2019 Speakers

Susan Ancel

Director of Stormwater Strategies, EPCOR Water Services
Board Member, Canadian Water Network

Susan Ancel is the Director of Stormwater Strategies for EPCOR Water Services Inc.  This is a new role within EPCOR with a primary focus on the development of an integrated resource plan for stormwater management that considers capital and operational risk mitigation planning and builds awareness of the interrelationships between utilities, insurance, disaster response agencies and the public in preparing and responding to changing stormwater risks in the community.  Prior to taking on this role Susan was the Director of Water Distribution and Transmission responsible for the planning, engineering, construction, operation and maintenance of the water distribution and water metering systems for EPCOR in Edmonton.

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Koos J. Baas

Founder and CEO
Aquacare

Koos Baas is the Founder and CEO of Aquacare and Green Water Solutions. He was educated as a chemical engineer. Koos’ first job was in water treatment in 1978, and he’s never looked back. Since then, he’s developed expertise on corrosion, scaling and biofouling, primarily on cooling towers and boiler treatment. In 1988, Koos founded Aquacare Netherlands. He was involved in the early stage of membrane technology in the Netherlands and co-authored many articles on the development and use of anti-scalents. Since 2008, Koos has been implementing innovative technologies to avoid bio-growth through phosphorus limitation.

Mark Bainbridge

Director, Water & Wastewater Planning & Capital
City of Hamilton

Mark Bainbridge is the Director of Water and Wastewater Planning and Capital for the City of Hamilton. Working with a diverse and talented team of city professionals, Mark is responsible for infrastructure and programs related to capital design and construction, master planning, growth and development reviews, environmental assessments, sourcewater protection and facility asset management.

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Mark has been with the City of Hamilton for 18 years, building these programs that continuously serve the residents and businesses of Hamilton. The work Mark has led over this timeframe has focused on the key concepts of asset sustainability and environmental protection.

Mark was raised in the Hamilton community and continues to live, work and play in the area.  An avid mountain biker, Mark can often be found exploring the diverse Hamilton landscape and local attractions and amenities.

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Gregory Baird

President
The Water Finance Research Foundation

Gregory Baird is President of The Water Finance Research Foundation and a financial management and infrastructure asset management specialist for municipalities and water and sewer districts. He is focused on helping governments and utilities improve the cost effectiveness of their operations and the affordability of water services through the use of technology and asset management practices. Greg is influencing the industry to require infrastructure asset management plans as a prerequisite to local, state and federal funding, as well as an analysis component for credit risk and public/private partnership evaluations.

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Greg actively serves as Chair of the sustainable infrastructure committee with the American Water Works Association and is a member of the rates and charges and asset management committees. He is appointed to the American Public Works Association’s engineering & technology committee and is Chair of the underground infrastructure technology subcommittee. Greg participates as a member of the ISO 251 technical committee working on the integration of finance and infrastructure asset management. Greg is also Virginia Tech’s Sustainable Water Infrastructure Management education chair for their new online water asset management certificate training series and is also supporting the development of a U.S. GIS database of pipe inventory data, called PipeID. He is promoting the 2018 release of Utah State University’s “Water Main Break Rates In the USA and Canada: A Comprehensive Study” to increase awareness of the aging water infrastructure crisis and the need for lifecycle cost analysis and a national pipe inventory database.

Greg has served as a municipal finance officer in California and as the CFO of Colorado’s third largest municipal utility. He has worked for some top water engineering firms, including MWH (now Stantec) and GHD, in financial, asset management and affordability engagements. Greg is widely published on municipal utility infrastructure asset management and integrated finance issues for the U.S. and Canadian water and wastewater industry.

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Kathy Bardswick

CEO
Canadian Climate and Clean Growth Institute

Kathy Bardswick is CEO of the Canadian Climate and Clean Growth Institute. In 2016, she stepped down from her role as President and CEO at The Co-operators Group Ltd., following a career with the organization that spanned nearly four decades.

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Kathy has been very active over the years in the cooperative and mutual insurance movement, as well as in her local community, and has held professional board and voluntary roles with a wide range of organizations, including: the International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation, Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction, Canadian Council of Chief Executives, United Nations Inquiry into a Sustainable Financial System, University of Guelph, Conference Board of Canada and Addenda Capital. Kathy currently holds director roles with Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Group, Foresters Financial, Metrolinx and the University of Waterloo.

Kathy holds a Bachelor of Science (Math) from the University of Manitoba and an MBA (Marketing) from McMaster University. She was appointed an Honorary Chartered Insurance Professional with the Insurance Institute of Canada.

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Janice Beecher

Director, Institute of Public Utilities
Michigan State University

Janice Beecher was appointed Director of Michigan State University’s Institute of Public Utilities in 2002, bringing more than 30 years of applied research experience to the position. Her areas of interest include regulatory principles, institutions, and governance and pricing, specializing in the water sector. Janice is a frequent author, lecturer and participant in professional forums and Editor of the journal Utilities Policy (Elsevier). She also co-authored the book, Risk Principles for Public Utility Regulators.

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Janice is serving on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Finance Advisory Board and previously served on the state of Michigan’s 21st Century Infrastructure Commission. She has also advised the state and cities on water policy, pricing and affordability. She previously held positions at Ohio State and Indiana Universities and the Illinois Commerce Commission. Janice is a faculty member in Michigan State University’s department of Political Science and holds a PhD in political science from Northwestern University.

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Rodney Bouchard

General Manager
Union Water Supply System

Rodney is currently the General Manager of Union Water Supply System (UWSS), which is a municipal water utility in southwestern Ontario that is jointly owned by the four municipalities of Essex, Kingsville, Lakeshore and Leamington. In this role, Rodney is responsible for directing UWSS’ day-to-day operations to ensure customers are provided with a safe and reliable drinking water supply. He is also responsible for developing UWSS’ annual and long-term operations and capital budgets and managing UWSS expenditures.

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Rodney is an accomplished senior manager and professional geoscientist with over 25 years of public and private sector experience in the water supply, water resources and environmental fields. His experience has been garnered through public and private sector employment in both the U.S. and Canada.

Outside of work, Rodney enjoys movies, travelling and spending time with nature, especially in the great outdoors of his homeland in northern Ontario. Rodney currently resides in the Riverside area of Windsor, Ontario with his wife Kim and their children.

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François Bouchart

Director, Water Resources – Planning
The City of Calgary

François Bouchart has been with The City of Calgary for the last 12 years, leading the planning of infrastructure required to deliver water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure. This work includes long-range planning, asset management and approvals functions for assets donated under urban development applications and agreements. Before joining The City of Calgary, Francois ran his private engineering consulting business and held academic positions in Australia, Scotland and Calgary.

Andrew Burnham

Vice President and Global Practice Leader of Financial Services
Stantec

Andrew Burnham is the Vice President and Global Practice Leader of Financial Services at Stantec. He has more than 18 years of experience in conducting and overseeing cost of service allocations, long-term financial planning analyses, affordability studies and the development of alternative rate structures for a variety of utility systems, including water, wastewater, reclaimed water and stormwater. Andy is recognized as an industry expert, and has provided testimony in utility rate-related regulatory proceedings in multiple states and territories. He has personally conducted and/or managed over 600 water resources utility rate and financial planning studies, and has supported utilities in the issuance of over $1 billion of financing for capital improvement funding in the past 5 years.

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Andy currently serves on several industry committees, including the management committee of the Water Environment Federation, the utility resource management committee of the National Association of Clean Water Agencies, and the rates and charges as well as the finance, accounting and management controls committees of the American Water Works Association (AWWA). He was actively involved in the recent update AWWA’s Manual M1 – Principles of Water Rates, Fees and Charges (including key contributions to a new chapter on reuse rates, as well as updates to outside city rate setting) and also led the development of the new committee report on cash reserve policies.

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Reid Campbell

Director of Water Services
Halifax Water

Reid Campbell, M.Eng, P.Eng, is Director of Water Services at Halifax Water. He joined Halifax Water in 1998 after ten years in consulting engineering. In 2007, Reid was appointed Director of Water Services. The water services department is responsible for the “source to tap” operation of the water supply system serving the Halifax metropolitan area, as well as company-wide SCADA and process control services. Reid is responsible for Halifax Water’s award-winning water loss control program, lead service line replacement program, industrial research chair at Dalhousie University, and is an executive co-sponsor of the ongoing AMI implementation project. Reid is a former vice president of the American Water Works Association and is currently a member of its Water Utility Council.

Vanessa Chau

Head of Asset Management Canada
AMCL Ltd.

Vanessa Chau is currently the head of Asset Management Canada for AMCL Ltd. She is responsible for business and client development, and program management project delivery for AMCL’s Canadian clients, as well as providing asset management expertise for various AMCL programs and projects worldwide.

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Prior to joining AMCL, Vanessa was the Manager of Corporate Asset Management at the City of Brampton, the ninth largest city in Canada, with an infrastructure valuation of over $6 billion. Vanessa has a wealth of experience in supporting all facets of municipal asset management programs across Canada, as she previously worked at CH2M as an asset management specialist within the global asset management practice, and as the regional business development manager for strategic consulting.

Vanessa is the founder of Asset Management Ontario, a multi-disciplinary community of practice for public infrastructure which supported the development of the first Asset Management Planning Regulation for Ontario (O.Reg 588/17) as recognized by all levels of government in Canada. She is also the current Institute of Asset Management sole global international Professional Chartered Asset Management Professional lead.

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Albert Cho

Vice President and General Manager
Advanced Infrastructure Analytics, Xylem

Albert Cho is Vice President and General Manager for Advanced Infrastructure Analytics at Xylem, a global water technology company with $4.7B in annual revenue. In this role, he is responsible for the company’s newest business, which focuses on intelligent infrastructure diagnostics and decision support services across water, wastewater and energy infrastructure. Previously, Albert led Xylem’s corporate and business strategy, mergers and acquisitions, strategic partnerships, market intelligence, and business development activities.

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Before joining Xylem, Cho worked as Senior Advisor to the Deputy Secretary at the State Department, where he was a White House Fellow and served on the Secretary of State’s Policy Planning Staff.  He has also been an executive at Cisco Systems, worked at McKinsey & Company, and served at the United Nations on a global plan for achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

Albert serves on the Board of Directors of the U.S. Water Alliance, the editorial advisory board of World Water, and on the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Environment Technologies Trade Advisory Committee. He is also an Honorary Research Associate of the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at the University of Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholar.

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Bernadette Conant

Chief Executive Officer
Canadian Water Network

Bernadette is the Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Water Network and is a trusted broker of water knowledge. Together with her team, she works to improve the application of water research to decisions for water management. In 2009, she founded the Canadian Municipal Water Consortium, whose members collaborate on critical drinking water, wastewater and stormwater challenges. The Consortium includes leaders from progressive municipalities, as well as industry and academic partners.

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Bernadette is Vice-Chair of the board of directors for the Global Water Research Coalition. She also serves on the boards of Hydrogeologists without Borders and the Water Economics, Policy and Governance Network. Bernadette holds an MSc in hydrogeology from the University of Waterloo.

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Michael D’Andrea

Chief Engineer and Executive Director
Engineering and Construction Services, City of Toronto                       

Michael D’Andrea is Chief Engineer and Executive Director of Engineering and Construction Services for the City of Toronto, where he leads almost 600 professional and technical staff and is responsible for the design and construction of the City of Toronto’s municipal infrastructure, which is valued at almost $600 million annually.

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Previously, Michael was Director of Water Infrastructure Management for Toronto Water, where he was responsible for infrastructure planning, capital programs, asset management and policy development in support of the City of Toronto’s water, wastewater and stormwater management infrastructure. In this role, he led several environmental stewardship initiatives, including the City’s climate change adaptation strategy to reduce the risk of flooding from extreme storms, and the development and implementation of Toronto’s Wet Weather Flow Master Plan and guidelines, which promote green infrastructure approaches and low impact development in support of Toronto’s Green Standard.

Michael D’Andrea, MESc, P.Eng, has more than 30 years of experience in the municipal engineering, water, wastewater and construction services industry, and has worked in engineering consulting, Ontario’s Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, and the City of Toronto.

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Lou Di Gironimo

General Manager
Toronto Water                                 

Lou Di Gironimo is General Manager of Toronto Water, a division of the City of Toronto. Under his leadership, the 1,700 staff in Toronto Water focus on providing quality water services – supplying drinking water, treating wastewater and managing stormwater – essential for protecting public health, property and the environment.

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The division serves 3.6 million residents and businesses in Toronto and portions of York and Peel, and has more than $28.2 billion in infrastructure.

Lou has a diverse background in both the private and public sectors at the municipal and provincial levels of government. Some of the organizations he has been associated with include the City of Hamilton, the Ontario Clean Water Agency and the Ontario Development Corporation. He has also worked for private engineering and land development companies. During his career, Lou has had extensive experience managing municipal infrastructure and urban development issues.

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Daryush Esmaili

Manager of Design and Construction
City of Guelph

Daryush Esmaili leads organization-wide asset management implementations to enable the best possible decisions which balance lifecycle costs, levels of service and risk management. His expertise includes maximizing value in utilities, transportation, facilities, parks and fleet services. Daryush holds a master’s degree, specializing in asset management, and actively contributes to the industry through the ISO Technical Committee 251 for Asset Management and AM Ontario.

Jay Famiglietti

Executive Director, Global Institute for Water Security
University of Saskatchewan

Jay Famiglietti is a professor of hydrology and the Executive Director of the Global Institute for Water Security at the University of Saskatchewan, where he holds the Canada 150 Research Chair in Hydrology and Remote Sensing.  Before moving to USask, Famiglietti served as the Senior Water Scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. His research group uses satellites and develops advanced computer models to track how freshwater availability is changing around the globe.  A fellow of the American Geophysical Union and the Geological Society of America, Famiglietti is a regular advisor to state, provincial and federal government officials on water security issues.

Maryam Golnaraghi

Director of Extreme Events and Climate Risk
The Geneva Association

Maryam Golnaraghi is the Director of Extreme Events and Climate Risk at The Geneva Association. Her experience spans over 20 years in international executive and senior advisory positions in industry, government and the United Nations. Maryam is working with C-level suite and boards of (re)insurance companies, financial institutions, governments and international organizations in three key areas: integrating climate risks and opportunities into core business and investing; scaling up investments towards a low carbon economy in areas such as sustainable infrastructure; and building operational and financial resilience to extreme events.  Currently, she is also working on a major project on flood resilience in five countries, including Australia, Germany, Canada, United Kingdom and the United States.

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From 2004 to 2014, as the Chief of Disaster Risk Reduction at the United Nations’ World Meteorological Organization, Maryam headed up and led a multi-faceted international program and worked with over 40 governments on the development of national policies and institutional capacities in disaster and climate risk management, risk transfer and risk financing. Following the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, she served as an adviser to former U.S. President Clinton in his capacity as the UN Special Envoy on Tsunamis.

From 1997 to 2004, Maryam delivered innovative climate risk assessment and risk management solutions to companies in energy, agriculture and financial sectors as the CEO and President of Climate Risk Solutions Inc., a state-of-the-art research and advisory firm. She also worked at the forefront of developing catastrophe risk models, weather derivatives and parametric insurance markets.

Dr. Golnaraghi serves on a number of international, governmental and industry advisory boards. In Canada, among other activities, she serves as a member of National Advisory Council on Flooding, chaired by the Honourable Ralph Goodale, Minister of Public Safety Canada, and on the Advisory Committee for Intact Centre for Climate Adaptation. She has authored numerous internationally-referenced reports, as well as a book, Partnerships in Multi-hazard Early Warning Systems. Maryam holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from Cornell University, an MS in Applied Physics and a PhD in Physical Oceanography from Harvard University, after which she served as a senior research fellow at the Harvard Business School.

Maryam lives in Vancouver with her two daughters. Her latest articles can be assessed at: https://www.genevaassociation.org/research-topics/extreme-events-and-climate-risk

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Derek Hollman

Senior Manager
Project Development – Sustainable Energy, EPCOR

Derek Hollman is responsible for the development of sustainable energy projects, including renewable electricity, biomethane and district energy sharing systems. Previously, Derek worked at EPCOR in the Generation Business Unit, from 2003 until the creation of Capital Power Corporation in 2009. He worked in various roles at EPCOR and Capital Power for 10 years, including Senior Manager of Coal Production at Genesee Generating Station, where he was responsible for the Genesee Mine Joint Venture, as well as fuel supply and ash sales for all three Genesee units. Derek also held the role of Senior Manager of Renewable Operations, with overall responsibility for the Halkirk, Quality Wind and Kingsbridge wind farms.

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Prior to rejoining EPCOR in 2016 for his current position, Derek was a Senior Project Development Lead with Enbridge Pipelines, focusing on the development of sustaining capital projects across Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec. Derek was also the engineering lead for water treatment and disposal in Montreal related to the Line 9B reversal hydrotest.

Derek graduated from the University of Alberta’s MBA program in 2010, specializing in Natural Resources, Energy and Environment. He also completed a Bachelor of Science in Mining Engineering at the University of Alberta in 2003, and attained his Professional Engineering designation in 2006.

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Steve Kaye

CEO
UK Water Industry Research

Steve Kaye is the CEO of UK Water Industry Research (UKWIR), an organization that delivers research to meet the short-, medium- and long-term challenges of the UK water industry. He is a chartered mechanical engineer and has worked in the water industry for over twenty-eight years. Steve also holds an MBA from City University and is a visiting professor at Imperial College in London (UK).

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Steve’s career in water started in the manufacturing industry, where he was responsible for the development and design of water-related products. He is a creative individual who is passionate about making a better world through research and innovation, and has always been actively involved in fostering collaborations between different organizations and industrial sectors.

Previously, Steve held key roles in engineering, operations and innovation at Anglian Water. He helped develop Anglian Water’s Open Innovation Strategy, including successful initiatives like the Water Innovation Network (WIN) and the Innovation Shop Window.

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Bu Lam

Manager of Municipal Programs
Canadian Water Network

Bu joined Canadian Water Network in May 2015. He is responsible for the ongoing development, management and implementation of Canadian Water Network’s municipal water programs, including the Canadian Municipal Water Consortium. Bu oversees the development and management of research programs and activities that collectively support and advance solutions for managing, regulating and supporting municipal drinking water, wastewater and stormwater systems.

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Previously, Bu was the director of community infrastructure for the Department of Community and Government Services with the Government of Nunavut. He has an extensive and broad municipal background, including the initiation and delivery of municipal capital programs and community sustainability planning. He led the planning and implementation of water treatment and distribution systems and wastewater systems in Nunavut, and established research initiatives that have supported the ongoing refinement of northern wastewater standards.

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Stephen Lidington

Director on the Deals team
PwC

Stephen specializes in structuring transactions and commercial strategies for large, complex infrastructure projects for municipal, provincial and federal clients, with a focus on public-private partnerships and alternative financing procurements.

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Stephen joined PwC in 2016, working to assess major capital projects for feasibility, and to provide commercial and financial advice to bring projects through to financial close.  Prior to joining PwC, Stephen worked with the federal government, leading the development of public-private partnership business cases for large and complex public infrastructure projects. He was engaged on various projects across Canada, representing over $7 billion in capital investment.

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Adam Lovell

Executive Director
Water Services Association of Australia

Adam Lovell is the Executive Director at the Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA). WSAA is the peak body for the urban water industry and its members provide urban water services to over 90% of Australia and New Zealand’s population. Adam provides national leadership in policy positions for the Australian urban water sector and facilitates collaboration within the water utility sector.

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Previous to joining WSAA in 2008, Adam was at Sydney Water for 11 years in leadership roles in the Science, Technology and Research area. Adam currently holds a number of non-executive Board member roles including: the Australian WaterSecure Innovation, the Global Water Research Coalition and the Water Environment and Research Foundation (USA).

Adam holds a BSc (Hons) in Chemistry and a Masters of Environmental Engineering Science from the University of Sydney.

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Allen K. Lucas

Manager, Research and Projects
Utilities Kingston

Allen Lucas holds a diploma in survey technology from the British Columbia Institute of Technology (1979), a BASc in civil engineering – water resources from the University of Waterloo (1989), a facilitator of adult learning certificate from Loyalist College of Applied Arts and Technology (2000), a certificate in risk management from University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies (2017) and Canadian risk management program from the Global Risk Management Institute (2017).

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Allen has worked in a variety of roles in consulting engineering firms and municipal utilities. He is currently employed at Utilities Kingston as their manager of research and projects, where he is working on a number of innovation and sustainability projects for the City of Kingston and Utilities Kingston. As a liaison with industry and academia, there are a number of research activities that Allen is involved with. He is currently working on operationalizing Utilities Kingston’s enterprise risk management program, as well as supporting their cyber risk program development. Previously, Allen was Project Manager for the $115 million Ravensview wastewater treatment plant secondary treatment and capacity upgrades.

Allen has served with Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO) at the Chapter, Council and on committees. For his active service in PEO, he was inducted into PEO’s Order of Honour in 2007 as an Officer and has been named a Fellow of Engineers Canada.

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Indra Maharjan

Program Manager, Energy Conservation, Resource Recovery and Climate Change
Ontario Clean Water Agency

Indra Maharjan, P.Eng, CEM, CMVP, is a senior engineer with an extensive history in energy conservation, energy, and greenhouse gas efficiency projects. He currently leads Ontario Clean Water Agency’s energy conservation, climate change and resource recovery program. Indra has extensive knowledge of the electricity and gas market, as well as water and wastewater sectors, and is working with more than 220 municipalities across the province.

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OCWA adopts and fosters innovation within this sector as a key driver for energy and greenhouse gas reduction and has a mission to transform wastewater treatment plants to resource recovery facilities. OCWA has been proactively pursing energy efficiency and resource recovery projects across the province, with the aim of supporting organics diversion from landfill and clean fuel generation from biogas and other processes within the system.

Indra also volunteers on energy efficiency and climate change committees with the Ontario Water and Wastewater Association, Canadian Water and Wastewater Association, Water Environment Association of Ontario and Professional Engineers Ontario.

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Erin Mahoney

Commissioner of Environmental Services
York Region

Erin Mahoney is Commissioner of Environmental Services for York Region, overseeing water and wastewater services, waste management, forestry, corporate asset management and corporate energy for 1.2 million residents and 28,000 businesses. Erin leads a team of over 400 staff in the Environmental Services department, which was inducted into the Leading Utilities of the World network in 2017. Erin is past Chair of the Regional Public Works Commissioners of Ontario, and has over 25 years of public and private sector experience on projects involving water and wastewater treatment, waste management, environmental legislation, and public engagement. As an active member of the public works community she holds memberships with: American Water Works Association, Toronto Board of Trade, Canadian Water Network and American Public Works Association.

Matthew McCandless

Executive Director
International Institute for Sustainable Development – Experimental Lakes Area

IISD-ELA is a unique whole ecosystem research facility in Northwestern Ontario, and Matthew McCandless has been its executive director since the facility was transferred by the Government of Canada in 2014. Matt’s responsibility is to ensure that 50 years of monitoring and research continues without interruption at the world’s freshwater laboratory. This includes involves oversight of ecosystem research, administration, human resources and fundraising.

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Matt’s research interests are primarily in the areas of hydrology, water quality and bioprocessing — often combining both policy and technical research. Matt has been involved in dozens of projects on water, agriculture and bio industrial development in Canada, Africa, Asia and Latin America. Prior to joining IISD, Matt worked in the private sector as a biosystems engineer on projects related to water management and renewable energy in Canada and India. Matt holds a PhD in biosystems engineering and Master of Natural Resources Management from the University of Manitoba, and a Bachelor of Engineering from Dalhousie University. Matt is also a registered professional engineer.

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Brendo Meulman

Technical Director
DeSaH BV (Netherlands)

Brendo Meulman is the technical director of DeSaH BV, a consultancy and contracting firm specializing in the development and implementation of innovative and sustainable wastewater technologies, including feasibility studies, design, construction, management and maintenance. DeSaH works continuously to develop existing concepts and technologies, as well as developing new ones, enabling them to remain at the forefront of innovative and decentralised water technology. Previously, Brendo was the project manager of several national and international projects and has set up various collaborations with multiple research institutes within the Netherlands and abroad.

Sudhir Murthy

CEO, Newhub, Inc.

Sudhir Murthy is Chief Executive Officer of NEWhub, Inc., a cleantech company that specializes in managing technology and know-how for licensed distributors. He is a Senior Research Scientist at Columbia University, helping utilities and industries navigate their internal innovation and planning process. Sudhir is also Senior Vice-President of the International Water Association.

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Until May 2018, Sudhir was Innovations Chief for DC Water and led the development and implementation of the Authority’s innovation strategy. He created, defined and translated research and development into product, service and commercial technologies. Sudhir led the concept development for over $1 billion in new engineering and construction. Much of this work was steered through a worldwide open innovation approach that led to collaboration with universities, utilities, manufacturing and professional organizations that spanned the globe. These projects were developed though novel approaches of public-public partnership with other water utilities, and through collaboration with private enterprise and universities.

More than 80 MSc and PhD students from universities in North America, Europe, Australia and Africa, were ‘insourced’ to innovate at DC Water in a multifunctional and interdisciplinary setting. This approach is now viewed as a model for collaborative engagement by universities and utilities.

Similarly, Sudhir developed commercial solutions through the development of public-private open innovation approaches between the water technology demand and supply sectors and through the co-development of technologies and financial innovations. The Digestivore, DEMON, AvN, inDENSE, PdN and Triple A technologies for wastewater treatment are part of the commercial suite that he led. He recently developed new financial instruments, Res Bonds (including resilience bonds and restoration bonds that are green bonds) to promote holistic approaches for infrastructure investments.

Sudhir led teams to win four research grand prizes from the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists for new technologies developed in wastewater treatment. He also received the Edward J. Cleary Award for outstanding service to the profession. He is the recipient of several Water Environment Federation awards, including the Ralph Fuhrman Medal for academia-practitioner collaboration, the George Gascoigne Medal for wastewater treatment operational improvement, and the Camp Applied Research Award.

Sudhir is a professional engineer and holds an MS in Environmental Engineering and a PhD in civil engineering from Virginia Tech. He has more than 130 peer-reviewed publications, as well as 250+ publications and presentations.

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Chee Meng Pang

Chief Engineering & Technology Officer
PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency

Chee Meng Pang is currently the Chief Engineering and Technology Officer of PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency. He leads the technology department that administers PUB’s research and development program in the development and application of new water technologies spanning the entire water cycle.

Prior to his current role, Chee Meng was Director of the industry development department, where he led a team that formulates and implements strategies to grow the Singapore water industry in support of PUB’s mission, and facilitates the commercialisation of new water technology.

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Chee Meng has extensive experience in used water treatment and the development of water policy, having served as General Manager of the Jurong Water Reclamation Plant and Senior Assistant Director of the water policy division of Singapore’s Ministry of Environment and Water Resources. He was actively involved in the development of water-related standards in Singapore and in various international subcommittees that developed new ISO standards for water reuse. Chee Meng was appointed as the Convenor of the Working Group on Industrial Water Reuse, which prepared Singapore Standard 627 to encourage water reuse in oil refineries, petrochemical, chemical and utility plants.

Chee Meng holds a PhD in environmental technology and a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) in civil engineering from the National University of Singapore. He also attended Stanford University’s Executive Program.

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Sandra Odendahl

President and CEO
CMC Research Institutes

Sandra Odendahl is President and CEO of CMC Research Institutes (CMCRI), an environmental company that leads clients to develop innovative carbon management technologies and strategies for competitive advantage.  CMCRI facilitates the testing and scale-up of technologies that reduce carbon emissions from industrial sources, and is at the forefront of carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS), and greenhouse gas monitoring technology development in Canada.

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Sandra joined CMCRI in September 2017, bringing over 20 years of experience in environmental science, sustainability, and responsible finance. She previously headed the Royal Bank of Canada’s Corporate Sustainability, Social Finance and Social Innovation teams. Prior to joining RBC, she worked in the natural resources sector as an environmental scientist for Noranda in Montreal, and as an environmental impact assessment expert for BEAK Engineering in Toronto and Vancouver.

Sandra is Chair of The (Toronto) Atmospheric Fund Board of Directors, and a Director and Audit Committee Chair of the Ontario Clean Water Agency. She also enjoys serving on many expert panels and advisory groups. Sandra has a Master’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Toronto, and is a licensed professional engineer and Chartered Financial Analyst charter holder. Sandra lives with her husband and two children in Toronto.

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Don Pearson

Chair
Canadian Water Network 

Don Pearson recently retired after five years as General Manager/Secretary-Treasurer of the Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority, following more than seven years as General Manager of Conservation Ontario. During his tenure at Conservation Ontario, the Clean Water Act was proclaimed and the substantial work of preparing Source Protection Plans for nineteen regions was undertaken.  Before joining Conservation Ontario, Don spent two years as the first Chief Administrative Officer of the County of Perth, where he initiated the transformation and modernization of the County’s governance and administration.

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Rob Renner

Former CEO (Retired)
The Water Research Foundation

Rob Renner is CEO of The Water Research Foundation, a non-profit organization officially formed in January 2018 through the merger of the Water Environment & Reuse Foundation (WE&RF) and Water Research Foundation (WRF). The Foundation is the leading water research organization with funding research, pilot projects, and technology demonstrations that maximize the value of all water, including wastewater, stormwater, drinking water, and recycled water.  With close to 1,200 subscriber members in the U.S. and abroad, the Foundation has funded and managed more than 1,400 projects valued at more than $700 million.

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Prior to joining WRF in 2005, Rob served as Executive Director of the International Society of Automation (ISA) and Deputy Executive Director of the American Water Works Association (AWWA). He has more than 20 years of experience as a consultant optimizing water treatment plant performance. Rob holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and a master’s degree in sanitary engineering from South Dakota State University and is a licensed professional engineer in both Colorado and Minnesota.

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Karen Rouse

CEO
Water Research Australia

Karen is the CEO of Water Research Australia, a member-based organisation that brings together industry, academia, regulators and consultants to collaboratively solve water sector challenges through high impact research. She has more than 20 years of experience in the water sector, including water resource and environmental management, economic regulation and strategic planning within a state-wide utility, and leading the urban water research program for CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency. Karen’s career has seen her lead collaborative research initiatives in integrated urban water management; provide sector leadership in climate change response, and negotiate net positive environmental outcomes for wastewater treatment plant upgrades.

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Karen currently serves on the Board of the Global Water Research Coalition and Water Industry Alliance and is a passionate advocate for collaboration to solve wicked problems and design a better future.

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Dianne Saxe

President
Saxe Facts

Dianne Saxe, PhD in Law, is president of Saxe Facts, a business providing strategic advice and presentations on climate, energy and the environment.

From 2015 to 2019, Dr. Dianne Saxe was the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario. She was appointed unanimously by all MPPs to report to the Legislature on Ontario’s environmental, energy and climate performance, and to be the guardian of the Environmental Bill of Rights. During her term, she improved the effectiveness of the Environmental Bill of Rights, increased public understanding of the urgency of climate change, and issued highly praised reports on a wide range of environmental, energy and climate topics.

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Prior to her appointment, Dr. Saxe was one of Canada’s most respected environmental lawyers, with 40 years’ unparalleled experience writing, interpreting and litigating Ontario’s energy and environmental laws. Dr. Saxe’s career began with the Ontario Public Service and two major Bay Street law firms. She then established one of Canada’s top environmental law firms.

A Certified Environmental Law Specialist, Commissioner Saxe was recognized by all major legal rating services, including acknowledgement as one of the world’s top 25 environmental lawyers by Best of the Best, 2008 and as Best Lawyers’ first Environmental Lawyer of the Year for Toronto. Her numerous honours include an Award for Distinguished Service, the highest honour granted by the Ontario Bar Association, and the Gold Key Award for exceptional lifetime professional achievement, granted by Osgoode Hall Law School Alumni.

Dr. Saxe has travelled extensively in Ontario and Canada, both in her professional practice and is a keen canoeist, kayaker and cross-country skier.

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Dean Shiskowski

Vice President, Water Resource Recovery
Associated Engineering

Dr. Dean Shiskowski is the Vice President of Water Resource Recovery at Associated Engineering group of companies, providing technical expertise and project, staff development and business development support across all subsidiaries. He is a member of Associated Engineering’s corporate climate change task force and climate change advisory group, and for five years chaired its carbon neutral committee.

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Dean is a member of the Water Environment Federation’s municipal water resource recovery design committee. He participated in WEF’s technical practice update on protocols for measuring and estimating greenhouse gas emissions from wastewater sources and the development of Standard Sustainability Reporting Statements for Wastewater Systems manual. Dean is also an Adjunct Professor of civil engineering at the University of British Columbia and leads the firm’s wastewater-related research programs.

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Nancy Stalker

Manager of Water Quality Services
The City of Calgary

As Manager of Water Quality Services at the City of Calgary, Nancy Stalker’s work focuses on regulatory affairs, laboratory services, environmental monitoring, community compliance and applied research partnerships. During her tenure at The City of Calgary, Nancy has served in several leadership roles, most recently as Acting Director of Water Services where she was responsible for the delivery of water, wastewater and drainage services.  This included the day-to-day operations and maintenance of two water treatment plants, drinking water distribution system, collection systems and three wastewater treatment plants that serve over 1.2 million people.

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Nancy’s passion for public services and her commitment to employees and sound science supports excellence in serving customers and the overall success of the water utility.

Nancy holds a BSc in Ecology from the University of Calgary and an MA in Communications from the University of Alberta.  She has also been active with the Canadian Water and Wastewater Association and the Alberta Water Council.

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Anton Tabuns

Senior Advisor
Mantle

Anton is a lawyer with experience in environmental law, permitting matters, and due diligence on corporate transactions and a dedication to addressing climate issues. Anton received his Juris Doctor from Osgoode Hall Law School, and his Masters in Environmental Studies from York University in 2011. He has practiced as Associate General Counsel, with a focus on environmental and ESG matters, at a Bay Street private equity firm and has worked at Willms & Shier Environmental Lawyers LLP, one of Canada’s premier environmental law boutiques. He was also part of an international legal team pursuing the enforcement of a multi-billion dollar environmental judgement in numerous countries. He is also fluent in Spanish.

Sarah Thompson

Vice President, Sustainable Finance
RBC Capital Markets

Sarah Thompson is a business and sustainability professional with over 15 years of experience. She joined RBC in 2011 as the bank’s first full time Green IT Manager. In 2013, she moved to RBC’s Environmental Affairs team to oversee enterprise-wide operational footprint reduction initiatives. More recently, she worked with RBC’s business units to support the growth and development of environmentally sustainable and socially responsible financial products and services, with a focus on green bonds.

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In 2019, Sarah joined the newly created RBC Capital Markets Sustainable Finance Group as Vice President, Sustainable Finance. The group will lead the integration of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors into Capital Market’s core businesses globally by providing advice and developing solutions across all areas of sustainable finance for both corporate and institutional clients.

Sarah is based in Toronto, Canada. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce from McGill University and an MBA specializing in Sustainability from York University’s Schulich School of Business.

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Kala Vairavamoorthy

Executive Director
International Water Association

Kala Vairavamoorthy is an internationally recognised water resource management expert with expertise in urban water issues. He combines a strong engineering background with international experience, and has published extensively. Kala has worked closely with the World Bank, UN-Habitat, UNESCO, Global Water Partnership, Stockholm International Water Institute and the European Union. This includes leading urban water management projects for the World Bank, African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank and Department for International Development (UK).

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Prior to joining the International Water Association, Kala was the Deputy Director General for Research at the International Water Management Institute. In this position he was responsible for research strategy and science quality, driving research to address global development challenges for water security and natural resource management. This included leading the identification of innovative research areas and ensuring relevance of thematic content for the development agenda that contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, global climate agenda, and other regional and national imperatives.

Kala was the Founding Dean of the Patel College of Global Sustainability and a tenured professor in civil and environmental engineering at the University of South Florida (U.S.). Prior to that, he was a full professor and Chair of Water Engineering at the University of Birmingham (UK) and Professor and Head of Core of Sustainable Urban Water Infrastructure Systems at UNESCO-IHE (Netherlands). He still holds professorial appointments at the University of South Florida and UNESCO-IHE.

Kala has been a member of many international scientific committees. He served on Stockholm World Water Week’s Scientific Program Committee and the Global Water Partnership’s Technical Committee for six years. He was also the founding Co-chair of IWA’s Cities of the Future program and was a member of Singapore International Water Week’s Program Committee.

Kala holds a PhD and MSc in environmental engineering from Imperial College at the University of London (UK) and a BSc (Hons) from King’s College in London.

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Jantienne van der Meij-Kranendonk

Liaison
WaterCampus Leeuwarden (Netherlands)

Jantienne van der Meij-Kranendonk is the liaison for WaterCampus Leeuwarden (Wetsus, Water Alliance and Centre of Expertise Watertechnology), which is based in The Hague. She builds and maintains a network with water-related organizations and the Dutch government, from local to national levels. Jantienne represents Water Alliance in the Top Consortium for Knowledge and Innovation in Water Technology, and scouts for new strategic opportunities.

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Jantienne previously worked as an advisor for international programs at the European Union’s Research Funding and International Programs team at the Valorization Centre of Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. This team is responsible for strategic and proposal support to TU Delft researchers on EU H2020 calls, as well as continuous dialogue with politicians and policy-makers on research and innovation.

Earlier, Jantienne served as an advisor for innovation, technology and science at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Washington, DC, where she stimulated technological cooperation by building and maintaining a science and technology network in the Netherlands, the U.S. and Canada in water technology, the circular economy and renewable energy. She also served as a program coordinator and advisor at the Ministry of Economic Affairs – Netherlands Enterprise Agency, where she was responsible for a water and a renewable energy subsidy program.

Jantienne is a graduate of the University of Amsterdam, where she received a Master in Medical Biology and a Master in Science, Technology & Public Management.

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Mariëlle van der Zouwen

Manager, Knowledge Management Group
KWR (Netherlands)

Mariëlle is a member of the management team for the water research institute KWR and leads the knowledge management group. With the experts in the group, she gives shape to KWR’s motto ‘bridging science to practice,’ both nationally and internationally, and ranging from short-term to medium- and long-term perspectives on water sector and research challenges. This is done in applied research programs, learning alliances and initiatives, such as the joint water research program for Dutch and Flemish water utilities, the Dutch Water Sector Intelligence and the international, operationally-oriented platform Watershare. Co-production of programs and projects by both water managers and water researchers is key in these initiatives.

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Mariëlle serves on the boards of the Global Water Research Coalition and the Aqua Research Collaboration. She has a background in academia and applied research. Mariëlle previously worked on governance research at Wageningen University, the research institute Alterra and Radboud University in the Netherlands. She holds a MA and PhD in political sciences of the environment.

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Suzanne van Drunick

National Program Director
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Suzanne van Drunick is the National Program Director for the United States Environment Protection Agency’s (EPA) Safe and Sustainable Water Resources (SSWR) research program. The SSWR program uses an integrated systems approach to develop scientific and technological solutions to protect human health, and to protect and restore watershed and aquatic ecosystems. Research focuses on three areas: watersheds, nutrients and harmful algal blooms, and water treatment and water infrastructure (drinking water, wastewater, stormwater and water reuse).

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Dr. van Drunick is an environmental scientist with human health and ecosystem experience. She earned a Bachelor of Science in zoology and animal biology from Colorado State University, a Master in Science in environmental science from the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, and a Doctorate in environmental toxicology from the University of Maryland School of Medicine Department of Pathology.

Prior to joining the EPA, Suzanne was the Associate Director for Science at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder. Previously, she was the Senior Program Officer for the Board of Environmental Studies and Toxicology of the National Academy of Sciences.

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Patricia Wilson

Director of Water, Waste & Environmental Services
City of Regina

Patricia Wilson is the director of the Water, Waste & Environmental Services Department for the City of Regina. Pat leads 300 staff in delivering reliable and sustainable water, waste and environmental services for customers in the City of Regina and surrounding communities. Her portfolio includes the planning, design, construction and maintenance of sustainable water, wastewater and drainage services to the 220,000 residents and businesses in Regina, protecting public health and property. She is responsible for approximately $2 billion in infrastructure assets and $150 million of annual revenue.

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Pat came to the utility from the finance department, where she was responsible for rates and billing as well as managing the city’s long-term utility financial model. She has successfully led numerous rate reviews, helping to place the city’s utility on a strong financial footing for the challenges of the future. Since coming to the Water, Waste & Environmental Services Department, she has focused on leading the culture shift to data-driven prioritization and asset management.

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Viviane Yargeau

Professor and Chair of Chemical Engineering
McGill University

Viviane Yargeau is a Professor and Chair of the department of chemical engineering at McGill University, as well as an Associate Member of the McGill School of Environment. She established the Controlling Contaminants of Concern (3Cs) laboratory, which is now internationally recognized for research on the fate and effects of contaminants in the environment, and in engineered systems and the monitoring of water quality. She has contributed to creating awareness about the presence and impact of trace contaminants in water and to the development of improved wastewater treatment technologies, such as ozonation, for the protection of our water resources.

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Viviane is often invited to collaborate in international projects, where she actively participates in the development of new technologies or tools to monitor water quality. She has several collaborations across Canada and abroad, in academia, as well as with various agencies and industry. Viviane also serves as Editor for the Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, and is a member of the Board of Directors for a private sector firm, Earth Alive Clean Technologies, commercializing two green technologies that she co-invented.

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Carl Yates

General Manager
Halifax Water

Carl Yates has extensive experience in the water utility profession, having served as Project Engineer, Chief Engineer and General Manager of the Halifax Water Commission from 1988 to 1996. In 1996, he was appointed General Manager of the Halifax Regional Water Commission, which assumed a regional mandate after the municipal amalgamation of the greater Halifax area in 1996. In 2007, Carl oversaw the formation of the first regulated water, wastewater and stormwater utility in Canada with the transfer of wastewater and stormwater assets from the Halifax Regional Municipality. Halifax Water is a body corporate municipal utility, generating approximately 140 million dollars in annual revenue with assets of over $2 Billion.

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Carl obtained a Bachelor of Engineering from Memorial University of Newfoundland in 1984 and a Master of Applied Science from the Technical University of Nova Scotia [now Dalhousie University] in 1992. He is past Chair of the Focus Area Council of the Water Research Foundation, Vice Chair of Canadian Water Network, and a member of the Board of Directors of Special Olympics Nova Scotia.

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