Attendee Materials

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.

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.

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.

Anselmo G. Collins is the Senior Assistant General Manager of the Water System for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP). As one of the largest and most complex municipal water systems in the world, the Los Angeles Water System has an annual operating budget of $1.5 billion and serves high quality drinking water to over 4 million people in a 472 square-mile area. Mr. Collins leads an organization of more than 2,400 employees.

Mr. Collins has over 28 years of experience with LADWP. His experience has been both in engineering and managerial capacities involving planning, designing, construction, project management, construction management, procurement, operations, and maintenance.

Mr. Collins most recently served as Director of the Water Operations Division where he was responsible for Water System operations and maintenance activities of water transmission and treatment facilities in the Metropolitan-Los Angeles Area, as well as those of the Los Angeles Aqueduct system. Mr. Collins also oversaw the Owens Lake Dust Mitigation Program and managed Water System’s property issues and real estate holdings.

Previously, Mr. Collins served as Assistant Director of Water Operations Division. Before joining Water Operations Division, he was the Assistant Director of Water Engineering and Technical Services Division, and Acting Director of Supply Chain Services.

Mr. Collins received his Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from California State University Northridge and a Master of Business Administration degree from Pepperdine University. Mr. Collins is a registered Civil Engineer in the State of California.

With a strong background in litigation challenging or defending federal regulations, advising on regulatory compliance, internal investigations, and defense against government investigations and enforcement actions, Corinne provides clients with practical advice on how to prepare for and shape new regulations, how to distill and effectively communicate legal requirements within an organization, and how to manage communications with regulators.

Corinne draws on wide experience at the U.S. Department of Justice where she most recently served as Counsel and Chief of Staff in the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, where she assisted in managing a 600-person division that included 400 lawyers. In this role she helped manage the Division’s civil and criminal litigation arising under more than 150 environmental and natural resources laws. She also worked closely with the General Counsel’s Offices for multiple federal agencies, including the EPA, Departments of Interior, Defense, Energy, Commerce, and Agriculture, as well as the White House and Counsel on Environmental Quality to advise high-ranking officials on policy and litigation risks associated with the environmental and natural resource laws and regulations. She also served as Senior Counsel in the Office of the Associate Attorney General, which oversees all civil litigation on behalf of the United States, and as Counselor in the Office of the Attorney General. Her roles in government have given her a unique perspective into the decision-making processes in the federal government.

In the private sector, Corinne counsels clients on environmental compliance across a variety of industries, including the energy and mining sectors, water utilities, and trade groups. In the transactional context, she assists in the drafting and negotiating of the environmental terms in purchase and sale agreements, lease agreements, credit agreements, and disclosures for debt and equity offerings and public filings. Corinne also helps clients understand how their environmental and climate disclosures will interact with existing and forthcoming regulatory requirements and how to limit legal liability risks related to those disclosures. She also advises clients on preparing for regulatory changes, including by drafting comments on rules proposed by federal agencies such as EPA, the SEC, FERC, and Interior. She also advises on issues related to emerging contaminants and is a member of the firm’s PFAS task force.

Craig Parker has over 30 years of engineering experience in private and public organizations, including water, wastewater, recycled water, stormwater, and groundwater. He has been involved in capital, energy, asset management, water resources, and water conservation programs.

Mr. Parker has a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Cal Poly Pomona and an M.S. in Civil Engineering (Emphasis in Water Resources) from U.C. Berkeley. He is a registered Civil Engineer with the State of California and a Board Certified Environmental Engineer with the Association of Environmental Engineers and Scientists.

Mr. LaFrance leads American Water Works Association, the world’s largest and oldest association of water professionals, with 50,000 members worldwide. Overseeing a staff of approximately 150 in Denver and Washington D.C., LaFrance guides AWWA’s extensive scientific, educational, and public policy work to build a better world through better water.

Prior to joining AWWA, he was the CFO for Denver Water.