From battleground to boardroom, new AWWA president a tested leader

Having served 10 years as an active U.S. Army officer and an additional 10 years as a reservist, Patrick Kerr begins his one-year term this month as the 142nd president of the American Water Works Association (AWWA) with decades of experience working with others to get results.

“There are a lot of parallels between being a leader in the military and managing people in any other endeavor,” said Kerr, chair of the board, president and chief executive officer with Baton Rouge Water Works Company (BRWC) and an AWWA member since 1995. “Leadership is the ability to get things done with little resources and limited time while motivating people to be the best selves they can be.”

A key to successfully getting things done is to surround yourself with people who have diverse experiences, backgrounds, thoughts, educations, and perspectives, he added. “I learned during my military experience, including as an attack helicopter pilot in Korea and Germany, that when you get into a highly stressful situation, it’s comforting if you know someone who has experienced something like it and survived,” he said. “I’m a big advocate of diversity and creating the broadest experience base possible because there’s a greater chance that someone on your team has already encountered and solved the problem you’re dealing with.” 

One of Kerr’s goals as AWWA president is to expand the Association’s reach and influence in the water sector by encouraging existing members to personally introduce their colleagues and water sector partners to the benefits of AWWA membership. “We owe it to the water community to expand our reach and increase the capacity of water utilities to provide safe drinking water for their customers,” he said. “There is no doubt that being an AWWA member makes you better at your job.” 

He added, “When people or organizations are under stress, they often withdraw and build a fence around themselves and stop showing up. I’d like each of us to become an AWWA ambassador and redouble our efforts to get others actively involved and help prevent future water crises.” 

Kerr is no stranger to building resilience by overcoming challenges. His father died when he was 11 and his mom worked to support six children. To help finance his business education at Boston University, he applied for and was awarded an Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) scholarship and went on to become a Distinguished Military Graduate. 

Kerr’s distinguished Army service included four years as a special operations aviator before he transitioned out in 1994. He and his wife, Eleanor, had a daughter by then (they are parents to daughters Colleen and Caroline), and Kerr was invited by Eleanor’s father, Eugene Owen, to join him at Baton Rouge Water Company by entering the management training program.

“I have been so blessed ever since,” said Kerr. “Gene became my mentor and poured into me both his passion for doing things right and for taking care of people. I am eternally grateful to him and to the many people I have met along the way who have taught me so many things.”

Kerr considers his term as president as part of a continuum of leaders who first learned about the Association’s mission and operations through their work on the board of directors. He credits his positive experience during this time to past presidents Melissa Elliott and Chi Ho Sham, immediate past president Joe Jacangelo, and treasurer Jon Eaton, and he welcomes incoming president Cheryl Porter. 

“What I have learned over my tenure as a presidential officer is that this group of people you elect are wholly collaborative,” he said. “They are also, to a person, kind, caring and incredibly effective in leading our Association.”

As he takes his turn at the helm, Kerr said he will continue to rely on these fellow leaders. “While I realize I will be called on to make some tough decisions over the next 12 months, I assure you those decisions will reflect the sentiments of the diverse group of leaders you have elected to this position over the last many years, and, through them, to the sentiments of you, our members.”