Originally posted by CWEA Director, Logan Olds, on 08/15/2010 in San Berdardino Sun
Workforce investment programs that work are those programs that prepare people for careers and do so by focusing on growing job markets.
We all know that teaching someone how to prepare their resume on a computer certainly won’t make them a fierce competitor in the current job market. But train that individual with specific skills in a rapidly growing field, such as wastewater management, and chances are very good they’ll lock down a solid job.
Unknown to most people, wastewater management is a specialized field where 47.6percent of the national workforce is on the fast track to retirement within the next five years. This important statistic is just one of the many factors we look for when developing successful job placement programs such as those we have created here in San Bernardino County.
www.WorkforWater.org is the place where students and job seekers can explore green careers, and utilities will find a clearinghouse of resources for recruiting in the wonderful world of water. Developed by the American Water Works Association and Water Environment Federation, the world’s leading technical experts on drinking water and water quality, this site is packed with resources to find jobs or prepare for rewarding careers in protecting public health and the environment. Learn about what it takes to work for water and get a great job for a great cause! The site has landing pages for four audiences: high school and vocational school students, college students, second career and retired military job seekers, and advanced science professionals. For more information, visit www.WorkforWater.org.
Logan Olds
The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors on April 13 appointed Logan R. Olds, general manager of the Victor Valley Wastewater Reclamation Authority, to the County’s Workforce Investment Board. Olds was nominated for the post by First District Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt. Olds is a WEF Delegate Director on CWEA’s Board of Directors and Treasurer of the Desert and Mountain Local Section.
“We appoint members whose leadership helps our county build a competitive workforce that will attract new businesses, retain existing ones and create new jobs,” said Supervisor Mitzelfelt. “Logan has been a leader in research into innovative environmental technologies and his presence on this board will help strengthen our county’s efforts in that sector.”
The Orange County Sanitation District (OCSD) is pleased to announce Simon Watson as the Manager of the Collection Facilities O&M Division. This is in addition to his current role as Manager of the Mechanical and Reliability Maintenance Division.
Simon Watson
Mr. Watson has been with OCSD for over 19 years. Over the past 11 years he has been the Maintenance Manager responsible for the oversight of up to 115 employees and external service providers with an annual operating budget of over $20 million. Areas of responsibility have included the mechanical, electrical and instrumentation maintenance program, maintenance administration support (CMMS/Planning and Scheduling), hosting the asset management program, corrosion management program and reliability engineering. With the expansion of Mr. Watson’s duties he will now manage OCSD’s regional and local sewage collections facilities as well as the mechanical maintenance and equipment reliability programs at OCSD.
CWEA Member Joseph Boyle, PE joins Psomas as Principal
Joseph Boyle, a Vice President and team leader for Water/Wastewater Infrastructure in Southern California, has over 25 years of experience in the planning and design of water transmission, distribution and storage facilities. Boyle received his Bachelors Degree in Civil Engineering from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. He lives in Laguna Niguel and is based in Psomas’ Orange County office.
CWEA Member Eric Stassevitch
CWEA member Eric Stassevitch, P.E., CCM, has joined Gannett Fleming, an international planning, design, and construction management firm. Based in the San Francisco office, Stassevitch serves as a senior project manager in the firm’s Project Management Oversight Practice. In his new position, Stassevitch provides management and oversight services for rail transit systems, railroads, grade separations, bridges, tunnels, highways, dams, and water and wastewater systems. His responsibilities also include providing design and construction oversight, appropriate project controls, schedule and cost controls, staffing oversight, project execution, employee development, safety, and quality assurance.
Lola Dvorak has joined CWEA as Communications and Membership Manager and will coordinate the production of member publications including the E-bulletin. She will also support leadership services by managing the awards and scholarship programs.
Lola Dvorak
Lola brings 10+ years of nonprofit communications and natural resource management experience at a variety of conservation groups including San Francisco Baykeeper and the Wisconsin Association of Lakes. She holds degrees in Conservation Biology and Water Resources Management from the University of Wisconsin.
She can be reached at the Oakland office (510) 382-7800 x 114 or at ldvorak@cwea.org.
Mike Fisher has joined Water Works Engineers as a Senior Project Manager and will manage the firm’s new office in Roseville, California.
While actively serving the wastewater and water industry for over thirteen years, Mike has become a CWEA-approved subject matter expert and facilitator for the State Water Board SSO-GWDRs training program and has led training sessions across the state. Mike also guest-lectures for Sacramento State University Civil Engineering department in the field of pipeline design, rehabilitation and replacement. Mike is an active member of ASCE, AWWA, WEF, PUG, and ASME; is a past-president of the CWEA Sacramento Area Section; and is currently serving on CWEA’s statewide Collection System Committee.
Kathy Suter, CWEA's first female President, at her February 25, 2009 reitrement party at SBSA wearing a lei presented by Greg Chung, Kennedy Jenks.
South Bayside System Authority Lab Director Kathy Suter is one of the most accomplished women in her field in California history, as highlighted by her selection as the first female president of the California Water Environment Association (CWEA) from April 2005-April 2006. During her term as CWEA’s president, she helped develop a code of ethics for CWEA’s certificate holders that reflects the high standards of practice held by the wastewater profession. She personally holds the top certificate of competency that CWEA offers as a Laboratory Analyst, Grade IV. She was named CWEA Supervisor of the Year in 2001 in competition with wastewater supervisors throughout the state.
As of December 1, 2008 Dr. Michael C. Connor has taken over as General Manager of the East Bay Dischargers Authority. Dr. Connor comes from the San Francisco Estuary Institute where he served as Executive Director.
Dr. Connor’s career has been devoted to making the link between environmental science and policy. He has worked for federal and regional agencies, as well as for the non-profit sector. Dr. Connor was Vice President of Programs and Exhibits at the New England Aquarium where he oversaw Aquarium programs in research and education, as well as exhibit design, visitor services, and animal husbandry. Before joining the Aquarium, Dr. Connor was Director of Environmental Quality at the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA).
He led the development of the harbor and bay monitoring program for MWRA to address public regulatory concerns and the translation of those detailed technical studies into policy options for MWRA’s Board of Directors. In the mid-1980s, Dr. Connor worked on the start-up of the National Estuary Program in New England, initiating programs in Buzzards Bay, Narragansett Bay, and Long Island Sound. Dr. Connor completed his undergraduate degree at Stanford University, his doctorate at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution/Massachusetts Institute of Technology Joint Program in Biological Oceanography, and his post-doctoral work at the Harvard School of Public Health’s Interdisciplinary Programs in Health.
