Smart Water Virtual Course 2021

Smart Water Virtual Course 2021

March 30-31, 2021 | Online :: Central Time

Due to growing populations, increasing urbanization, climate change and the need to address cost have increased the demand for water. In addition, the cost implications from maintaining aging infrastructure has also become a driving factor for growth in the smart water management market. Owing to the global demand, the need to address the operational issues of water management becomes crucial. Consequently, the adoption of smart water management technologies is expected to gain traction. In this course, we will look at the entire water management ecosystem which includes: sensors, smart meters, communication infrastructure and supporting software to enable two-way communication, IoT and artificial intelligence.

Course attendees will walk away with actionable information and take informed decisions, pertaining to optimized water distribution and usage.

Learning Outcomes

  • Discuss the current market dynamics for water utilities and the impact on your business
  • Review how to develop strategies for efficient water distribution networks
  • Identify what smart technology priorities are for water companies
  • Review ways to stop leakage
  • Gain insight into regulators expectations
  • Examine how AI, robotics and machine learning can benefit water companies

Credits

AP_Logo

EUCI is accredited by the International Accreditors for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) and offers IACET CEUs for its learning events that comply with the ANSI/IACET Continuing Education and Training Standard. IACET is recognized internationally as a standard development organization and accrediting body that promotes quality of continuing education and training.

EUCI is authorized by IACET to offer 1.2 CEUs for this event.

 

Who Should Attend

  • Municipal Water & Wastewater Utilities
  • Waste Management Organizations
  • Water Facilities
  • Water Management & Recycling
  • Water Resource Planning and Engineering
  • Public Officials and Utility Board Members
  • Water Works Executives
  • SCADA System Managers and Operators
  • Water Quality Executives
  • City Managers
  • Local Governments/Cities

Titles Include:

  • Chief Innovation Officer
  • Chief Technology Officer
  • Chief Data Officer
  • Chief Information Security Officer
  • VPs / Directors / Managers / Heads of:
    • Strategy & Planning
    • Infrastructure
    • Operations
    • Water Leakage
    • Smart Metering
    • Innovation
    • Customer Insight
    • Data & Analytics
    • Network Management
    • Real-Time Monitoring Services
    • Distribution Management
    • Flow Meters and Meter Readers
    • Smart Network Technologies
    • Water Utilities Engineering
    • Water Quality
    • SCADA
    • AMI
    • Cybersecurity

Agenda

Tuesday, March 30, 2021 Central Time

9:15 – 9:30 a.m. :: Log In and Welcome

9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. :: Conference Timing

9:30 – 9:45 a.m. :: Introduction to Instructors

9:45 – 10:30 a.m. :: Current State of the Water Industry Across the Globe

To kick off this interactive course, we will take a dive into the current state of the global water industry. As we look at the current state of affairs of the water industry, we will tackle various challenges, potential solutions and real-world case studies as to how different governments, public and private waterworks and wastewater companies have been tackling issues such as: replacing and repairing aging infrastructure, water quality, water leakage, flood monitoring, smart metering/AMI, SCADA modernization, IoT and AI, cybersecurity, and digital twins. We will look at the current market dynamics in various areas across the globe.

Sielen Namdar, Industry Solutions Executive, Global Water Lead, Cisco

Amir Cahn, Executive Director, SWAN Forum (Smart Water Networks Forum)

Wagner Oliveira de Carvalho, Senior Project Manager, Aegea Sanitation

George Hawkins, CEO & Founder, Moonshot Missions

10:30 – 11:15 a.m. :: Driving Transformational Innovation in Water Utilities

  • Examine regulation as an enabler for innovation
  • Create an environment that supports and promotes innovation
  • Increase collaboration with regulators, other utilities, governments and the private sector
  • Identify barriers to innovation

Eric Bindler, Research Director, Digital Water Insight Service, Bluefield Research

Torri Martin, Deputy Commissioner, Office of Information Management, City of Atlanta, GA

Hardeep Anand, Deputy Director Capital Improvement Program, Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department

11:15 – 11:20 a.m. :: Break

11:20 – 11:30 a.m. :: Environmental & Asset Monitoring: Leak Detection, Water Quality Monitoring, Flood Monitoring, Asset Monitoring

Sielen Namdar, Industry Solutions Executive, Global Water Lead, Cisco

11:30 a.m. – 12:20 p.m. :: Leak Detection

  • Leak detection and location methods
  • Basic mechanisms of bursts and leakage
  • Laying leak-free new networks
  • Water accounting and quantification
  • Leakage innovation heatmapping

Ken Thompson, Global Technology Lead – IoT & Smart Sensors, Jacobs

Jason Wen, Director of Water Resources, City of Lakewood, CA

Jeremy Heath, Innovation Manager, SES Water

Cristina Ahmadpour, President, Isle Utilities

12:20- 1:20 p.m. :: Lunch Break

1:20 – 2:00 p.m. :: Water Quality Monitoring

  • Water quality systems – drinking water
  • Water quality sensors
  • Water quality and distribution system optimization
  • Using turbidity to control PRV’s

Brendt Thompson, General Manager, s::can

Matt Rea, Strategic Partnership Manager, Opti

Meena Sankaran, Founder & CEO, KETOS

2:00 – 2:40 p.m. :: Flood Monitoring/Asset Monitoring

  • Flood measurements
  • Fleet monitoring
  • Manhole covers

Karen Lindquist, Chief Operating Officer, Greenstream

Jay Boyd, Director of Market Development, ADS Environmental Services

Cristina Ahmadpour, President, Isle Utilities

2:40 – 2:45 p.m. :: Break

2:45 – 3:30 p.m. :: Smart Water Metering – From Good Idea to Good Delivery

  • Start-up in Smart Metering: Moving on from trials
  • Smart Metering Operations Centre
  • Challenges and lessons learned
  • Evolution and Future

Rocky Smith, Industry Solutions and Water Lead Architect, Cisco

Ken Thompson, Global Technology Lead – IoT & Smart Sensors, Jacobs

Colin Middaugh, Manager, Utility Solutions, Badger Meter

3:30 – 4:15 p.m. :: Digital Twins

Digital twins are a very powerful strategy that progressive water utilities are adopting. In this session, we will take a deep look at how a digital twin provides a virtual representation of a water system’s physical assets, processes and systems. We’ll look at such things as:

  • The creation of a water system’s digital twin
  • Updating digital twins with virtual data
  • The benefits of a digital twin from static 3D models
  • The actionable insights digital twins provide utilities

Wagner Oliveira de Carvalho, Senior Project Manager, Aegea Sanitation

Jim Cooper, AVP & Global Lead – Intelligent Water, Arcadis

Gigi Karmous-Edwards, Digital Twin for Water Sector Technical Consultant, NEOM

4:15 – 4:45 p.m. :: Day 1 – Wrap-Up and Q & A

Shirley Ben-Dak, VP Strategy & Innovation, SWAN Forum (Smart Water Networks Forum)

Wednesday, March 31, 2021 Central Time

9:30 – 9:45 a.m. :: Log In and Welcome

9:45 a.m. – 4:45 p.m. :: Conference Timing

9:45- 9:50 a.m. :: Course Kicks-Off

9:50 – 10:15 a.m. :: Funding Your Smart Water Technology Projects

Get a bit of insight as to how to best finance Smart Water projects and do an overall improvement to your water infrastructure.

Alex Shannon, VP & Managing Director, Northwest Pacific District Water Practice, WSP

Eric Bindler, Research Director, Digital Water Insight Service, Bluefield Research

10:15 – 11:20 a.m. :: SCADA Modernization

Modernizing your Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system is something that all water utilities should be looking at. Here we will look at such things as:

  • Creating a comprehensive SCADA master plan
  • Selecting your SCADA hardware, software and network platform
  • Benefits to SCADA modernization
  • Stories as to how organizations were able to upgrade their infrastructure more smoothly through a modern SCADA system

Rocky Smith, Industry Solutions and Water Lead Architect, Cisco

Gregory Wilcox, Principal Application Engineer, Rockwell Automation

David Espy, National Operational Technology Practice Leader, Tetra Tech

Melinda Tam, National Automation Practice Leader, Tetra Tech

11:20 – 11:25 a.m. :: Break

11:25 a.m. – 12:10 p.m. :: Cybersecurity: Protecting Your Smart Water Infrastructure

Cybersecurity is something that organizations in all industries are focused on, and those concerns have increased as hackers and cyber attacks become more sophisticated. We will discuss top considerations for cybersecurity for water utilities and look at things such as:

  • Attacks on personally identifiable information and ransomware attacks
  • Protecting inventory assets & data and key systems like SCADA
  • Managing vendors
  • Deploying cybersecurity solutions
  • The benefits of testing and training of all employees

Rocky Smith, Industry Solutions and Water Lead Architect, Cisco

Torri Martin, Deputy Commissioner, Office of Information Management, City of Atlanta, GA

Adi Karisik, Global Technology Leader, Jacobs

12:10 – 12:30 p.m. :: A Data Roadmap for Smart Water Solutions

Smart water solutions can transform the way we manage our water and wastewater systems. Data-driven solutions, like machine learning and artificial intelligence, enable utilities to operate more efficiently, safely, and reliably. Without a unified vision for data management, however, implementing these solutions can be tedious and unnecessarily expensive. This talk describes how to:

  • Develop a story—start with “why”
  • Prioritize high value data and identify data gaps
  • Organize your data into a unified format
  • Promote best practices in data quality and consistency

Billy Raseman, Assistant Engineer, Hazen and Sawyer

12:30 – 1:30 p.m. :: Lunch Break

1:30 – 2:15 p.m. :: Condition-Based Monitoring

  • The importance of condition-based monitoring for water utilities
  • The adoption of smart monitoring technologies to reduce stress for water utility operators
  • Where real-time condition monitoring can support utility businesses
  • How to choose the right solution for your organization

Gary Wong, Principal, Global Water Industry, OSIsoft

Biren Saparia, Systems Control System Manager, Great Lakes Water Authority

Rocky Smith, Industry Solutions and Water Lead Architect, Cisco

2:15 – 2:20 p.m. :: Break

2:20 – 2:50 p.m. :: Wireless Connectivity

  • Examining the importance of network design
  • Flexible deployment models offered by forward thinking LoRaWAN network operators
  • Discussing different network ownership models
  • Determining if water utilities and municipalities should explore opportunities to deliver city-wide Internet of Things (IoT) services to better manage citizen services and provide a stronger infrastructure

Rocky Smith, Industry Solutions and Water Lead Architect, Cisco

Dave Kjendal, Chief Technology Officer & Chief Operating Officer, Senet

2:50 – 3:30 p.m. :: Building Resilience for Water Utilities Leveraging Digital Transformation

  • Remote operations and monitoring
  • Condition assessment
  • Remote expert

Sielen Namdar, Industry Solutions Executive, Global Water Lead, Cisco

Hardeep Anand, Deputy Director Capital Improvement Program, Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department

Andrew Lee, Deputy Director, Seattle Public Utilities

3:30 – 4:15 p.m. :: Examining What the Future Holds for Water Utilities in Smart Water/ Customer Centricity/ Public & Private Partnerships

Collaboration is king! Here we will share examples as to how waterworks & wastewater organizations are partnering with other government and private sector organizations as well as their customers to create a more seamless and smarter company.

Shirley Ben-Dak, VP Strategy & Innovation, SWAN Forum (Smart Water Networks Forum)

Joone Lopez, General Manager, Moulton Niguel Water District

Matt Rea, Strategic Partnership Manager, OptiRTC

George Hawkins, CEO & Founder, Moonshot Missions

4:15 – 4:45 p.m. :: Day 2 – Wrap-Up and Q & A

Sielen Namdar, Industry Solutions Executive, Global Water Lead, Cisco

4:45 p.m. :: Course Adjourns

Instructors

Sielen Namdar, Industry Solutions Executive, Global Water Lead, Cisco

Sielen Namdar, PE is a Global Industry Executive with Cisco’s Cities & Communities team, and leads Cisco’s Global Water Business. She also serves as the Chair of the Americas Partnership Group for Smart Water Networks Forum (SWAN), a global organization dedicated to accelerating digital adoption for water utilities. Sielen works with water/wastewater customers to help them build more resilient systems and operate and maintain their facilities more efficiently leveraging IoT/data analytics. Prior to joining Cisco in 2018, Sielen spent 20 years at Jacobs Engineering (legacy CH2M) where she developed industry sector partnerships and facilitation of complex cross-business multidisciplinary teams to implement innovative and sustainable solutions for water, transportation, and energy customers. She also co-founded CH2M’s Smart Cities Initiative, developing state-of-the-art solutions in collaboration with agencies, technology leaders, and partners. Sielen holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Civil Engineering from the University of Washington. She is a graduate of Seattle’s Leadership Tomorrow (LT) program, a civic leadership organization focused on exploring strategies for positive change that cross sectors and silos to foster healthy communities. Sielen has served as a Seattle Leadership Tomorrow coach and mentor working with the LT class of 2020. She also serves as a judge for Cisco’s Global Problem Solvers program, aimed to recognize new business ideas that leverage technology for social impact from student entrepreneurs around the world.

Rocky Smith, Industry Solutions and Water Lead Architect, Cisco

Rocky has 20 years of experience in building, architecting, and maintaining IP networks. Rocky is the lead architect building Cisco’s approach for smart water and other government use cases. He has an extensive background in industrial cybersecurity, working with both public and private organizations across the globe. As the lead architect for Cisco’s smart water strategy, Rocky has worked closely with key players in the industrial space, including Cisco’s Cyber Vision and Talos Threat Intelligence groups. As the solutions architect for the Government team in the Industry Solutions Group at Cisco, Rocky leads the buildout of the industry-relevant architectures used worldwide by Cisco engineers and partners. Having worked at Cisco for the past 14 years, Rocky has been supporting a range of industries, including utility and energy, state, local, public safety, enterprise, K-12 and higher education, healthcare, and retail.

Jason Wen, Director of Water Resources, City of Lakewood, CA

Dr. Jason Wen currently serves as Director of Water Resources in City of Lakewood, California.  He is California registered Professional Engineer, and has both State of California Grade 5 Water Treatment and Water Distribution certificates.  He has more than 30 years of experience in water resources, water treatment and environmental management.  His previous working experiences include in California State Drinking Water Program and consulting services. He obtained his B.S. in Geochemistry from University of Science and Technology of China, M.S. in Geochemistry form Caltech, and Ph.D. in Chemistry from University of California, San Diego.

Eric Bindler, Research Director, Digital Water Insight Service, Bluefield Research

Eric Bindler is the Research Director for Bluefield Research’s Digital Water Insight Service. His areas of expertise include digital water hardware and software, water and wastewater network infrastructure, water finance and investment, and the U.S. municipal utility sector. He also leads the Smart Water Networks Forum (SWAN): Americas Alliance’s Research Group, for which he was awarded the Outstanding Leadership Award by industry peers and professionals. Eric’s in-depth analysis is often cited in press, and he is also a frequent panelist at global industry and corporate events.

Eric holds an MA in Global Development Policy from Boston University, as well as an MA in Ethnomusicology from Indiana University, and a BA in Music and Anthropology from Rollins College. During his time at Boston University, Eric worked at the Public Works Department in Needham, Massachusetts, consulted on a project for UN Environment’s Climate Change Sub-programme, and served as an author and contributor to Boston University’s 2017 Climate Action Plan Report. He is also a former adjunct professor of anthropology at Rollins College.

Jim Cooper, AVP & Global Lead – Intelligent Water, Arcadis

Mr. Cooper serves as a Global Solution Leader focused on Intelligent Water and Digital Twins at Arcadis. In this role, he collaborates with clients and ecosystem partners around the globe to better understand their assets, systems, organizations and customers by exploring how advanced digital solutions, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and Collective Intelligence (CI) might help their workforces create more sustainable, human-centric outcomes.

Jim earned an Executive Certificate for Artificial Intelligence: Implications for Business Strategy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is the principal author of the fourth edition of the American Water Works Association’s M32 Computer Modeling of Water Distribution Systems, published in 2018. He is a well-established industry thought leader, authoring more than 40 publications on utility management, system optimization and intelligent systems, and maintaining licenses and certifications in sustainability, project management, and a water and wastewater operator. Jim is also a Professional Engineer in OH, WI, IN, KY, FL, VA, and GA, and currently serves as a Vice-Chair of the Engineering & Construction Division of the American Water Works Association as well as Co-Chair of the Smart Water Networks Forum Digital Twin subgroup. 

Wagner Oliveira de Carvalho, Senior Project Manager, Aegea Sanitation

Enthusiastic Engineer focused on digital asset transformation in infrastructure projects for the better life of citizens!

Working in Aegea over the last 10 years, the largest private Water Utility in Brazil, and during this time have had the privilege and the opportunity to lead several complex infrastructure projects aligning business, construction and operation objectives.

Co-leader of the international SWAN workgroup (Smart Water Networks Forum) – Digital Twin Life cycle (Design- Build-Operation-Customer Experience).

Due to the engineering expertise in Smart Water Utility in Brazil, I have been invited to give presentations at international conferences such as Cleantech Conference (Washington DC), SWAN Conference (London/UK), World Water-Tech & Investments (London) and Singapore World Water Week (Singapore).

Billy Raseman, Assistant Engineer, Hazen and Sawyer

Dr. Billy Raseman is an assistant engineer at Hazen and Sawyer working in data analysis and visualization, modeling, and software development for water resources, drinking water, and water reuse applications. He is the lead developer for the US EPA Water Treatment Plant Model and contributes to OASIS water supply planning suite. Moreover, his research has advanced simulation modeling and machine learning approaches for treatment processes. As a member of the AWWA Subcommittee on Information Management & Technology, Billy has led an effort to create new data templates and standards for the drinking water industry. These practices will facilitate data sharing within and across organizations and will grease the wheels of innovation for intelligent water solutions.

Amir Cahn, Executive Director, SWAN Forum (Smart Water Networks Forum)

Amir joined SWAN in 2013 and has been instrumental in growing the organisation into the leading global hub for the smart water sector. Throughout his time, he has helped engage members, develop in-depth research reports, and create innovative tools such as the SWAN Interactive Tool and SWAN Research Portal. Amir also helped launch and grow regional SWAN Alliances in the Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe. Before joining SWAN, he completed a dual-master’s degree in Environmental Science and Public Affairs from Indiana University. In conjunction with SWAN, Amir is now pursuing a PhD focused on the impact of the Data-as-a-Service model on water and wastewater management.

Gary Wong, Principal, Global Water Industry, OSIsoft

Gary Wong is the Principal, Global Water Industry at OSIsoft, a leader in real-time operational intelligence. He has over 20 years of extensive international experience providing sustainable, strategic and cost-effective business solutions in the water industry. Prior to joining OSIsoft, he has held positions with Metro Vancouver and as a consultant directing both public and private sectors on Operations, IT strategy, planning, sustainability, and engineering. Mr. Wong is also the Chairman of the Smart Water Networks Forum (SWAN) Americas Alliance and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering, is registered as a Professional Engineer in Computer Engineering, holds an M.B.A. from the Queen’s School of Business and is also a Chartered Professional Accountant.

Shirley Ben-Dak, VP Strategy & Innovation, SWAN Forum (Smart Water Networks Forum)

Since 2016, Shirley has led the SWAN Forum’s innovation and strategic-led activities, helping to expand SWAN’s regional and global presence. She recently completed the preparation of the organization’s new 5-Year Strategy to further accelerate the global smart water sector.

Shirley is a smart city and international development consultant, previously serving as the Head of Global Initiatives at SUiTS, Smarter Urban & IT Strategies Ltd, a private urban integrator founded to promote smart urbanization & civic smartness. Prior to joining SWAN, Shirley completed an MSc. in Sustainability Management from Columbia University, where she focused on water resource management and sustainable cities. Her previous training experience includes planning and facilitating capacity building programs on behalf of MASHAV, Israel’s Agency for International Development. 

A dual Israeli-US citizen, Shirley is especially passionate about the role of data-driven entrepreneurship and innovation in contributing to sustainable development. She is also a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) w/ 10+ years of experience in business development and project planning/formulation, coordination & management, primarily in the following domains: water, sustainability, smart cities and digital transformation.

Finally, Shirley serves as the Founder and CEO of Bird Eye Consulting, an impact driven consultancy focused on driving actionable insights for clients from across the public, private and non-profit sectors. 

Hardeep Anand, Deputy Director Capital Improvement Program, Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department

Hardeep Anand has dedicated his engineering career to advancing public policy to benefit the environment and the community. Mr. Anand has more than 25 years of professional engineering, program management, and leadership experience in the public and private sectors, which he leverages to create and implement programs that realize efficiencies and provide tangible results. As Deputy Director for the Miami Dade Water & Sewer Department, he oversees a multibillion-dollar Capital Improvement Program that delivers innovative projects with the objective of shifting from a transactional approach to water infrastructure planning to one that will transform the water system across the region.

As a champion of the “One Water” concept, Mr. Anand advocates water governance across watersheds and a collaborative regulatory framework to prioritize water-related investments within the region. He spearheaded the development of the City Water Resilience Framework, which resulted in selecting the Greater Miami and the Beaches region as one of only five areas from around the world to participate in creating a global blueprint for resilient urban water systems.

Mr. Anand is the Founder and Policy Director of the Resilient Utility Coalition; a member of the Board of Directors of the Water Environment and Research Foundation; a Co-chair of the National Association of Clean Water Agencies Climate and Resilience Committee; a member of the Construction Management Advisory Board at the University of Miami, and he has been recognized by the Florida Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers as “Engineer of the Year.” Currently, Mr. Anand is leading the development of a “One Water Academy” knowledge management system to serve as a clearinghouse for water-related information across the globe, helping ensure a sustainable and proficient workforce within the water sector.

Originally from Tanzania, Mr. Anand is a registered professional engineer in the State of Florida and holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, a Master of Science in Civil Engineering, and a Master of Science in Management of Information Systems.

Joone Lopez, General Manager, Moulton Niguel Water District

Joone Lopez is the General Manager of the Moulton Niguel Water District, which provides water, wastewater and recycled water services to six cities in South Orange County. Before joining Moulton Niguel, she served as the General Manager of Calaveras County Water District located in Northern California. Joone’s prior experience includes working for Apple Valley Ranchos Water Company as its Assistant General Manager and serving as the Deputy General Manager of Central Basin Municipal Water District.

Joone is a Board Member for California WateReuse Association, California Water Data Consortium, Southern California Water Coalition, South Orange County Wastewater Authority, and WaterNow Alliance. Additionally, she serves on the Water Environment Federation’s Diversity and Inclusion Task Force, UC Irvine Water Leadership Board, The Smart Water Networks Forum Utility Advisory Group, BAYWORK Advisory Committee for its Digital Worker Initiative, and the California State University, Fullerton Center for Real Estate Advisory Board. She’s also a founding member of the California Data Collaborative, a non-profit representing 21 million Californians, focused on leveraging data and technology to enhance statewide water management policies.

In her personal time, Joone serves as a Board Member for Make-A-Wish Foundation’s Orange County & Inland Empire Chapter, Tilly’s Life Center, and United Way Orange County Leadership Council to End Homelessness.

Preceding her career in the water industry, Joone was a Police Officer for the City of Pasadena, where she received the Silver Medal of Courage for valor under fire. She holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from California State University of Northridge and a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications from University of California San Diego.

Andrew Lee, Deputy Director, Seattle Public Utilities

Andrew Lee joined Seattle Public Utilities in 2019, and is currently the Deputy Director for the Drainage and Wastewater Line of Business, overseeing planning, program management, regulatory compliance, operations and maintenance, source control and pollution prevention for the wastewater and stormwater utilities. Andrew has more than 20 years of experience in utilities, having worked for Seattle Public Utilities, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, Bellevue Utilities, Brown and Caldwell, and Olivia Chen Consultants (now AECOM).  Andrew, who is a Professional Engineer and Project Management Professional, has extensive experience in capital planning and program management, regulatory compliance and negotiations, asset management, and drainage, wastewater, and drinking water engineering. He has a BS degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering and an MS degree in Environmental Engineering and Sciences, both from Stanford University.  Andrew is a member of the Project Management Institute, and has been a past member of the American Water Works Association and the Water Environment Federation.

Dave Kjendal, Chief Technology Officer & Chief Operating Officer, Senet

Dave Kjendal is Chief Technology Officer & Chief Operating Officer at Senet, with responsibilities for research and design, product management and product marketing. A senior executive in high-tech innovation management and complex product development, Dave is a successful leader of large multi-site teams that have delivered dozens of leading-edge LAN/WLAN product lines, embedded and application software designs as well as ODM and OEM development models. Dave is active within the LoRa Alliance as a member of the Board of Directors, Chair of the Regional Parameters Working Group, and a member of the Technical Committee and Regulatory Working Group. Prior to joining Senet, Kjendal held leadership positions at Extreme Networks, Siemens Enterprise Communications and Enterasys Networks. Kjendal received his Bachelor of Science in Physics from University of New Hampshire and Master of Science, Electrical Engineering from the University of South Alabama.

Ken Thompson, Global Technology Lead – IoT & Smart Sensors, Jacobs

Ken Thompson has 38 years of experience in the industry and is a Senior Technology Fellow for Jacobs in their Denver Office. He serves as the Global Technology Leader for IoT and Smart Sensors for the Jacobs Digital Solutions Team, which includes the design and implementation of smart systems for water, wastewater and other sectors. Ken has also managed or served as the technical lead in many Surveillance and Response systems and water quality optimization projects for several U.S. clients. Prior to joining Jacobs, Ken worked for public utilities in water, wastewater, recycled water system operations, process evaluation, water quality, and regulations.

Gigi Karmous-Edwards, Digital Twin for Water Sector Technical Consultant, NEOM

Gigi Karmous-Edwards has spent the majority of her career on state-of-the-art digital technologies, including IoT, big data, data analytics, control and automation, and most recently Digital Twin technology for the water sector. She recently founded and is a co-chair of the SWAN Digital Twin H2O Work Group to help advance the use of much-needed holistic utility management using digital twins.

Karen Lindquist, Chief Operating Officer, Greenstream

Karen is co-founder of Green Stream Technologies, Inc. an IoT firm focused on monitoring and reporting conditions in the outdoor environment. She drives sales and marketing.

Green Stream’s first product addresses the problem of flooding. We deploy an array of small sensors in flood-prone areas to monitor water levels. Communicating wirelessly through our cloud platform to a dashboard and our clients’ system, we report in real time when and where it’s flooding and how deep it is.

Karen is also the founder and owner of Linden Tree LLC. She teaches strategy, global mega trends, thinking skills, creativity, and communication in major cities.

Jeremy Heath, Innovation Manager, SES Water

With over 20 years experience in the Water Industry, and a background in both mechanical engineering and database applications, Jeremy is responsible for the management of innovation within SES Water. This involves both the development of an innovation culture and the introduction of new technologies into the Water Industry. He has a keen interest in innovations that will transform how we manage our water networks, in particular smart metering, smart networks, artificial intelligence and IoT communications. In addition to his role at SES Water, Jeremy is also the lead for the UKWIR national zero leakage project and is responsible for driving the UK leakage research programme.

Jay Boyd, Director of Market Development, ADS Environment Services

Jay Boyd is the Director of Market Development for ADS Environmental Services. He has 39 -years’ experience developing technology and solutions for process optimization in water and electronics. He has brought dozens of technologies to the market over the course of his career. Beyond his bachelor’s degree in Biology, he’s done extensive graduate studies in business and technology development. He’s also earned two Dale Carnegie® training Instructor Certifications.

Jay is a regular speaker at national and state conferences. He has published papers in leading water journals including WE&T, MSW Magazine, Water & Wastes Digest, WaterWorld, I&I Magazine, Pumps & Systems, Clear Waters (New York), Influents (Canada) and FWRC Journal (Florida) on subjects including Cleaning Optimization, I&I Assessment, Internet of Things SSO Mitigation, Advanced Collection System Odor Control, and Smart Technology in Water.

Jay is a member of the Water Environment Federation (WEF) and is active on WEF’s Intelligent Water Technology Committee. He is a San Diego resident and a member of the California Water Environment Association.

Meena Sankaran, Founder & CEO, KETOS

Meena Sankaran is an accomplished technology executive, business leader and evangelist driving global strategy and innovation for customer success through a variety of leadership roles over the last 16+ years prior to founding KETOS. As a technologist and a purpose- driven Entrepreneur, she believes in leveraging technology and building business models for challenges that bring about global change and deliver solutions to impact at a grass roots level.

She has a BE in Electronics Engineering from India and MS in Electrical Engg from UTA, Texas. Her Leadership in KETOS’s engineering innovation, product & business strategy, team discipline and strong culture are instrumental in the path to success. She has been a winner of several awards including being featured on Forbes as one of the awe-inspiring women, 100 global innovators by Goldman Sachs to name a few and even represented SDG#6 at the United Nations.

Alex Shannon, VP & Managing Director, Northwest Pacific District Water Practice WSP

Alex is an economist in utility management services for our water, wastewater, and stormwater practice. He provides leadership in economic modeling, risk analysis, decision science, and funding strategies. Alex’s expertise lies in optimizing the implementation of utilities’ capital improvement programs and helping them make actionable, data-driven decisions. His dashboard-driven platform provides multi-criteria decision analysis, cost-benefit analysis, prioritization, schedule optimization, financial planning and funding optimization.

Engineering runs deep in Alex’s family. His dad is a civil engineer, and his great-grandfather founded a geotechnical firm in Seattle. Alex went on to receive a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and international political economy from the University of Puget Sound. 

In his career, Alex has been recognized by clients for his outstanding performance and dedication, and received the City of San Mateo’s inaugural “Gem of the Bay” award. He has published and presented on the economics of risk to dams at United States Society on Dams conferences and is an active member of the American Water Works Association.

George Hawkins, CEO & Founder, Moonshot Missions

George Hawkins launched his innovation-focused enterprises Moonshot LLC and Moonshot Missions after stepping down as CEO and General Manager of DC Water, where he served for eleven years.  George helps agencies identify and adopt strategies to deliver better service and lower cost.

George transformed DC Water into an innovative enterprise while tripling its investment in clean water.  DC Water’s innovations ranged from Green Infrastructure to a $500 million investment in clean energy.  DC Water issued the first century bond, first environmental impact bond, and spearheaded programs to support low-income customers and provide for local workforce development.

George serves on the National Infrastructure Advisory Council, which advises the White House.  George is an advisor to Xylem, Inc. and is an Executive in Residence for XPV Water Partners.  George serves on the Board of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation.  George has served as a Senior Lecturer at Princeton University and an Executive in Residence for American University.

Mr. Hawkins also served as Director of the DC Department of the Environment and served as Director of non-profit organizations and held positions with the USEPA and the firm Ropes & Gray.

George is a popular speaker on water, infrastructure, and environmental issues.  He has been the recipient of many awards, including the AWWA’s Fuller Award for Leadership and Innovation, Governing Magazine’s Public Official of the Year in 2015, WEF Public Official of the Year in 2016, and the Water Leader of the Year Prize in 2017.  DC Water was awarded the US Water Prize in 2016.

He graduated from Princeton University (Summa Cum Laude) and from Harvard Law School (Cum Laude).

Matt Rea, Strategic Partnership Manager, OptiRTC

Experienced Project Manager with a demonstrated history of working in the environmental engineering industry. Strong business development professional skilled in Environmental Compliance, Water Quality, Erosion Control, Drainage, and Stormwater Management. 

Torri Martin, Deputy Commissioner, Office of Information Management , City of Atlanta, GA

As Deputy Commissioner and Chief of Innovation for DWM, Torri Martin oversees performance management and provides technology services to the Department. Martin also manages various units in the Department including Project Implementation, Application Development and Application Support. Torri leads the innovation effort within the Department, connecting DWM to the external community and positioning the Department in becoming a leading water utility in innovation, service, and value.

When DC Martin joined the City of Atlanta in June 2015, he was tasked with the responsibility of establishing the City’s SmartATL program. DC Martin centralized the governance and strategy development for all smart city projects. Now as the Chief of Innovation and Deputy Commissioner for DWM, he is responsible for building out the Department’s “Smart H2O” and technology strategies and leading the digital transformation for DWM to become a “Utility of the Future”.

A Native of Dublin, GA, DC Martin hold a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Georgia State University. He also holds a master’s degree in Public Administration from Troy University, and a Juris Doctor from John Marshall Law School. He is a Certified Public Manager and has a certificate in strategic performance management.

Brendt Thompson, General Manager, s::can

Experienced Manager with a demonstrated history of working in the environmental services industry. Skilled in Negotiation, Operations Management, Water Resources Management, Process Improvement and Sales Management. Strong business development professional with a proven track record 

Adi Karisik, Global Technology Leader, Jacobs

Adi Karisik has over 20 years of highly specialized professional experience, one that covers information technology, cyber security, management consulting, intelligence consulting as well as providing specialized services in Defense and Intelligence domain. He managed several classified and open programs/portfolios in both USA and Europe. During his 14-year tenure with Blue Canopy Group, Mr. Karisik served as a partner and one of the key leaders in National Security domain. Mr. Karisik’s skillset is very colorful, totally not unlike his work experience, and involves behavioral profiling, cultural analysis, political-military advising, combat operations, intelligence training, predictive threat analysis, etc. – just to name a few. He worked in over 80 countries and speaks multiple languages. His work experience covers variety of organizations in intelligence arena and within Department of Defense, Mr. Karisik is well known within Army, United States Marine Corps and specialized community. He teaches at Naval Post Graduate School in Monterey and has authored several types of training in area of cross-cultural negotiations, predictive behavior analysis, human terrain reading and survivability. Since 2012 Adi has been involved in big data analytics and has partnered with several US and European companies to provide a product capable of combining big data and machine learning with multiple external data sources, in order to facilitate assistance in area of complex decision-making modeling. Adi is a passionate pilot, a former nationally ranked NCAA division 1 tennis coach and currently serves as a squadron commander for Civil Air Patrol in Virginia where he volunteers his time to train cadets and fly search and rescue missions. Adi also serves as a Chairman of the board of the Mansion on O street (Museum, club and hotel – a well-hidden and very popular place in the heart of Washington DC) – since 1980 every US president spends time at the Mansion. Recently Mr. Karisik worked within Jacobs as a Business Unit Leader for Commercial and International cyber operations and as a deputy BU leader for cyber security operations. In scope of those areas he managed a diverse portfolio of programs and people.

Biren Saparia, Systems Control System Manager, Great Lakes Water Authority

Biren Saparia is Systems Control System Manager for the Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA), the third largest municipal water and sewer utility in the United States. The GLWA provides services to more than 4 million retail and wholesale customers in Southeast Michigan. Biren Saparia leads the operation and maintenance group for water distribution and wastewater collection systems. Prior to joining the GLWA, Biren Saparia was Process Control Engineer at Detroit-based Process Controls and Instrumentation LLC, a systems integrator of control systems, where he worked on a multi-year project to modernize the DWSD’s vast water and wastewater treatment complexes with control and SCADA solution. This automation and control solution helps GLWA improve operational efficiency, maintain regulatory and environmental compliance and accommodate future system expansion. This consisted of five water treatment plants, 19 treated water booster pump stations, five high-lift pump stations, 10 wastewater pump stations, three combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) basins, and more than 200 remote radio telemetry sites monitoring level, pressure and discharge.

Gregory Wilcox, Principal Application Engineer, Rockwell Automation

Gregory leads a multi-company effort to establish tested and validated architectures to enable reliable and secure Industrial IoT and Industrial IT (OT-IT) architectures, and is a thought leader on emerging communication technologies with over 36 years of experience.

David Espy, National Operational Technology Practice Leader, Tetra Tech

Mr. Espy has more than 26 years of combined IT/OT experience and specializes in operational technology cybersecurity. He has participated in over 10 SCADA master plans and also has experience helping clients with cybersecurity policies and procedures, automation security plans, cybersecurity program development, network vulnerability assessments, and ICS system assessments. He also has extensive experience in upgrade and transition planning. His hands on experience with networking, servers, virtualization, communications, remote access, and ICS cybersecurity has led the successful design and implementation of multiple secure SCADA server and network implementations with multiple HMI/PLC Platforms over the last 13 years.

Cristina Ahmadpour, Presiden, Isle Utilities

Cristina is a consultancy executive specializing in emerging technologies and innovative best practices in the water sector. While most of her career has been working with utilities and technologists, Cristina has managed projects from inception to delivery that required collaboration with contractors, engineering consultants, treatment plant operators, manufacturer sales representatives, electric utility representatives, industry associations, etc. Through this experience, Cristina has developed a strong network of trusted relationships with varying stakeholders and has established a unique competency in the commercial, technical, and regulatory aspects of the industry.

Cristina is the President of Isle Inc. and serves as Managing Director of Isle’s Americas business. She leads a team that supports the most progressive water utilities in their interest to identify, evaluate, and engage best-available solutions that drive value to their services and business operations. Facilitating an assessment of needs and identifying solutions that respond to top priorities has been an integral part of how she works with water utility leaders today.

She graduated (summa cum laude) from Vermont Law School with a Masters in Environmental Law, emphasis in Energy, and received her Bachelors of Science Degree in Business Administration, Emphasis in Global Business Management from California State University.

Melinda Tam, National Automation Practice Leader, Tetra Tech

Melinda Tam is an electrical engineer with more than 30 years of experience. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Arizona State University and a Master of Business Administration degree with a concentration in Technology Management from the University of Phoenix. Five years out of college, she started her own electrical, instrumentation, and controls engineering firm. Within 15 years, her firm had more than 100 employees and 4 offices across the United States. Melinda focused on turn-key control system upgrades, which included planning, design, implementation, and maintenance services. Since 2010, she has been supporting clients to develop a technology road map to transform field data into intelligent information for utility operations, maintenance, and management. 

To stay on top of operational trends and technology in the water industry, Melinda is actively involved with the Water Environment Federation’s (WEF) Intelligent Water Committee and Technical Practice Committee. As Tetra Tech’s National Automation Practice Lead in the water operational technology group, she is strategically growing the digital transformation business to assist clients in overcoming security challenges associated with the rapid growth in digital technology. 

Colin Middaugh, Manager, Utility Solutions, Badger Meter

As a Manager, Utility Solutions for Badger Meter, Colin Middaugh collaborates with utilities and municipalities to not only determine their metering needs and challenges but also to develop and implement tailored, creative solutions. Furthermore, Colin interfaces with the entire utility sales arm of Badger Meter, including Account Managers and distributors, in expanding the presence of the Badger Meter product and service offering.

Colin received his bachelor’s degree in Business Management from D’Youville College in Buffalo, New York. Before joining Badger Meter in January 2018, Colin worked in various roles for Verizon, such as Advanced Solution Architect and Client Partner for Mobile Solutions. During his career at Verizon, beginning in 2005, Colin championed the onboarding and management of Smart Building and Smart Grid IoT (Internet of Things) resale customers. He also assisted with multiple IoT project implementations for both local governments and private networks. In addition, Colin was instrumental in the market strategy and onboarding of a multinational telematics provider into the Verizon Partnership Program.

With his extensive telecommunications background, Colin brings a wealth of experience and knowledge on Smart City deployments and IoT solutions to both the customers of Badger Meter and the water industry at large.

Online Delivery

We will be using Microsoft Teams to facilitate your participation in the upcoming event. You do not need to have an existing Teams account in order to participate in the broadcast – the course will play in your browser and you will have the option of using a microphone to speak with the room and ask questions, or type any questions in via the chat window and our on-site representative will relay your question to the instructor.

  • IMPORTANT NOTE: After November 30 you will not be able to join a Teams meeting using Internet Explorer 11. Microsoft recommends downloading and installing the Teams app if possible. You may also use the Edge browser or Chrome.
  • You will receive a meeting invitation will include a link to join the meeting.
  • Separate meeting invitations will be sent for the morning and afternoon sessions of the course.
    • You will need to join the appropriate meeting at the appropriate time.
  • If you are using a microphone, please ensure that it is muted until such time as you need to ask a question.
  • The remote meeting connection will be open approximately 30 minutes before the start of the course. We encourage you to connect as early as possible in case you experience any unforeseen problems.

Register

REGISTER NOW FOR THIS EVENT:

Smart Water Virtual Course 2021

March 30-31, 2021 | Online
Individual attendee(s) - $ 1295.00 each

Buy 4 in-person seats and only pay for 3! For this event every fourth in-person attendee is free!

Your registration may be transferred to a member of your organization up to 24 hours in advance of the event. Cancellations must be received on or before February 26, 2021 in order to be refunded and will be subject to a US $195.00 processing fee per registrant. No refunds will be made after this date. Cancellations received after this date will create a credit of the tuition (less processing fee) good toward any other EUCI event. This credit will be good for six months from the cancellation date. In the event of non-attendance, all registration fees will be forfeited. In case of conference cancellation, EUCIs liability is limited to refund of the event registration fee only. For more information regarding administrative policies, such as complaints and refunds, please contact our offices at 303-770-8800

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