Upcoming Event: 2024 Jersey Water Works Annual ConferenceOrange right arrow
Water splash
Annual Membership Meeting

July 12, 2023
Started 9:00 am|Ended 3:00 pm

Instagram Icon
PAST EVENT
2023
ABOUT

Aligning Our Actions

Smart infrastructure. Strong communities.


On July 12, Jersey Water Works and Lead-Free NJ members gathered at Rutgers University in New Brunswick for a joint Membership Meeting. The 130 attendees came from different sectors—community organizations, grassroots groups, municipal/state government, federal agencies, education, utilities—to support the work being done to advance New Jersey’s water infrastructure and remediate lead holistically.

The agenda featured:

  1. Opening Remarks from JWW and LFNJ:
    • Stephen Marks, Town of Kearny and JWW Steering Committee member
    • Rashan Prailow, THINK Group and LFNJ Co-Chair
    • Dr. Helmut Zarbl, Ph.D., Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute
    • Olivia Glenn, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 2 Office; NY, NJ, PR, USVI, and Eight Indian Nations
  2. Breakout sessions:
    • Designing Climate Resilient Infrastructure, hosted by JWW Climate Resilience and Green Infrastructure Committees
      • Speaker: Michael Sheehan, NJDEP
      • Facilitated by committee co-chairs: Bill Cesanek, CDM Smith, Chris Obropta, Rutgers Water Resources Program, Rosana Pedra Nobre, New York- New Jersey Harbor & Estuary Program, Patricia Lindsay-Harvey, Willingboro Municipal Utilities Authority, Russ Dudley, Arcadis
    • Aligning Policy and Community Action for a Lead-Free New Jersey, hosted by LFNJ Steering and Advocacy Committees
      • Facilitated by co-chairs Debbie Mans, TWENTYTWENTY public affairs, and Rashan Prailow, THINK Group (Steering Committee) and co-chairs Kelvin Boddy, Housing and Community Development Network of NJ and Yvette Jordan, Newark Education Workers Caucus (Advocacy Committee)
    • Affordability, Combined Sewer Overflow Permits, and a Review of the SRF Research Study, hosted by JWW Asset Management & Finance and Combined Sewer Overflow Committees
      • Speaker: Diane Schrauth, New Jersey Future
      • Facilitated by committee co-chairs: Christine Ballard, CDM Smith, Zachary Green, Raftelis, and Michele Langa, NY/NJ Baykeeper
  3. Mini-Keynotes – Speakers included:
    • Holistic Approaches to Eliminating Lead Poisoning: Kelvin Boddy, Housing and Community Development Network of NJ
    • The Power of Community Owned and Managed Research to Identify and Address Lead Hazards: Anthony Diaz, Newark Water Coalition
    • Green Infrastructure: Where We’ve Been, Where We Are Going: Christopher C. Obropta, Ph.D., P.E., Rutgers Cooperative Extension Water Resources Program
    • Water Sector Utilities as Community Anchors: Lessons Learned from 33 Years of Service: Rick Dovey, Atlantic County Utilities Authority (ACUA)
    • Aligning Our Actions: Celebrating Progress and Articulating Next Steps: Debbie Mans, TWENTYTWENTY public affairs
  4. Mini-Keynote Q&A, moderated by Nicole Miller, MnM Consulting and JWW Co-Chair
  5. World Café, hosted by JWW and LFNJ members and backbone staff – Small group conversations to connect and exchange information
Up arrow