Brent Tippey assumes AWWA presidency at culmination of ACE26

Brent Tippey, who has nearly 30 years in the water sector, accepted the gavel this week as the new president of American Water Works Association.

“It’s an honor to step into this role and continue to contribute to the work this great organization does in our water community,” Tippey said at the gavel-passing ceremony Wednesday, which concluded the 2026 Annual Conference and Exposition (ACE26) in Washington D.C. He received the gavel from outgoing president Heather Collins. “For 145 years, unbroken, we have been the organization that leads in technical content, knowledge exchange, utility management and regulatory engagement.”

“Our leadership is needed now more than anytime during my career, and I am looking forward to the progress that we will make across a diverse spectrum of challenges over the next 12 months,” Tippey added.

Tippey, based in Lexington, Kentucky, is a senior vice president at HDR, a professional services firm, focusing on drinking water projects. He is also a longtime member of AWWA, joining in 1999. He started volunteering more than 20 years ago with the Kentucky-Tennessee Section’s Manufacturers/ Associates Council after a colleague asked for his support.

Since then, he’s held all officer roles in the section, including director in 2021. At the association level, Brent served on and led the AWWA Water Treatment Facilities Design and Construction Committee. He was selected AWWA vice president in 2023 and president-elect in 2025.

“Getting involved in AWWA changed the course of my career,” Tippey said. “What started as a simple ‘yes’ turned into relationships that have shaped how I think about my work, my purpose and the people we serve. The relationships you build here stay with you; they are durable. That sense of connection — it really does feel like a family — is something I want more members to experience.”

He said his priorities as president include strengthening relationships within AWWA and among industry partners, embracing technology and developments in AI, and fulfilling commitments, including Water 2050.

“Brent exemplifies service leadership and engineering skills,” Chance Lauderdale, HDR’s drinking water director, said in a statement. “I know he will continue to inspire engagement, contribution, and collaboration across our water industry.”

Learn more about Tippey’s career and his priorities for his year as president in the next edition of AWWA Connections July 10.