Shannon Abbott
Water Utility Manager
City of Calgary
Shannon Abbott has been with the City of Calgary for the last 15 years, where she has held various roles in environmental and safety policy development and strategic planning. She is currently Manager of Customer and Strategic Services with the city’s water utility, where she oversees strategic business planning, customer experience improvement, business continuity and emergency management, and learning and employee development support for the utility. In her role, she is also a key contributor to advancing innovation, strategic workforce planning and improving the employee experience across the water utility.
Susan Ancel
Director, One Water Planning
EPCOR Water Services Inc.
Susan Ancel is the Director of One Water Planning for EPCOR Water Services Inc., a new role that focuses on the development of strategic plans for the entire water cycle. Previously, she was Director of Stormwater Strategies and was responsible for the development of an Integrated Resource Plan for Stormwater Management that considered capital and operational risk mitigation planning, and built 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 and was responsible for the planning, engineering, construction, operation and maintenance of the water distribution and water metering systems for EPCOR in Edmonton. She’s also served on numerous industry committees, including the Board of Directors for the Geospatial Information Technology Association from 2001 to 2007. She is currently a member of the Board of Directors for Canadian Water Network.
Cathy Bernardino Bailey
Director
Greater Cincinnati Water Works
Cathy Bernardino Bailey is Director of Greater Cincinnati Water Works, a utility that serves drinking water to over 1.1 million residents in the Greater Cincinnati region and employs 600 professionals. The utility has an annual operating budget of $80 million and has invested $487 million in capital improvements in the last 10 years, with a key focus each year on replacing 1% of water mains in the system. The utility is known for innovation and creativity in the water utility industry, and received a platinum award for utility excellence in 2011 from the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies.
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In 1992, Cathy transitioned from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to Greater Cincinnati Water Works as a chemist in the water quality and treatment division. Cathy was also involved working on special projects such as the lead and copper rule implementation and executing new IT solutions within the laboratories and the division. Significant roles in the organization over the years have allowed Cathy to establish key IT service desk solutions, develop and implement multiple strategic business plans, establish performance metrics for work units, manage the water district’s research and development efforts and streamline operations.
Cathy became the first female director of Greater Cincinnati Water Works in 2015. During her short span in this role, she quickly led the utility out of the joint utility structure back to an independent water utility. She has implemented a robust lead testing and outreach program that helps residents, city facilities, schools, daycares and other key groups fully understand their water quality within their facilities. She successfully led the way to City Council approval of a 15-year enhanced lead program to remove lead service lines in the water system. She also worked with Council to re-establish an appropriate capital program to properly maintain water utility infrastructure, resulting in a newly established $500 million six-year capital plan. Cathy also worked to restructure debt and amend the budget, and received approval from City Council for multi-year rate increases over 5 years.
Cathy remains passionate about strategic planning, performance metrics and data analytics. She continues to serve as a national and local speaker on water issues, particularly strategic planning, employee engagement, optimizing operations and recently on lead issues and solutions in Cincinnati.
Cathy holds a Bachelor of Science in chemistry from the University of Cincinnati. She lives in the City of Cincinnati with her husband, has two adult children, and is active in the public school system, her church and other community organizations.
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Christine Boyle
Director of Metering Insights
Xylem
Christine Boyle is the founder and CEO of Valor Water Analytics, now a Xylem company. Her work focuses on developing decision support software that achieves both resource and financial sustainability goals for water utilities. Christine received a doctorate in water resource planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2011 and created Valor Water Analytics out of her thesis work at UNC. She is a trustee of the Cal-Nevada American Water Works Association and a water policy advisor for the World Bank.
Albert Cho
Vice President and General Manager, Xylem Inc.
Albert Cho is Vice President and General Manager 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, Albert 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 Goal.
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Bernadette Conant
Chief Executive Officer
Canadian Water Network
Bernadette Conant 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. Bernadette is Vice-Chair of the board of directors for the Global Water Research Coalition. She was appointed to a national expert panel on climate change adaptation by the Canadian Institute for Climate Choices. Bernadette also serves on the boards of Hydrogeologists without Borders and the Water Economics, Policy and Governance Network. Bernadette holds a Master of Science in hydrogeology from the University of Waterloo.
John Cuddihy
Director, Infrastructure and Environment
Infrastructure Canada
John Cuddihy leads Infrastructure Canada’s environmental policy team, bringing to bear deep expertise and experience across a broad spectrum of environmental issues, gained through a mix of private and public sector experience. He has spent the majority of his career wrestling with policy challenges at the interface of the environment and the economy and is a strong advocate for pragmatic, evidence-based solutions.
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Prior to joining Infrastructure Canada, John held positions at Finance Canada, Environment Canada, the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy, the Cement Association of Canada and Marbek Resource Consultants. John holds a Masters of Applied Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Applied Science in Systems Design Engineering from the University of Waterloo.
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Michael Fenn
Senior Advisor
Strategy Corp
Michael Fenn has built an extensive career in public service. He was Deputy Minister under three Ontario premiers, Municipal Chief Administrator for the cities of Hamilton and Burlington, founding CEO of the Greater Toronto transportation authority Metrolinx, and CEO of the Mississauga Halton Local Health Integration Network. He’s published reports and journal articles for think tanks, trade journals and industry organizations on the future of rural infrastructure in Ontario, water, wastewater and stormwater policy in Ontario, megatrends and the future of Canada’s infrastructure.
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In 2018, Michael was appointed Visiting Fellow (Infrastructure) at Ivey Business School’s Lawrence National Centre for Policy and Management, complementing his work as a senior advisor with the consulting firm StrategyCorp. He served on McMaster University’s Board of Governors and is currently a Board Director with the $100 billion OMERS pension fund and the Toronto District School Board’s realty and property redevelopment arm, the Toronto Lands Corporation. Since 2011, Michael has also served as a facilitator of confidential discussions on policing issues, jointly appointed by the Grand Chief of Mushkegowuk Cree First Nations and Ontario’s Solicitor General.
Michael has been recognized for his work with the Lieutenant Governor’s Medal of Distinction in Public Administration in Ontario, AMCTO’s prestige awards and the Ontario Municipal Administrators’ Association Robert Baldwin Award. In 2010, he was added to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario’s honour roll.
Michael holds an MA in political science and diploma in public administration, both from Western University. He also completed the program for senior executives in state and local government from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
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Andrew Grice
Director, Hamilton Water
Public Works Department, City of Hamilton
Andrew Grice is the Director of Hamilton Water and oversees the planning, capital and operational programs for the City’s water, wastewater and stormwater assets. Hamilton Water is responsible for an operating budget of $90 million, and has a team of 300 employees who support large capital programs with $10 billion worth of infrastructure providing essential services to the 535,000 residents in the City of Hamilton.
George S. Hawkins
Founder and CEO, Moonshot LLC and Moonshot Missions
George Hawkins, Esq., launched his innovation-focused enterprise Moonshot Missions after stepping down as CEO of DC Water. He helps agencies adopt strategies to deliver better service at lower cost.
George transformed DC Water into an enterprise that embraced innovations from green infrastructure to a $500-million investment in clean energy and the sector’s first century and environmental impact bonds.
He currently serves on the National Infrastructure Advisory Council, is an advisor to Xylem, Inc. and serves on the Board of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation and the U.S. Water Alliance. George served as a Senior Lecturer at Princeton University for 18 years.
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George is a popular speaker on water and environmental issues. He is the recipient of many awards, including the American Water and Wastewater Association’s Fuller Award for Leadership, Governing Magazine’s Public Official of the Year and the Water Environment Federation’s Public Official of the Year. DC Water was awarded the U.S. Water Prize in 2016.
George graduated from Princeton University (summa cum laude) and from Harvard Law School (cum laude).
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Thomas Kuczynski
Vice President of Information Technology, DC Water
Interim President, Blue Drop
Thomas Kuczynski is the Vice President of Information Technology for the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC Water) and the Interim President of Blue Drop. Tom joined DC Water in August 2013 and heads up an IT team of 60 individuals and a $20 million budget to develop applications that support all aspects of DC Water’s business. As Interim President of Blue Drop, Tom leads the team responsible for generating non-ratepayer revenue from various products and services, including Bloom, intellectual property and other non-traditional sources at DC Water.
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Tom has more than 40 years of experience in utility management and operations, including nearly 30 years at Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW) in two separate terms of employment. He was most recently Senior Vice President of Strategic and Information Services for PGW, managing strategic planning, enterprise performance management, information services and internal auditing. In his first employment at PGW, he led development efforts for the company’s customer information system, credit and collections, automated meter reading and distribution leak tracking solutions.
Tom also worked for Pacific Gas & Electric’s National Energy Group as Director of Technology Strategic Planning and Architecture, and for Delmarva Power in Wilmington, Delaware, where he provided IT Strategic Planning Services to the Energy Supply Group.
Tom is a graduate of La Salle College of Philadelphia and the Executive MBA program at University of Maryland University College.
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Hervé Logé
Manager, Sustainable Water Management
Water Services, City of Montreal
Hervé Logé is Manager of the Sustainable Water Management Division in Water Services at the City of Montréal, where he oversees the regulation of stormwater management and drinking water conservation within the city’s distribution network. The drinking water conservation program includes pressure regulation and metering, projects totalling $100 million and $50 million, respectively. Previously, Hervé developed and implemented the Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation program for Environmental Services at the City of Montréal. He also worked as an environmental consultant in the industrial sector for a number of years.
Indra Maharjan
Director, Innovation, Technology and Alternate Delivery
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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Jim Miller
Chief Operating Officer
Utilities Kingston
Jim Miller is the Chief Operating Officer for Utilities Kingston, a unique multi-utility company combining water, wastewater, natural gas, electrical and fibre optic services in one organization with a mandate to manage, operate and maintain community infrastructure to deliver safe, reliable services and a personal customer experience. Jim joined Utilities Kingston in 2001 after eleven years in various roles within the municipal sector.
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Working with a skilled, talented and passionate team of professionals, Jim is responsible for long-term infrastructure management and the day-to-day operational aspects of water and wastewater, natural gas and hydro electrical services for Utilities Kingston’s customers. This includes planning and engineering activities, environmental assessments, capital infrastructure renewal programs, master plans, GIS, asset management, growth and development reviews, operations and maintenance programs relating to facilities, and distribution and collection systems.
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Cheryl Nelms
General Manager, Project Delivery
Metro Vancouver
Cheryl Nelms is the General Manager of Project Delivery for Metro Vancouver. She oversees a portfolio of major infrastructure projects worth over $6 billion for British Columbia’s most populated regional district, serving 21 municipalities, one electoral area and one Treaty First Nation. Previously, Cheryl was the Deputy General Manager of Engineering Services at the City of Vancouver, with 2,200 employees and $800 million in annual budgets.
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Cheryl is a professional engineer with more than 20 years of experience, including senior executive roles in the federal government. She completed a PhD in Civil Engineering (Project Management) from the University of British Columbia and has a proven track record in project and financial management, strategic transformation initiatives and world class operations in large professional organizations. Cheryl has deep experience in the implementation of major infrastructure projects, especially public-private partnerships. She has demonstrated leadership while collaborating with industry, academia and across governments and in negotiating complex agreements. Cheryl is an adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia and frequently serves as an expert on inter-governmental committees of national interest.
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Cathie O’Toole
General Manager
Halifax Water
Cathie O’Toole is the General Manager of Halifax Water. Previously, she was the utility’s Director of Corporate Services and Chief Financial Officer. Her career has spanned 20 years and included a number of senior leadership positions, including CFO and Director of Infrastructure and Asset Management for the City of Halifax. Cathie currently serves on the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation Board, the AWWA Finance Committee and chairs an investigative panel for the Chartered Accountants Association of Nova Scotia. She holds an undergraduate degree from Dalhousie University, MBA from Laurentian University, FCPA and FCGA designations, and is a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors.
Geni Peters
Labour Market Information Manager
ECO Canada
Geni Peters is an economist with a PhD in economics from Texas A&M University. She is the Labour Market Information (LMI) Manager at ECO Canada and is responsible for the management, execution and delivery of environmental LMI projects. She works with a team of professionals comprised of staff, consultants, strategic advisors and subject matter experts.
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Before joining ECO Canada, Geni applied her knowledge and skills in a wide range of roles and industries. She worked as a lecturer for 14 years, teaching a wide range of economics courses and supervising student research projects at University of California San Diego and Penn State University. More recently, she managed labour market research initiatives, including economic modelling and reporting at Petroleum Labour Market Information division of Energy Safety Canada and conducted economic research and analysis at Brown Economic Consulting.
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Michèle Prévost
Professor, Civil, Geological & Mining Engineering
Polytechnique Montréal
Michèle Prevost has more than 25 years of experience in research and technology in the areas of drinking water treatment and distribution. She is an NSERC Industrial Research Chair in Drinking Water at Polytechnique Montréal and founded the CREDEAU laboratory to advance water treatment technologies and processes. Recently, Michèle directed a major initiative to reduce lead in Canadians’ drinking water through a suite of laboratory, field and epidemiological studies. She is also leading a Canadian-based collaborative research project with water utilities on cyanobacteria and toxin treatment. In 2016, Michèle received the American Water Works Association’s A.P. Black Award for outstanding research contributions to water science and water supply over an appreciable period of time. She is the author of more than 300 publications and is widely recognized for her skill in producing high-quality research results and transferring them to research users.
Usha Rao-Monari
Senior Advisor
Blackstone Infrastructure Group
Usha Rao-Monari is a seasoned investment professional with almost 30 years of experience. She is currently a Senior Advisor to Blackstone’s Infrastructure Group and previously served as CEO of Global Water Development Partners, a Blackstone portfolio company. During her career, Usha held several senior positions at the International Finance Corporation, which is part of the World Bank. Her roles included Director – Sustainable Business Advisory Group, Global Head – Water and Environmental Group and Head – Utilities and Public Partnerships. Usha was instrumental in founding and establishing the 2030 Water Resources Group, a public-private partnership platform which is now part of the World Bank group.
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Before working for the World Bank, Usha worked for Prudential Bache (New York and London) in corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions. She holds a master’s degree in international affairs and an MBA from Columbia University. Usha has also held a number of advisory positions, as a board member of Veolia, WaterHealth International and Global Water Development Partners, co-chair of the steering board of the 2030 Water Resources Group and chair of several World Economic Forum councils, including water, natural capital and environmental and natural resource security.
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Monica Silva
Acting Manager
Engineering & Transportation Services, Corporate Asset & Project Management
City of Guelph
Monica Silva is the Acting Manager for Corporate Asset and Project Management at the City of Guelph. After spending nearly a decade working in the asset management industry within various municipalities, Monica knows what truly drives asset management practices with regards to corporate asset management plans and policies, developing levels of service and capital budget prioritization. Some of her key strengths include stakeholder engagement, collaboration and using innovative approaches to accomplish various initiatives.
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In her role, Monica is responsible for infrastructure and programs related to capital planning and budgeting, asset inventory and condition management, work order maintenance management systems, asset management plans and policies, as well as supporting the Project Management Office.
Monica holds a BA in physical geography and GIS, with a minor in finance. She is currently pursuing certification as a project management professional (PMP) and is a member of the Institute for Asset Management.
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Craig Stewart
Vice President, Federal Affairs
Insurance Bureau of Canada
Craig Stewart leads national work on disaster resilience and climate change at the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) – the industry association representing the property and casualty insurance industry in Canada. IBC’s members employ over 122,000 Canadians and paid out $9.8 billion in property claims in 2016, primarily due to severe weather and wildfire.
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Previous to his work with IBC, Craig directed the Ottawa Bureau and Arctic program for WWF Canada, handled pandemic liaison, trade liaison and humanitarian donations for GlaxoSmithKline (Canada) Ltd., directed a $60 million federal/provincial/territorial program at Natural Resources Canada to elevate the Canadian geospatial industry and founded the Miistakis Institute at the University of Calgary.
Craig holds a master of science from the University of Calgary, and a bachelor of arts in political science from the University of Toronto. He is the author of two atlases on the Rocky Mountains of Alberta, British Columbia and Montana.
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David Szeptycki
Director, Strategy and Innovation
Environmental Services Department, York Region
David Szeptycki is the Director of Strategy and Innovation, and provides strategic policy advice on a broad range of issues within York Region’s environmental services department. He leads cross-functional teams that focus on regulatory compliance, continuous improvement, policy, energy conservation and leadership development. David oversees a number of innovation projects that include data analytics and water reuse. He regularly engages with the Ministry of the Environment Conservation and Parks, neighbouring regional governments and local municipalities to advance municipal government priorities.
Carl Yates
President, Yates Water Management Inc.
Chair, Canadian Water Network
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 [Halifax Water] which assumed a regional mandate after the municipal amalgamation of the greater Halifax area in 1996. In 2007, Mr. Yates 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. After retirement from Halifax Water in July 2019, he formed his own consulting company to promote and support sustainable water management.
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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 previously served as Director of the Water Research Foundation, with roles as Chair of the Research Advisory Council and Focus Area Council, and Chair of the National Research Council InfraGuide Potable Water Committee. He currently serves as the Chair of Canadian Water Network, as a board member of the Alliance for Water Efficiency, and Director of Operators without Borders.
Under his leadership, Halifax Water received the FCM Sustainable Community Award in 2005 for innovation in water loss control, the CSCE Excellence in Engineering Innovation Award in 2014 for advances in pressure management, WRF Outstanding Subscriber Award in 2018 for research contributions to the water industry and the Nova Scotia Lieutenant Governor Award for Engineering Excellence in 2019.
Carl received the AWWA George Warren Fuller Award in 2010 for exemplary leadership and contributions to the waterworks industry. In 2019, he was awarded the Nova Scotia Engineers Sexton Gold Medal for exceptional achievements in engineering practice and contributions to society.
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Bev Yee
Deputy Minister
Alberta Environment and Parks
Bev Yee was appointed Deputy Minister of Alberta Environment and Parks on September 18, 2018. She has spent more than 20 years with the Government of Alberta, most recently as Deputy Minister of Intergovernmental Relations. Prior to that, she served as Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Forestry. Much of Bev’s time with government has been dedicated to the Environment portfolio, where she was previously Assistant Deputy Minister of Integrated Resource Management Planning, as well as Alberta’s Stewardship Commissioner.
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Before joining the Government of Alberta, Bev was a high school physics and biology teacher. She holds a Bachelor of Education and a Bachelor of Science.
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