WEF Announces Graduates of 2018 Water Leadership Institute

Graduates of the 2018 Water Leadership Institute program include, front row, B.J. Peterson, Jamie Langer, Elisabetta Natale, Sabrina Rivera, Joe Mueller, Alia Johnson, Yerman Saavedra, Steven Farabaugh, Josh Baile, Robby Jones, Lauren Zuravansky, Swarna Muthukrishnan, Kaitlin Tymrak, Hannah Reid, and Priya Persaud; middle row, Erik Castillo, Evelyn Powers, Jason Patty, Nora Byrne, Matthew Perkins, Melody Gonzalez, Jonte Greer, Frederick Tack, Sharon Lewis, Jonathan Cooper, Y. Mwende Lefler, Brooke Stillwell Manweiler, David Michelsen, Kristen Martin, Bryan Wilfley, Greg Yuronich, Suzie Boxman, and Rhea Dorris; and back row, Aaron Benzing, Kevin Hickey, Jeff Scarano, Siddartha Roy, Ian Fife, Daniel Peterson, Elizabeth Ehret, Jeremy Walker, Laurel Rowse, Michaela Rempkowski, Brandon Fox, Rasha Maal-Bared, Julianne Jones, and Nate Coey. Photo courtesy of Oscar & Associates.

A new group of water sector professionals emerged from WEFTEC 2018 with a new credential to add to their resume and an arsenal of new leadership skills. The Water Environment Federation (WEF; Alexandria, Va.) hosted a graduation ceremony for its Water Leadership Institute Class of 2018 in New Orleans.

The seventh class of the annual program consisted of 54 water professionals hailing from 25 states in the U.S. as well as Canada, Brazil, and the Cayman Islands. By participating in the program, these individuals underwent management training and leadership development activities through a blended learning approach that also examined complex water sector challenges. The program aims to educate and train emerging leaders and provide them with opportunities to build strong, lasting relationships within the water sector.

“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.”

Members of the Water Leadership Institute Class of 2018 are

• 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),
• Ian Fife (Salt Lake City),
• Brandon Fox (Thomville, Ohio),
• Melody Gonzalez (Miami),
• Frank Grannan (Carmel, Ind.),
• Jonte Greer (Houston),
• Rahul Hampaul (Nanaimo, British Columbia),
• Kevin Hickey (Massena, N.Y.),
• Alia Johnson (Decatur, Ga.),
• Jarred Jones (Charleston, S.C.),
• Robby Jones (Suffolk, Va.),
• Jamie Langer (Englewood, Colo.),
• Mwende Lefler (Chicago),
• Sharon Lewis (Corpus Christi, Texas),
• Rasha Maal-Bared (Edmonton, Alberta),
• Kristen Martin (Washington, D.C.),
• David Michelsen (Salem, Mass.),
• Joe Mueller (Morro Bay, Calif.),
• 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),
• 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),
• Laurel Rowse (Corpus Christi, Texas,)
• Siddartha Roy (Blacksburg, Va.),
• Yerman Saavedra (Laurel, Md.),
• Jeff Scarano (Virginia Beach, Va.),
• Maysoon Sharif (Ithaca, N.Y.),
• Brooke Stillwell Manweiler (Denver),
• Frederick Tack (Phoenix),
• Morgan Torres (Seattle),
• Kaitlin Tymrak (New Orleans),
• Jeremy Walker (Lincoln, Neb.),
• Bryan Wilfley (Torrance, Calif.),
• Greg Yuronich (Avon Lake, Ohio), and
• Lauren Zuravansky (Virginia Beach, Va.).