Equipped with new skills that will help them drive solutions to the water sector’s most complex challenges, the 54 new graduates of WEF’s Water Leadership Institute (WLI) program were celebrated during a ceremony on Sunday, Sept. 30, 2018.

The Water Leadership Institute Class of 2018 is the seventh class of the Institute and represents 25 U.S. states, Canada, Brazil, and the Cayman Islands. The graduates join 183 alumni of the program.

“This was the biggest WLI class so far, and we had a great 6 months working together,” said Julianne Jones, manager of Education & Training at WEF who oversees the program. “A big shout-out to the wonderful steering committee without whom this program wouldn’t have been as awesome as it was.”

The graduates collaborated with sector leaders and one another to identify how the water sector can adapt to the realities of a changing workforce.

“The Water Leadership Institute Class of 2018 represents the range of talent that the future of the sector depends on,” said WEF Executive Director Eileen O’Neill. “We look forward to seeing the impact this impressive group will have within the profession.”

2018 Water Leadership Institute graduates

Water Leadership Institute logo

The Water Leadership Institute program is aimed at educating and training emerging leaders and providing them with opportunities to build strong, lasting relationships within the water sector. The intensive program allows participants to engage in management training and leadership development through a blended learning approach that includes examining complex challenges facing the water and wastewater industries and networking with public and private sector practitioners.

The entry period for 2019 applications will open Nov. 1, 2018.

Learn more

 

See a list of graduates and video about the program below

2018 Water Leadership Institute Graduates

  • Josh Baile (Centennial, Colo.)
  • Aaron Benzing (Little Rock, Ark.)
  • Suzie Boxman (Alexandria, Va.)
  • Michele Braas (Millersville, Pa.)
  • Nora Byrne (Bayville, N.J.)
  • Dalton Cardozo Bracarense (Palmas, Brazil)
  • Erik Castillo (McAllen, Texas)
  • Nate Coey (Sunbury, Ohio)
  • Jonathan Cooper (Rockford, Mich.)
  • Rhea Dorris (Orlando, Fla.)
  • Elizabeth Ehret (Columbus, Ohio)
  • Steven Farabaugh (Denver, Colo.)
  • Ian Fife (Salt Lake City, Utah)
  • Brandon Fox (Thomville, Ohio)
  • Melody Gonzalez (Miami, Fla.)*
  • Frank Grannan (Carmel, Ind.)
  • Jonte Greer (Houston, Texas)
  • Rahul Hampaul (Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada)
  • Kevin Hickey (Massena, N.Y.)
  • Alia Johnson (Decatur, Ga.)
  • Jarred Jones (Charleston, S.C.)
  • Robby Jones (Suffolk, Va.)
  • Jamie Langer (Englewood, Colo.)
  • Y. Mwende Lefler (Chicago)
  • Sharon Lewis (Corpus Christi, Texas)
  • Dr. Rasha Maal-Bared (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada)
  • Kristen Martin (Washington, D.C.)
  • David Michelsen (Salem, Mass.)
  • Joe Mueller (Morro Bay, Calif.)
  • Dr. Swarna Muthukrishnan (Highlands, N.J.)
  • Rahkia Nance (Alexandria, Va.)
  • Elisabetta Natale (Orlando, Fla.)
  • Jason Patty (El Dorado, Kan.)
  • Matthew Perkins (Portland, Ore.)
  • Priya Persaud (Guelph, Ontario, Canada)
  • B.J. Peterson (Overland Park, Kan.)
  • Daniel Peterson (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.)
  • Evelyn Powers (Woodside, N.Y.)
  • Hannah Reid (George Town, Cayman Islands)
  • Michaela Rempkowski (Wichita, Kan.)
  • Sabrina Rivera (Las Vegas, Nev.)
  • Laurel Rowse (Corpus Christi, Texas)
  • Dr. Siddartha Roy (Blacksburg, Va.)
  • Yerman Saavedra (Laurel, Md.)
  • Jeff Scarano (Virginia Beach, Va.)
  • Maysoon Sharif (Ithaca, N.Y.)
  • Brooke Stillwell Manweiler (Denver, Colo.)
  • Frederick Tack (Phoenix, Ariz.)
  • Morgan Torres (Seattle, Wash.)
  • Kaitlin Tymrak (New Orleans, La.)
  • Jeremy Walker (Lincoln, Neb.)
  • Bryan Wilfley (Torrance, Calif.)
  • Greg Yuronich (Avon Lake, Ohio)
  • Lauren Zuravansky (Virginia Beach, Va.)

 *denotes George S. Hawkins Scholarship recipient

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