct professor at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, and he’s also a past chair for the Water Reuse Research Foundation board of directors. Currently, he serves as Past President of AWWA, and is a past recipient of the AWWA Golden Spigot award and two AWWA Best Paper awards—he also received the organization’s Volunteer of the Year of award. Well-acquainted with the world, Joseph also served three years as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Republic of the Congo.

John P. Kmiec, is the Director for Tucson Water. His career spans four decades with an emphasis on water resource management, utility leadership, aquifer storage and recovery, and water quality challenges. Throughout his career, and during his tenure as the Director of Marana Water, he amplified efforts to shape Arizona’s long-term vision and policy about sustainable water supplies, water quality, and the principle that all water has value.

As a strategic and tactical leader, Kmiec served as an appointed member of Governor Ducey’s Water Augmentation, Innovation, and Conservation Committee, sits on the Board of Directors for the National WateReuse Association, and is a Director on the AZ Water Association Board.

Marcia Scully is general counsel for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. She is responsible for providing legal representation to Metropolitan on construction matters, managing outside counsel and coordinating representation of Metropolitan in significant litigation matters. She previously provided assistance in employment and Colorado River resource matters.

Scully joined Metropolitan in 1995 after a decade of private law practice, during which she represented clients on redevelopment plan adoptions, land use as well as environmental and municipal law matters, including negotiation and documentation of retail, industrial, hotel and housing developments. From 1981 to 1985, she was assistant city attorney for the city of Inglewood, where she served as counsel to the planning commission and handled all civil matters with an emphasis on redevelopment, land use, construction, employment and disability issues.

In addition to providing pro bono legal services, she served as president of the University of Michigan’s Alumnae Club of Los Angeles. She is a recipient of the 1996 State Bar of California, District 7 President’s Pro Bono Service Award, and the Southern California Association of Non-Profit Housing Advocate of the Year Award. She is also a member of the League of Women Voters for Whittier and served two terms on the Whittier Planning Commission, including three years as chair.

Scully earned a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts from the University of Michigan, a master’s degree in urban planning from Wayne State University and a law degree from Loyola Law School.

Dr. Umble is a global leader in promoting planetary sustainability.  Professionally, he has served in numerous leadership roles in the water industry, focusing on sustainable approaches to treating municipal wastewater, focusing on innovation and accelerating the adoption of new technology through applied research and practice.  His experience includes leading the Global Wastewater Sector for Stantec, and Directing Stantec’s Institute for Applied Science, Technology & Policy, university teaching, and managing a publicly owned water and wastewater utility.

Though retired, he remains active in numerous environmental projects, programs and forums.