WWEMA 115th Annual Meeting
November 8-10, 2023
The DeSoto, Savanah, GA
Preliminary Schedule of Events
We are pleased to welcome all of you to the WWEMA 115th Annual Meeting. This year’s theme is Advancing Operational Excellence Through Inclusive Practices, Adaptive Strategies, and Sustainable Solutions. The water sector has been experiencing an evolution where many factors are playing a role in changing it. From the Circular Economy to the impacts of climate change – change is the single most impactful aspect! Our theme this year sets up a broad facet of topics influencing the water sector – from inclusion to sustainable practices and how they are related – and to the understanding of how water solutions are technology and human related due to the workforce relationships driving them.
Wednesday, November 8th — Committee Meetings, New Members, Board Meeting, Welcome Reception
8:00 a.m. — 5:00 p.m. Registration
8:00 — 9:30 a.m. WWEMA Executive Committee Meeting
9:30 — 10:30 a.m. Welcome Coffee for New Members & First Timers
10:30 a.m. — 12:00 noon Marketing & Member Services Committee Meeting
12:00 noon — 1:30 p.m. Lunch on Own
1:30 — 3:00 p.m. Legislative & Regulatory Committee Meeting
3:00 — 5:00 p.m. WWEMA Board of Directors Meeting
5:30 — 6:30 p.m. Welcome Reception
Thursday, November 9th
8:00 — 9:00 a.m. Networking Breakfast
8:00 — 9:00 a.m. WWEMA Manufacturers Representative Council Breakfast Meeting (Council Members Only)
9:00 — 9:15 a.m. Welcome & Introductions from the Meeting Chair
Bill Decker, Vice President Water and Wastewater Treatment Technologies, Fuel Tech, Inc.
Meeting Chair and 2023 WWEMA Board of Directors Chairman
9:15 — 10:45 a.m. Innovation and Sustainability – The Present and the Future
Keynote Speaker, Kenneth Wagner (Invited)
Special Advisor, Oklahoma State University Research Foundation
The water sector stands poised to influence the United States’ economic growth, public health and change the course of our country’s future – because water is where it all is! Ken Wagner will connect the water sector to other important sectors of our economy, sustainability and show how water is at the nexus of – everything!!
Wagner’s experience includes a variety of regional and national energy industry positions. After graduating from the University of Oklahoma, he attended the University of Tulsa College of Law before founding a full-service law firm that focused on corporate, energy and environmental cases. He then served as senior advisor to the administrator of regional and state affairs at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) inn Washington, DC. From 2019 to 2022, he served as Oklahoma’s secretary of energy and environment where he promoted the growth of responsible, clean and affordable energy while protecting Oklahoma’s natural resources and biodiversity. Up until recently Wagner served as the inaugural Executive Director of the Oklahoma State University Hamm Institute for American Energy and is currently the special advisor at the Oklahoma State University Research Foundation.
11:30 a.m. — 3:30 p.m. Spouse/Guest Event (TBA) (Advanced Registration Required)
10:45 — 11:45 a.m. Inclusion – A Dialogue on What It Means – An ARCADIS Perspective
Ifetayo Venner, PE, ENV SP, Senior Vice President of ARCADIS’ Water Business,
Past President of the Water Environment Federation (WEF)
12:00 noon — 1:30 p.m. Networking Lunch
1:30 — 2:15 p.m. Wastewater Surveillance – How Monitoring Wastewater for Disease is Changing…Well – Everything!!
Dr. Amy Kirby (Invited), National Wastewater Surveillance System Lead
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
2:15 — 2:30 p.m. Break
2:30 — 4:00 p.m. Where Do We Stand Right Now on Build America, Buy America?
Michael Deane, Michael Deane
Chief, Clean Water State Revolving Fund
Office of Water
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Michael will be presenting the latest information on the status of the Build America, Buy America guidance and update us on the status of waivers as well as SRF funding and the OMB Implementation Guidance recently published. Join us for this engaging and interactive session where you can ask your questions and we can discuss with Michael the ins and outs of compliance with these new requirements.
6:30 — 7:30 p.m. Chairman’s Reception
7:30 — 9:30 p.m. Chairman’s Award Dinner
Friday, November 10th
8:00 — 8:45 a.m. Networking Breakfast
8:45 — 10:15 a.m. Insider Threat: From Onboarding to Offboarding: Mastering the Art of Employment Lifecycle Management
Shawnee Delaney, Founder and CEO of the Vaillance Group
Security begins with recruitment and concludes with resignation, retirement, or termination. This talk addresses how organizations can establish an employment lifecycle program in order to give employees consistency throughout their careers and teaches you how to prevent insider threats as a result. It also provides a framework to understand important interdependencies, touchpoints, interactions, and gaps in insider protection strategies. It will cover: What is an insider threat? What is employment lifecycle management? How the human factor impacts organizations? Best practices for mitigating insider threat by managing the employment lifecycle. Shawnee spent nearly a decade with the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) as a decorated Clandestine Services Officer (spy) conducting Human Intelligence (HUMINT) operations all over the world. She served four combat zone tours in Iraq and Afghanistan as a Case Officer and Detachment Chief and served as a Supervisory Branch Chief in Europe. After leaving DIA, Shawnee supported the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in the protection of U.S. critical infrastructure and industrial control systems for the Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team (ICS-CERT). Shawnee has built Insider Threat programs for major Fortune 500 companies. She holds an M.A. in International Policy Studies with a Specialization in Counter-Terrorism and Counter-Proliferation, a M.S. in Cyber Security and is currently in process of getting her third Masters in Industrial-Organizational Psychology. She has written articles or been cited on Insider Threat in publications such as the Cipher Brief, Fox Business, the Hill, and the Financial Times, among other international periodicals.
10:15 — 10:30 a.m. Break
10:30 — 11:00 a.m. Melissa Meeker, CEO, The Water Tower
The water sector has been evolving – The Water Tower is one of those partners evolving with it – and it brings many opportunities for WWEMA members to partner and evolve with the sector. This presentation by the leader who made it all happen is an opportunity for WWEMA members to explore these opportunities to collaborate.
11:00 a.m.—12:00 a.m. The Funding Panel – What You Need to Know About Funding – SRF, WIFIA, And All the Rest!!
Moderator: Claudio H. Ternieden, WWEMA Executive Director
Panelists:
Michael Deane, Michael Deane, Michael Deane, Chief, Clean Water State Revolving Fund, Office of Water, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Deirdre Finn, Executive Director, The Council of Infrastructure Financing Authorities
Steve Dye, Senior Director, Government Affairs, Water Environment Federation
12:00 noon.— 12:15 p.m. Closing Comments, Passing of Gavel, and Adjournment
Bill Decker, Meeting Chair and
2023 WWEMA Chairman
Henk-Jan van Ettekoven, President
HUBER Technology, Inc. and
Incoming WWEMA Chairman
12:15 p.m.— 5:00 p.m. Golf Outing (TBD)
Registration
The WWEMA 115th Annual Meeting registration is now open! Sign up for meeting attendance and sponsorship opportunities HERE.
Hotel Reservations
This WWEMA 115th Annual Meeting will be held at The Desoto, 15 East Liberty Street, Savannah, GA 31401. WWEMA has a block of rooms reserved for the meeting for the nights of Tuesday, November 7 through Friday, November 10 (although there are a limited number of rooms blocked for Friday). The registration link for booking your room HERE.
Sponsorships
Aquamarine ($3,000), Emerald ($2,500), Diamond ($2,000), Platinum ($1,500), Gold ($1,000), Silver ($750), Bronze ($500), and Manufacturers Representatives and Associate Members Co-Sponsorship of Welcome Reception ($200) sponsorships will be available as soon as the registration opens.
WWEMA offers an opportunity for sponsorships to help create a dynamic and successful Annual Meeting. Sponsors are recognized in promotional materials, through social media platforms, the onsite program, from the podium, and on the meeting video screens as well as on the WWEMA website, in the WWEMA Update and News Releases, and in the post-meeting summaries and documents. Information is available through the registration process.