Three Water Environment Federation (WEF) employees were recognised and honoured during the Empowering Women in Industry Gala, held Sept. 26 in Chicago. More than 60 women from around the world were nominated for making strides in several categories, including industry advocacy, mentorship and leadership.
Those recognised from WEF:
- Morgan Brown, WEF’s Technical Programs Manager, who was named Industry Advocate of the Year, and was a nominee for Emerging Leader of the Year. In her role at WEF, she supports a number of initiatives regarding resource recovery, nutrients, innovation, and diversity and inclusion in the water workforce. Brown is a graduate of WEF’s Water Leadership Institute and has a bachelor’s degree in biology and environmental sciences from the University of Virginia. She is pursuing a master’s degree in environmental sciences and policy at Johns Hopkins University.
- Lisa McFadden, WEF’s Director of Integrated Technical Programs and associate director of WEF’s Water and Science Engineering Center, was nominated for Industry Advocacy, Mentor of the Year, and Leadership in STEM. McFadden serves as the subject matter expert for safety, security, and resilience activities for WEF, as well as intelligent water systems and technology. McFadden has 25 years of IT, program management and development experience, with an emphasis on environmental work focused on water, Superfund, and clean air.
- Brianne Nakamura is a senior manager in WEF’s Water Science and Engineering Center and was nominated for Industry Advocacy and Emerging Leader of the Year. She helped develop and manage InFLOW (Introducing Future Leaders to Opportunities in Water), a scholarship program that introduces underrepresented minority students to careers in the water sector. Nakamura has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Syracuse University and is a registered professional engineer in the District of Columbia.
“We are extremely proud to have three members of our team recognised for their impact on the water sector,” said WEF Executive Director Walt Marlowe. “We know from working with Morgan, Lisa, and Bri every day that they are exceptional experts, advocates, and leaders, and appreciate that Empowering Women in Industry recognised them for their contributions.
“We brought women together from water / wastewater, oil and gas, HVAC, construction, and in positions within manufacturing, engineering, sales & marketing, media and education, as well as entrepreneurs, tradeswomen, and operators,” said Charli K. Matthews, founder of the event. “This contributed to the success of our event as we pushed ourselves to learn from people outside our everyday network and career track. These women are the role models needed to build our future workforce – learning from and recognising these leading ladies across industries makes a difference in effecting change.”
