AWWA Board elects officers; Patrick Kerr next president-elect

A member of the Southwest Section, Kerr is president and CEO of Baton Rouge Water Works Company in Louisiana. He is one of six new officers elected by AWWA’s Board of Directors at its virtual annual winter meeting Jan. 14. 

Kerr and four newly-elected vice presidents and one director-at-large will begin their terms in June after AWWA’s Annual Conference & Exposition (ACE22) in San Antonio, Texas. 

Chi Ho Sham, AWWA’s current president, has worked with Kerr through the Water Utility Council over the past three years and said he looks forward to working with him to further the success of the global water community. “Pat understands the challenges faced by water utilities and knows how to work with diverse communities,” he said.

“Moreover, Pat values knowledgeable experts and understands the power of actively listening to different points of view, which allow him to be effective in tackling and resolving challenging issues impacting the water sector,” Sham added. “Pat will add many valuable dimensions to the AWWA leadership team.” 

Kerr will follow current president-elect Joe Jacangelo, vice president and director of research at Stantec in Washington, D.C.

The four vice presidents elected by the AWWA Board are:

• Ari Copeland -- AWWA member since 2005, director-at-large and member of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee, member of the Florida Section and operations specialist at Black & Veatch in Kansas City, Mo.
• Randy Moore -- AWWA member since 1985, member of the Board of Directors as service provider director-at large and director of the Missouri Section, director of sales-agency development and industry affairs for Tnemec Company in Kansas City, Mo.
• Juanita Reyher-Colon -- AWWA member since 2008, director of the Hawaii Section and executive director of the Hawaii Rural Water Association.
• Michelle Stockness – AWWA member since 2006, director-at-large and member of the Diversity and Member Inclusion Committee, member of the Minnesota Section and vice president at Barr Engineering in Minneapolis.

The Board selected Mary Gugliuzza as director-at-large. An AWWA member since 1997, she is a member of the Texas Section and former chair of the Public Affairs Council. She is the media relations and communications coordinator for the City of Fort Worth Water Utility.