Through panels, workshops and interactive speaker sessions, the event promises to be thought-provoking, provide great networking opportunities, and allow young professionals from across the water sector to learn, create and share ideas that will help shape the future of water. 

 

8:00-9:00 a.m.	Registration and Breakfast
9:00-9:30 a.m.	Welcome
9:30-10:00 a.m.	Keynote
10:00-10:15 a.m.	Break
10:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m.	Workshop: May the (Work)Force Be With You
12:15-1:15 p.m.	Lunch
1:15-2:15 p.m.	Making an Impact: A Local and Global Water Perspective
2:15-2:30 p.m.	Break
2:30-4:00 p.m.	Workshop: Communicating the Value of Water
4:00-4:30 p.m.	Closing Remarks
4:30-4:45 p.m.	Photo
5:30-7:30 p.m.	Networking Reception

2019 Agenda

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2019 Keynote Speaker - Dr. Mark LeChevallier

Dr. Mark LeChevallier is the principal and manager of Dr. Water Consulting LLC, a part-time consulting business, after retiring from American Water at the end of 2017.  Dr. LeChevallier received his Bachelor of Science and Masters degrees in Microbiology from Oregon State University, and his Ph.D. in Microbiology from Montana State University.  

Dr. LeChevallier has authored over 300 research papers and has received awards from the American Water Works Association for outstanding contributions to the science of water treatment.  He was the recipient of the George Warren Fuller award in 1997 from the New Jersey section of the American Water Works Association, the Abel Wolman Award in 2012 and the A.P. Black award for research in 2015, both from the American Water Works Association.  He currently serves on the Water Science & Technology Board for the National Academy of Science and is a member of the NAS Legionella workgroup. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology.  
 

This is an interactive, management/leadership 101 workshop with small group facilitation lead by industry leaders regarding team and project development.

 

Moderator: Pieter Van Ry, PE

Title: Director

Company: South Platte Water Renewal Partners

 

 

 

 

Manager: Matt Bond, P.E., WEF Fellow

Title: Chief Engineering Officer

Company: KC Water

 

 

 

 

 

Manager: Alan Cranford, PO

Title: Water Treatment Plant Manager

Company: Murfreesboro Water Resources Department

 

 

 

 

 

Manager: Michael W. Grimm, P.E.

Title: General Manager

Company: West Slope Water District 

 

 

 

 

 

Manager: Michelle Hatcher, P.E.

Title: Director, Water Management Department

Company: City of Franklin, TN

 

 

Manager: Jim Horne

Title: Sustainability Program Manager

Company: US EPA

 

 

 

 

Manager: Jeanne M. Jensen, MPA, PE

Title: CIP Projects Supervisor - Utilities 

Company: Town of Gilbert

 

 

Manager: Gene Koontz, PE

Title: Senior Vice President

Company: Gannett Fleming 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Manager: Cynthia Lane

Title: Assistant District Manager

Company: Platte Canyon Water & Sanitation District 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Manager: Matthew J. Manchisi, PE, PMP

Title: Senior Principal Engineer

Company: Hazen and Sawyer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Manager: Randy Moore

Title: Director of Sales - Agency Development & Industry Affairs

Company: Tnemec Company, Inc.

 

 

 

 

Manager: Tim Moran

Title: Product Manager

Company: NIBCO Inc.

 

 

 

 

Manager: Bri Nakamura

Title: Senior Manager, Water Science and Engineering Center

Company: Water Environment Federation

 

 

 

 

Manager: Jennifer Osgood, P.E., PMP, BCEE

Title: Project Management & Commercial Leader

Company: CDM Smith

 

 

 

 

 

Manager: Doug Kimbler

Title: Superintendent of Water/Wastewater Treatment Plant 

Company: Bowling Green Municipal Utilities

 

 

 

 

 

 

Manager: Jackie Jarrell

Title: Operations Chief, WEF's President Elect

Company: Charlotte Water

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Manager: Chi Ho Sham, Ph.D.

Title: Vice President and Chief Scientist

Company: Eastern Research Group, Inc. 

 

 

 

 

Manager: Candace Vannasdale

Title: General Manager

Company: Harriman Utility Board

 

 

 

 

Manager: Jeff Zdrojewski, PE

Title: North Region Business Development Director

Company: Pure Technologies

 

 

 

 

 

Hear from a panel of local and global water aid organizations including Community Engineering Corps, Vera Aqua Vera Vita and Water for People, regarding the water crisis and what you can do to make a difference.

 

Moderator: Barb Martin

Title: Director of Engineering and Technical Services

Company: American Water Works Association

With over 20 years of experience in water and wastewater, Barbara Martin is currently Director of Engineering and Technical Services at the American Water Works Association, where she previously managed the Partnership for Safe Water.  She has a BA in chemistry from Boston University and an MS in geochemistry from Colorado School of Mines, where her thesis research focused on the effect of constructed wetlands on disinfection by-products and their formation.  Barbara has an MBA from Colorado State University and is a licensed drinking water operator in the State of Colorado.
 

 

At Vera Aqua Vera Vita we aim to tap into the physical and spiritual nature of water to empower people and communities in developing countries to generate clean water and sanitation solutions that bring "True Water True Life." We are focused on empowerment of the people we serve in developing countries to ensure the implementation of best practices, WASH education curricula, and water & wastewater infrastructure solutions that result in generation-over-generation long-term and sustainable solutions. We work with communities in need to inspire, engineer, and implement solutions to their specific water, sanitation, and hygiene issues!

 

 

Panelist: Jacob Niemeier, P.E.

Title: Founder & Executive Director, Water Resources Civil Engineer 

Company: Vera Aqua Vera Vita, Stantec 
 

Jacob, originally from Indianapolis, Indiana, is the Founder & Executive Director of Vera Aqua Vera Vita and a part-time water resources civil engineering consultant at Stantec, Inc.

He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture & Biological Engineering from Purdue University. He majored in Environmental & Natural Resources Engineering and minored in Environmental & Ecological Engineering. While at Purdue, Jacob, also, recognized the needs and suffering of people in developing countries when he took mission trips to both Haiti and Africa which he credits as his inspiration for starting Vera Aqua Vera Vita.

Jacob has a great passion for problem solving and adventure whether it is with water, the environment, travel, or people.  After graduation in 2012 from Purdue, Jacob moved to Dallas, Texas, for a job with Stantec, Inc. working as a water resources consulting engineer. He is a Professional Engineer (P.E.) with over 6.5 years of design experience in both public and private projects focused on water, wastewater, and stormwater conveyance, distribution infrastructure design, and water & wastewater system modeling.

Jacob currently serves as a YP Co-Chair for the North Central Texas Chapter of the AWWA Texas Section.

 

A world where every person has access to reliable and safe water and sanitation services. Water for People exists to promote the development of high-quality drinking water and sanitation services, accessible to all, and sustained by strong communities, businesses, and governments. 

 

 

 

 

Panelist: Vicky Bhogal

Title: Community Engagement Manager

Company: Water for People

 

Vicky Bhogal joined Water For People in 2012, as an integral member of the organization’s business development team. When she began with Water For People, Vicky brought with her many years of experience with nonprofits focused on human and environmental services. Prior to joining the nonprofit sector, Vicky spent 10 years working in various roles within corporate law with an emphasis on immigration, mergers & acquisition and intellectual property. 

As Water For People’s Community Engagement Manager, Vicky supports more than 50 volunteer groups across North America that perform outreach and host fundraisers in their local communities. These volunteer Committees have existed since Water For People was formed in 1991 by the American Water Works Association and provide crucial unrestricted funding for the programming. 

 

Vicky is also responsible for maintaining strong relationships between Water For People and sector associations including AWWA, WEF, NAWC, NACWA, and the US Water Alliance. In addition, Vicky manages Water For People’s technical volunteering arm – the World Water Corps, as well as the organization’s donor tours to the field. While Water For People is headquartered out of Denver, Vicky is based in the California Bay Area, where she has spent most of her life. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from the University of California, Irvine. 
 

Community Engineering Corps’ is an alliance of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Water Works Association, and Engineers Without Borders USA. We bring more than 200,000 technical professionals and students members of our organizations together to serve communities across the United States. These individuals volunteer their time and expertise to assist communities that do not have the resources to access engineering services. With a strong commitment to community-driven projects, our volunteers work alongside community members to design solutions to identified problems.

 

 

Panelist: Stephen Barr

Title: Community Engineering Programs Manager

Company: Community Engineering Corps - American Water Works Association 

 

Mr. Stephen Barr is the Community Engineering Program Manager for the Community Engineering Corps (CECorps), employed by AWWA in Denver, Colorado. Steve has 10 years of experience in the international development and environmental engineering industries, having received his B.Sc. in Environmental Engineering from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and his M.Sc. in Science, Technology, and International Development from the University of Edinburgh.

 

Throughout his career, Steve has balanced his experience both domestically and abroad, most recently managing business development efforts for Tetra Tech’s International Development Services division, primarily focusing on the fields of local governance, environment, and water and infrastructure for US Agency for International Development prog. 

 

Prior to this, Steve worked for various consulting firms throughout California and the west coast performing environmental site investigations and construction oversight on behalf of Department of Defense, State, and local agencies. During and in between consulting, he volunteered for Engineers Without Borders – USA and other international non-profit organizations to conduct water and wastewater projects in Cameroon, Honduras, Thailand, and the West Bank, wrote his dissertation on decentralized wastewater treatment options in Benin, and performed USAID business development scoping in the West Bank and Nigeria. 

 

As AWWA’s representative to and program manager for CECorps, Steve works with AWWA Sections and members to provide volunteer opportunities for short-term engineering and technical services to underserved communities across the US.

 

This workshop will teach attendees about communication and public outreach efforts focusing on the value of water with Melissa Essex Elliott (Raftelis), Sonia Allman and Jenn Harrman (Metro Water Services).

 

Presenter: Melissa Elliott

Title: Manager, AWWA's President-Elect

Company: Raftelis Financial Consultants, Inc. 

Melissa Elliott has a 20+ year public relations career spent almost entirely with water and wastewater utilities and municipalities. She oversees communication planning, stakeholder engagement and risk communication strategies for Raftelis where her focus is on helping utilities tell their story to connect consumers to the value of water. Prior to joining Raftelis, Melissa directed the public affairs efforts at Denver Water. 

 

She has extensive experience working with elected officials, stakeholders and the public on issues as diverse as drought, water quality, potable reuse, affordability, rate structure change, impactful construction projects, customer assistance programs and demand management. She has an M.S. in technical communication and a B.A. in journalism and is Accredited in Public Relations (APR) from the Public Relations Society of America. 

 

Highly active in the water industry nationally and regionally, Melissa is the incoming AWWA President-Elect, the former chair of AWWA’s Public Affairs Council and a regular volunteer for The Water Research Foundation. 

 

Presenter: Sonia Allman

Title: Manager of Strategic Communications

Company: Metro Water Services

 

Sonia Allman, is the Manager of Strategic Communications at Metro Water Services (MWS), a member of the Emergency Management Support staff for the Mayor’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM) in Nashville, TN and Past Chair of the KY/TN Section of AWWA.  Sonia manages all media communications and public messaging strategies for MWS and is part of the MWS emergency response team.  Sonia is a University of Tennessee graduate and holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology. Her personal interest in the environment led Sonia to a career in the water industry.  

 

 

Presenter: Jenn Harrman

Title: Public Information Representative

Company: Metro Waste Services

 

As the Public Information Representative for Metro Water Services, Jenn works with digital communications and public outreach to share the utility’s story. Jenn believes that the power of social media and digital communications is essential to building trust and sharing the value of water message. She has worked in public relations and public education for over 7 years and is passionate about finding creative ways to engage new audiences. Jenn has also trained extensively as a professional tour guide both in Chicago and Nashville, which has helped inform many of her communications strategies. Jenn holds a bachelor’s degree from Missouri State University and a master’s degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.