PWD Employee News: Waterline Awards Edition | Spring 2023

Water Commissioner Randy E. Hayman was selected as part of the first Philadelphia cohort of the Titan 100 program, which recognizes a premier group of 100 CEOs and C-level executives in a region. Representing industries across the private and public sectors, these leaders are titans who demonstrate exceptional leadership, vision, passion, and influence in their respective fields. The Philadelphia Titan 100 ceremony was held in September 2022.

In July, PennFuture announced their selections for the 2022–2023 Celebrating Women in Conservation Awards. Karen Young, Director of the Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center, was selected as Woman of the Watershed, recognizing her more than 30 years devoted to environmental education, including the last 15 years at the Interpretive Center. As part of PennFuture’s celebration of Women’s History Month, Karen was honored during a March 21 ceremony.

Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershed Partnership’s 11th Annual Watershed Milestones Awards honored PWD’s Roy Gordon, an Electronic Technician in Flow Control, as this year’s Public Leader. In summer of 2022, Roy helped lead a tour for PowerCorpsPHL Ranger apprentices in Tacony Creek Park. He taught the group about Rock Run, an inflatable rubber dam helping to block an 11-foot-diameter of combined sewer overflow outfall during storms.

Adam Hendricks, PWD’s Applied Research Group Manager, won the 2022 PennTec Professional Research Award from the Pennsylvania Water Environment Association. The award recognizes professionals in the water sector who are instrumental in the development of innovative technology and ideas.

Maura Jarvis, assistant manager of PWD’s Public Engagement Team, was awarded a US Water Prize in the category of Outstanding Rising One Water Leader by the US Water Alliance. The award honors an emerging trailblazer in the water sector. In September 2022, she accepted the honor at the national One Water Summit in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In Spring 2022, Maura was also recognized with an Emerging Leader Award from WaterNow Alliance.

Last year, Wissinoming Park in Northeast Philadelphia clinched local, state, and national accolades for its new stormwater management features. Most notably, the park’s green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) received a 2022 Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence — one of 15 projects recognized by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). It was also a spectacular spotlight of the City Parks Alliance’s national Greater & Greener conference last June.

Congratulations to the various teams who helped to make the stormwater management system possible, including: Beth Anne Lutes (Project Manager), Lindsay Reul (Landscape Design), Meg Malloy (Green Stormwater Operations), Amy Liu (City Planner), Tim Linehan (Design), Imad Barrouh (Construction), Jeff Hamby (PWD Consultant Inspector), Dan Gonzalez (PWD Inspector), and Hailey Stern (former outreach specialist).

In July 2022, PWD was recognized as a Utility of the Future Today in the activity area of Energy Generation and Recovery by the Water Environment Federation. The program highlights forward-thinking water resource recovery and recycling facilities from across the country.

The application was created by PWD employees Emily Hill (former Energy Program Supervisor), Adam Hendricks (Applied Research Group Manager), Doug Cowley (Wastewater Treatment Director), Nafissa Bizo (Northeast Water Pollution Control Plant Manager), Samantha O’Connor (Facilities Planning Manager), and Paul Fugazzotto (Assistant Deputy Commissioner for Communications).

In November, the Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC) honored the Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center with its Special Places award. PEC recognized the two-decade history of the Interpretive Center and how it has developed into a premier regional environmental education center. The award also recognized the POOL exhibition and how it has opened dialogue regarding social justice and water equity.

Nafissa Bizo, Northeast Water Pollution Control Plant Manager, and Kelly Anderson, Water Planning and Environmental Services Manager, were selected as 2022 Fellows of the Duke Water Innovation Leadership Development Program — a cohort-based executive education program designed for rising leaders in water services management.

Candidates accepted into the yearlong program are introduced to new approaches and resources for dealing with some of the most pressing issues facing the water services sector today, such as aging infrastructure and climate impacts. Last year, the fellows participated in virtual sessions and multi-day workshops at Duke’s campus in Durham, N.C.

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