Young Professionals Summit
February 14-16, 2027
Vancouver, BC, Canada
Young Professionals Summit
YP Summit
The AWWA/WEF Young Professionals (YP) Summit is the premier water and wastewater industry workshop for young professionals. Join other young leaders by exploring your role in water and discussing how you can best serve the water sector at large. This skills development workshop provides supplemental training and networking opportunities to emerging leaders and students in the water sector.
Hosted by the American Water Works Association and the Water Environment Federation, this event will allow attendees to:
- Foster meaningful peer connections that support career growth and advance the future of the water sector.
- Develop interpersonal and leadership skills within the context of the water and wastewater industry.
- Broaden understanding of the water sector through increased awareness of industry roles, challenges, and opportunities.
- Discuss emerging challenges and identify how these may impact their goals.
- Recognize the skills they have and the ones they might need to develop further as future leaders.
- Explore trending workforce issues and how those offer opportunities for growth.
- Learn from peers and current water leaders the value of their perspectives as young professionals.
- Engage with hands-on water and wastewater tools and approaches in a team-setting to expand practical knowledge and build lasting peer-to-peer support networks.
The 2027 YP Summit is now open for registration.
Registration is Open!
2027 Dates & Location:
February 14-16, 2027
Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre
Vancouver, BC, Canada
Who Attends The YP Summit?
Early-career water professionals eager to transform the future of water
Students in engineering, environmental science, business, communications, and other disciplines prominent in the water sector
Overview Schedule
Sunday, February 14, 2027 | Pre-Summit Activity – Location & Activity TBD
Monday, February 15 2027 | Workshops
- WEF Member Association (MA) YP Leaders Workshop
- AWWA Young Professionals (YP) Leader Training Day
- WEF Emerging Young Professionals Leadership (EYPL) Workshop
- Welcome Reception (for all attendees)
Tuesday, February 16 2027 | Young Professionals (YP) Summit (all day) & Networking Reception (all attendees)
February 16–19, 2027 | Utility Management Conference – get the bundle discounted registration!
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Invest in the Future of Water
Become a Sponsor in 2027
The annual Young Professionals Summit is an unparalleled opportunity to connect directly with the next generation of water leaders and convey your thought leadership and industry foresight.
Be sure to receive the prospectus when it becomes available.
Contact Us
Companies starting with 0-9 and A-I
Donna Walstrom – Sales Manager
303.734.3601
720.829.7851
General questions
Quick Links
Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre
1000 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC V6Z 2R9
The AWWA/WEF 2027 YP Summit/UMC will take place at this dynamic hotel in downtown Vancouver, BC, offering modern venues and rooms with city center views.
Book Your Room Today!
Vancouver is looking forward to hosting you at UMC!
Reservations at the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Center are now open. The conference hotel block will remain open until Thursday, January 14, 2027 or until sold out – whichever occurs first.
Alert: AWWA is aware of multiple unauthorized organizations contacting attendees to solicit hotel rooms. For your protection, reserve hotel accommodations using only the link(s) provided by AWWA. Reservations made through any solicitor cannot be guaranteed by AWWA and could result in hidden charges, unusual restrictions, or incorrect hotel placement. You may report fraudulent activity to awwaconferences@awwa.org.
YP Utility Scholarships
YP Summit Scholarships are Now Open!
AWWA and WEF will each award five scholarships (10 in total) to young professionals employed by a water utility in North America. AWWA Water Equation offers this application to young professionals at a water utility. AWWA membership is not required.
Each scholarship awarded by Water Equation will provide free registration to the 2026 YP Summit and reimburse the recipient for up to $2,000 in travel expenses to the event. Travel expense guidelines will be provided. Awardees are expected to participate in the YP Summit. Travel to Canada requires a valid passport. See the Water Equation Scholarships Program for more information.
YP Utility Scholarships are now open for applications! The deadline to apply is November 6, 2026.
To apply for the travel award, please use the code YPS.
If you have questions, please contact Mary Svoboda at yp@awwa.org.
To apply through WEF, please click here.
Apply Through AWWA
Congratulations to Our YP Summit Travel Award Recipients!
Harrison Dunlap
City of Oklahoma City
Ethan Harper
Greater Cincinnati Water Works
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Alex Hippinhammer
Mile High Flood District
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Dallys Serracin-Pitti
Halifax Water
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Gian Vallejo
Hillsborough County Florida
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AWWA YP Utility Scholarship Winners
Water Equation (WE), AWWA’s philanthropy supports the future of the water industry by investing in the water workforce through scholarships, leadership programs, and volunteer engineering opportunities.
Jenna Arsenault
Operations Supervisor
Parks Canada
British Columbia
Dom Bennett
Assistant Director of Customer Care
City of Lee’s Summit (Water Utilities Department)
Missouri
Kayla Sanon
Admin. Technician, Senior
City of Richmond — Dept. of Public Utilities
Virginia
Marina Shenoda
Principal Engineer
City of Newark — Water & Sewer Department
New Jersey
Misty Smith
Executive Assistant
Immokalee Water and Sewer District
Florida
AWWA HBCU Scholarship Winners
Cescar Kangogo
Masters in Engineering in Civil and Environmental Engineering
Tennessee State University
Carolyne Njeri
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Tennessee State University
MD Al Sadikul Islam
Civil Engineering
University of the District of Columbia
WEF YP Utility Scholarship Winners
The Water Environment Federation (WEF) awards five scholarships to young professionals (YPs) working for a utility in North America. The YP Utility Scholarship program helps YPs learn about what being part of the WEF Utility Management Community (UMC) entails and increases YP involvement within this community.
Andrea Andino
City of Hialeah Public Works Department
Florida
Jayla Berry
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality
North Carolina
Jordan Lewis
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality
North Carolina
Daniel Roberts
Trinity River Authority of Texas
Texas
Kayson Smith-Bejgrowicz
Aqua Engineers
Hawaii
“Attending YP Summit 2024 was an absolute blast, from teaming up for the Water Circuit Challenge to making friends in the water industry and expanding my network. With leadership training, water facility tour, and city exploration, it was the perfect mix of learning and fun—I highly recommend it for anyone looking to grow professionally and make lasting connections!”
June Kouet
Engineering Intern, Four Waters Engineering, Inc.
“Getting these connections is priceless. Meeting people my age in the industry, doing similar but different things across the U.S. Some of the people I met at my first YP Summit are my best friend to this day!”
Renee Lanza, P.E.
Senior Consultant, GEI
“The past two YP Summits I have attended have been a great opportunity to meet other water industry young professionals and to learn more about parts of the industry I might not otherwise have known about.”
Malia Turner
Hazen and Sawyer
“I enjoyed learning about professional development plans—how to close identify skills gaps and hone in on which skills you want to grow. There are so many different aspects of engineering in the water industry; sometimes you don’t know where you need to grow until someone tells you, or coaches you.”
Natalie Thompson
Principal Engineer, Hazen & Sawyer
“I had more fun, learned more, felt more engaged, and felt more welcome at the last YP Summit more than any conference I’ve ever attended. It is hands down the best conference you can attend as a young water professional, both professionally and personally.”
Brie Peterson
Technical Sales Tonka Water, a Kurita brand
“I met so many young professionals! I enjoy talking to more people, getting to hear how their organizations work. In sessions we touched on some vulnerable topics like imposter syndrome—which everyone faces, and it’s completely OK. It was good to hear that.”
Bhar Murali
Project Manager for Water Engineering and Reliability, Region of Peel, Ontario, Canada
Resources for Young Professional from AWWA
We invite you to explore the wide range of relevant resources available from AWWA.
The Water Workforce: Strategies for Recruiting and Retaining High-Performance Employees
The most important resources at any utility are human resources. People make all the difference in the success or failure of your utility’s operation. Managing utility workforce issues is the focus of this practical handbook for water utility human resources employees.
Get the Book
Plain Talk About Drinking Water, Sixth Edition
The first edition of this book was published more than 30 years ago. The goal of that book was to provide explanations for some of the questions that surround drinking water. Where does my tap water come from? How is it treated? Why does ice float? And to explain these things and more, in simple but factual language—using “plain talk.”
Read More
The Water Dictionary Handbook
Developed specifically for water and wastewater professionals, this unique dictionary has more than 15,000 definitions for water-related words, phrases, and acronyms.
Read More
Communicating Water’s Value: Talking Points, Tips & Strategies
This book offers tips and tools to assist management, communications staff, and employees at both small and large utilities in shaping customers’ understanding about the value of water.
Get the Book
YPs Embrace a New Era of Opportunity
Read More
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2025 Facility Tour
