Welcome to the WIA website.

Hassan Ali
Vice President & General Manager, Mueller Systems

Hassan Ali is considered an expert in AMI industry. Mr, Ali has 15 years experience in the electric industry with GE, Siemens and Landis+Gyr. For the last 10 years Mr. Ali has been focused on AMI industry with successful track record.
Currently, Mr. Ali has served as VP/ GM of Mueller Systems. In his role Mr. Ali has financial responsibility for the Mueller Systems.
Before the above role, Mr. Ali performed a dual-leadership role as both Vice President of Landis+Gyr and General Manager. He was responsible for the on-going development and implementation of Landis+Gyr’s North American corporate AMI strategy as well as the overall operations of StatSignal, including profit and loss (P&L) responsibility and entrepreneurial multi-million dollar research and development (R&D) initiatives.
Mr. Ali holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of New York at Buffalo and has completed post-graduate advanced management training at Duke University. He is a Six Sigma Black Belt and has been honored by his employers with awards for High Leadership Potential and Core Values. He is also the recipient of Landis+Gyr’s 2003 CEO Award for Exceptional Performance.

Fanny Bourdais
Vice President, BNP Paribas

Fanny Bourdais joined the Project Finance Group of BNP Paribas in Paris where she has focused on the EMEA power markets. She joined the North American team in 2006, working on both power and infrastructure transactions. Since 2007 she has focused on infrastructure and has been involved in all major transactions in North America, including McGill Hospital PPP, Port of Miami Tunnel, Port Mann Bridge/Highway I, I-595, A30 and Pennsylvania Turnpike among others. Her previous experience includes both finance and law at Ernst & Young and Allen & Overy where she worked on a wide range of transactions including PPP advisory to the French Government. She holds a MSc in Finance and Business Law from HEC in Paris. She speaks French, English, German and Spanish.

Kyle Cahill
Sustainability Manager
Blue Cross Blue Shield

Kyle Cahill is Sustainability Manager at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts where he is responsible for the strategic direction and day-to-day management of a company-wide sustainability program that includes assessing the impact of sustainability practices to the company and community at large.

Prior to Blue Cross Blue Shield, Kyle was Senior Program Officer at Oxfam America, an international relief and development organization that creates lasting solutions to poverty, hunger, and injustice. At Oxfam, he led the organization’s work on poverty footprinting, a process for companies to measure, analyze and improve their impacts on communities in developing countries. Prior to joining Oxfam, Kyle was Director of Corporate Engagement at Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) where he worked with the private sector on environmental projects addressing climate change, safer products and materials, water use and waste reduction. Kyle serves on the board of directors of Plant A Fish (www.plantafish.org) and on the advisory boards of New Earth (www.newearth.info) and Virid.us (www.virid.us). He earned his M.B.A. focused in social responsibility from the Isenberg School at the Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst and his B.A. from Amherst College.

VINCENT CAPRIO
COO, Water Innovations Alliance

Mr. Caprio is the COO of the Water Innovations Alliance. Mr. Caprio is one of the foremost advocates for government funding of emerging technologies at both the State and Federal levels. Mr. Caprio has testified before the state legislatures of New York and Connecticut, and has participated in the NNI Workshop www.nano.gov. Mr. Caprio is the founder of the Water Innovations Alliance Conferences and has successfully produced 5 Water Innovations Alliance Conferences. Mr. Caprio is the Event Director of the 3rd Annual Water Innovations Alliance Conference, September 26-28, 2011 in Boston, MA. In addition, Mr. Caprio has appeared on numerous Connecticut TV and radio stations, including WICC 600AM, discussing the impact of Water and Nanotechnology.
Mr. Caprio graduated from Villanova University in 1979 with a B.S in Accounting and completed a MBA from Northeastern in 1987. Mr. Caprio is a member of Villanova University’s Financial Club and serves as an active member of Villanova’s President Club. Mr. Caprio serves on the Board of Trustees for the Easton Community Center and the Easton Learning Foundation in Easton, CT. In the summer of 2008, Mr. Caprio was appointed to the Board of Directors for the Fabricators & Manufactures Association Communications, Inc. based in Rockford, IL.

PRAKASH CHAKRAVARTHI
CEO, Aqleo

Prakash has more than twenty years of leadership, technical and management experience with companies in new product development and commercialization. He was the Founding CEO and Chairman of Eka Systems Inc. He led Eka Systems through its early days and into its growth phase building a strong team of domain experts from networking technology and utility industries. Eka Systems was sold to Cooper Industries in April 2010. He currently serves on the Advisory Board of the Water Innovations Alliance. Prior to Eka Systems, he was with Comsat Corporation and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Kate Clopeck
Executive Director
Community Water Solutions

Kate Clopeck is the Executive Director for Community Water Solutions. Over the past 5 years, Kate has worked extensively on water improvement projects around the globe including Nicaragua, Cameroon and Ghana. She earned a Master's of Science in Technology and Policy from MIT in 2009 where her research was focused on the sustained use of water treatment technologies in Northern Region Ghana. She holds Bachelor's in Science from the University of Virginia's School of Engineering and Applied Science where she wrote her thesis on the implementation household water treatment and safe storage technologies in the developing world. As Community Water Solutions' first full-time employee, Kate currently splits her time between Ghana and her hometown of Boston, MA.

Hugh Crooks
Head of Projects and Impact Initiatives, Safe Water Network

Mr. Crooks is Head of Projects and Impact Initiatives at Safe Water Network, a not-for-profit organization founded by leading businesspeople and philanthropists dedicated to finding scalable, sustainable, market-based solutions to meet the challenge of bringing clean water to underserved populations. He is developing programs to take current successful pilot efforts at villages in India, Ghana and Kenya, and roll them out on a large scale in partnership with leading private companies and governments. The programs are using robust management, measurement and reporting techniques to build commercially successful water enterprises. The goal of this platform is to serve more than 1,000 villages and 2 million people with affordable, clean water within the next five years.
Hew brings nearly 20 years of private equity investment experience, focused mainly on water, energy and transportation infrastructure to this challenge. He was previously a founding partner and managing director of Great Circle Capital, a private equity firm dedicated to infrastructure investing primarily in the global transportation sector. At Great Circle, Mr. Crooks completed investments in a range of businesses including ports and marine terminals, offshore oil support as well as third-party logistics providers and other transportation service companies. He was also responsible for implementation of the firm’s Environmental, Social and Governance policies. His biggest ESG challenge was the successful environmental turnaround and modernization of the Batumi Oil Terminal in Batumi, Georgia, a 100 year-old oil terminal suffering from decades of environmental abuse.
Mr. Crooks was the founder and Managing Director of Stanton Capital, a Lima, Peru-based private equity investment firm. While at Stanton, Mr. Crooks led direct investments across a broad range of sectors including steel, agriculture, mining and greenfield hydroelectric power generation.
Previously, he was with Investcorp International Inc., a major international private equity group, and in investment banking and M&A at Lehman Brothers, focused on the energy and oil sectors. Mr. Crooks is a cum laude graduate of Amherst College.

MICHAEL DEANE
Executive Director, NAWC

Before joining the NAWC as our Executive Director, Michael Deane served as Associate Assistant Administrator for Water in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from 2007 to January 2009. Prior to being appointed to this position, he served as Senior Policy Advisor, Infrastructure Finance, for the Agency's Office of Water. Before joining the EPA in 2006, Michael was an executive at several water management companies, including United Water and its parent company Suez and the U.S. operations of Vivendi (now Veolia), focusing on innovative financing and infrastructure policy. He began his career in water at the EPA, working on the state revolving fund and public-private partnership programs.
Originally from Minnesota, Michael holds a master of environmental management degree from Duke University and a bachelor's degree in biology and geography from Gustavus Adolphus College. A regular presenter at conferences, Michael serves on the Pictet Water Fund Advisory Board and the ITT Global Water Advisory Board. When he's not engaging with reporters on ways to repair our nation's aging infrastructure, Michael is working on restoration projects at his house in historic Old Town, Alexandria, VA.

Deane M. Dray
CFA, Director, Multi-Industry & Electrical Equipment
Citi Investment Research

Deane M. Dray, CFA joined CIRA in June 2010 as a Director and sector leader of the industrials group, covering the Multi-Industry & Electrical Equipment sector. Mr. Dray has more than 25 years of investment experience, including 14 years covering the industrial sector. Prior to joining CIRA, He spent 11 years as a senior analyst with Goldman Sachs Equity Research covering this sector. He was most recently the senior analyst at FBR Capital Markets covering the same group in 2009. He started his Wall Street career at Lehman Brothers, where he worked for ten years in several different capacities, including as an institutional salesperson, a staff officer to the president and CEO of Lehman Brothers, and then as an equity research analyst. In the past four years, Mr. Dray has been ranked by StarMine in the top-3 for industrial conglomerates in stock picking and earnings estimate accuracy, including two No. 1 rankings.

Mr. Dray has published extensively on the global water sector and has hosted investor conferences on this megatrend topic, including Citi’s first global water conference in London on June 7, 2011. He is on the advisory board to the United Nations on water issues and is a member of the American Water Works Association. He has presented at numerous conferences sponsored by the United Nations, World Bank, and World Water Week.

Mr. Dray received his B.A. from Brown University with honors and completed his M.B.A. at the New York University Leonard N. Stern School of Business. He is also a CFA charterholder and a member of the New York Society of Securities Analysts.

RALPH EBERTS
Executive Managing Director of Client Accounts, Black & Veatch

Ralph Eberts is currently serving as the Executive Managing Director of Client Accounts for Black & Veatch’s global water business. His main responsibilities include management and sales of the company’s core water business in the Americas, United Kingdom and Asia Pacific. Eberts and his team develop and maintain client relationships, manage the portfolio of projects that Black & Veatch executes for key clients, and lead client-facing activities.

Prior to assuming this role, Eberts was the Managing Director for Black & Veatch’s Asia-Pacific water business where he was responsible for overseeing a business that spanned 12 offices in six countries. During his tenure he successfully managed Black & Veatch’s re-entry into the Australia water market. He played a significant role in ensuring the successful execution of the Bundamba Advanced Water Treatment Plant. The plant was an integral part of the $ 2.2 billion Western Corridor Recycled Water Project in SE Queensland, Australia which received numerous accolades and awards from the global and regional engineering community, including, in November 2009, being named as one of the Top Ten Engineering Wonders in Queensland.

Through his long association with Black & Veatch Eberts has held a number of important leadership positions that include Director of Project Services and Deputy Director of Client Services for Black & Veatch’s water business in the Western United States. His project management experiences includes an important role on the full secondary expansion of the City of Los Angeles Hyperion Treatment Plant, a 15-year, $1.1 billion wastewater treatment and reclamation project, which was named one of the ten most outstanding public works projects of the 20th century by the American Public Works Association.

Through these experiences Eberts has been able to provide important insight into the global and Asia Pacific water industry and has been interviewed by international and local media to provide comment about developments and trends in the industry.

Eberts has been an active member of the Water Environment Federation, American Water Works Association, American Public Works Association, Structural Engineering Association of California and an officer of the Institute for the Advancement of Engineering - College of Fellows.

CARRIE FREEMAN
Director Sustainable Business Innovation
Intel Eco-Technology Office

Carrie Freeman is responsible for the strategy and business development of eco-technology solutions in the areas of environment and natural resource management. In her previous role as corporate sustainability strategist, she directed corporate wide strategic sustainability efforts working with stakeholders across the company to ensure that Intel continues to build upon its industry leadership in sustainability. Since joining Intel in 1998, Ms. Freeman has been a regional environmental relations manager, an engineering manager and a technical program manager. Ms. Freeman regularly speaks around the world on the role of information technology and sustainability. She serves on the board for the Nature Conservancy of New Mexico, the Permaculture Credit Union and acts in an advisory capacity to the Water Innovations Alliance and the Technology Venture Corporation. Ms. Freeman holds an MBA in environmental policy and planning from the University of New Mexico.

PAUL GAGLIARDO, M.P.H., P.E.
Manager - Innovation Development, American Water

Mr. Gagliardo is well known throughout the United States, in Europe and Asia for his defining work on indirect potable reuse as a scheme to supplement the potable water supply in San Diego, California. Paul is a registered engineer in California and has a Masters degree in Public Health. He has pioneered the efficacy testing and use of new technologies in businesses that vary from energy conservation, hazardous waste remediation, solid waste resource recovery, water treatment, wastewater treatment, contaminant monitoring and strategic planning. He has authored over fifty technical papers on subjects ranging from low and high pressure membrane systems, monitoring systems, UV disinfection systems, strategic planning and watershed management. He has given presentations on five continents and in ten different countries and has been the invited keynote speaker on multiple occasions.
During his twenty plus years at the City of San Diego, Paul created and managed the Aqua2000 Research Center. This program focused on the testing of new technologies for use in the water and wastewater business. The Aqua2000 Research Center helped develop the membrane bioreactor system from a novelty to the de facto technology of choice for recycled water applications. Paul’s team developed the performance test protocols that are being used by the California Department of Health Services to determine if systems can be used in specific potable water and recycled water applications. He prepared and submitted performance analyses to the California DHS for acceptance on over twenty new technologies.
Since leaving the City of San Diego he has continued to assist innovators in the development of their new products and help them become commercialized. Currently, Mr. Gagliardo is the Manager – Innovation Development for American Water. American Water is the largest investor-owned water utility in the United States operating over 400 water plants and 300 wastewater plants in 32 states. In this position he is responsible to identify new technologies that can be incorporated into American Water’s various business enterprises. The IDP's primary objective is to look for innovations that enhance American Water’s water and wastewater services, increase operational efficiencies, lower operational costs and position American Water for growth in the areas of reuse, desalination and wastewater bioenergy. Paul is responsible for the identification and screening of ideas and navigating those selected ideas through a Stage-Gate process toward eventual commercialization inside and outside of American Water facilities.

LARS H. GENIESER, PH.D.
Senior Associate
Venable LLP

Lars Genieser is a registered patent attorney who focuses his intellectual property prosecution practice on pharmaceutical, chemical, and medical technologies of domestic and foreign clients. He has an active interest in nanotechnology, having, for example, prosecuted applications pertaining to quantum dots. Dr. Genieser actively manages complex international patent portfolios for new therapeutics in preparing and prosecuting patent applications. He prepares infringement, freedom-to-operate, and validity opinions, as well as intellectual property licensing agreements. He combines a doctorate in chemical engineering with practical research experience in a range of chemical sciences and technologies in order to effectively understand, prepare, and prosecute patentable subject matter for his clients. Dr. Genieser's broad experience in industry and academia enables him to anticipate and appreciate challenges which technology-driven clients face in protecting their innovations.

BRENT GILES PH.D.
Senior Analyst, Lux Research

Brent Giles is a Senior Analyst at Lux Research and currently leads the Water Intelligence practice. Before joining Lux Research, Brent worked for six years at Hach Company and with its German partner Lange, water technology companies that are part of Fortune 500 company, Danaher. As senior chemist and project manager at Hach, Brent led projects in water analysis and green technology, and extensively studied the drinking, waste and industrial water industries and the alternative fuels business. He developed products for the international market and worked in Germany, India and China.  Brent also worked as Director of Green Technology for China Bridge Capital, a China-based investment bank. He identified business opportunities and conducted technical analysis on emerging technology companies in China.
Brent received his Ph.D. in chemistry from Purdue University and was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Michigan. He taught as a professor at Colorado College. His research focused on ultrafast aqueous chemical kinetics and developing ultrasensitive spectrometers for atmospheric studies. He is the author of numerous papers and the inventor of a number of successful and field-tested products and industry trade secrets in the fields of green technology and water analytics.

CONGRESSMAN BART GORDON
Partner, K&L Gates

Mr. Gordon joined K&L Gates as partner in the Washington, D.C. office after 26 years representing the state of Tennessee in the United States House of Representatives. Mr. Gordon, who served as Chairman of the House Committee on Science and Technology from 2007 to 2010, advises clients on innovation and technology-related issues, including clean technology, nanotechnology, renewable energy, energy efficiency, and nuclear energy. Mr. Gordon was a senior member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and also served on the House Committee on Financial Services and the House Committee on Rules.
Mr. Gordon is a member of the Tennessee bar and has applied for membership in the District of Columbia bar. While that application is pending, his practice is limited to and focuses on assisting clients on government affairs and related public policy matters.

Sally C. Gutierrez
Director, EPA’s National Risk Management Research Laboratory

Sally C. Gutierrez is the Director of the National Risk Management Research Laboratory (NRMRL) in Cincinnati, Ohio. NRMRL is one of three federal research laboratories within EPA’s Office of Research and Development. The laboratory is responsible for conducting engineering and environmental technology research to support the Agency in development of policy, regulations and guidance to further environmental protection in the U.S. The research staff consists of 400 environmental and chemical engineers, chemists, microbiologists, economists, hydrologists and other scientists and support staff. Key areas of research include: treatment and control of contaminants in drinking water, restoration of ecosystems, control of air pollutants, remediation of contaminated sites, environmental sustainability and environmental technology testing and development. 
Mrs. Gutierrez was born and raised in Houston, Texas. She received a Master of Science degree from the University of Texas, School of Public Health in Houston. Her area of expertise is water resource management. She was appointed NRMRL’s Director in 2005. Prior to this appointment she was the Director of the Water Supply and Water Resources Division with the Laboratory. During her tenure as Director of the Water Supply and Water Resources Division, she was responsible for leading a national technology demonstration program for control of arsenic in drinking water. Prior to coming to EPA, she was responsible for administering several water programs for the State of Texas environmental agency in the areas of drinking water, water monitoring, wastewater treatment permitting, and utility rates. She is a member of the American Water Works Association and past President of the Texas Environmental Health Association.

Alan G. Hinchman
Global Industry Manager - Water
GE Intelligent Platforms

Alan was born in Battle Creek, Michigan and began his career while in college working for a small industrial engineering company, Burr Engineering. After graduation Alan joined one of the largest global engineering consultant CH2M Hill and spent the next two years traveling between branches working on numerous infrastructure related projects. In 1997 was promoted to lead the Southeast Automation Group for CH2M Hill. For the next 3-years Alan lead the automation deployment of seven new Orlando Utilities Commission water plants. He joined GE Automation Services in Charlotte, NC as an Application Engineer in 2000, and promoted a number of times reaching Water Commercial Leader. In 2005, GE Automation Services was sold and the new owners Maverick Technologies retained Alan as Vice President of Operational Consulting. While at Maverick, he was responsible for the develop of their Utility Optimization offering and worked with many Fortune 500 businesses on reducing energy and water consumption. Alan rejoined GE with GE Intelligent Platforms in 2007 as a Global Industry Manager where he serves today.

Dr Roshan Jachuck
Founder, President & CT, R3 Fusion

Dr Jachuck is the President and Chief technical Officer (CTO) of R3 Fusion. He is also a Research Professor at Clarkson University and is internationally known for his work in the field of Process Intensification. He has developed several novel process technologies and has contributed to over 12 patents and has over 100 publications. Due to his excellent scientific track record and his successful interaction with industry he received a ‘Faculty Development Program’ award from NYSTAR in 2003, which encouraged him to move from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, to Clarkson University. At Newcastle he was the Director of the Process Intensification and Innovation Centre. On behalf of Clarkson University, he plays a key role for the “Pollution Prevention Institute” established by the DEC in New York. In 2007 he was nominated by Governor Patterson of New York State to be a member of the Advisory Committee for the State on issues related to Green Procurement. He has chaired several AIChE sessions on process intensification and has participated in many conferences in Europe, USA, India and New Zealand.

STEPHEN RIGAL JONES
Managing Director, Natixis

Stephen Rigal Jones, Managing Director, Project Finance Americas, leads Natixis’ effort in regional Construction and Infrastructure/P3, with emphasis on US project financial advisory.
  Mr. Jones has more than 20 years of project finance experience, with a broad geographic focus in the transportation, water, utilities and power, and waste management sectors. He joined Natixis from RBC Capital Markets Corp. in New York where, as Managing Director, US Infrastructure and Project Finance, he headed corporate coverage and advisory. Earlier, he worked for ANZ Investment Bank and Credit Suisse.

John Lanzoni
Energy Account Executive, Siemens Industry

John is an Energy Account Executive working for Siemens Industry focused on performance contracting solutions for water and wastewater. John recently held the position of Director of Global Account Management for Siemens Water Technologies and has been employed with Siemens for thirteen years.
In his current role as an Energy Account Executive John works with Municipalities and engineering firms to evaluate existing water and wastewater facilities with the intent to uncover energy and operational cost savings to determine if Performance Contracting can be deployed as a means to self fund the facility improvements identified.
Performance contracting allows the municipality to leverage limited capital budgets by using funds already allocated to the operating budget to fund project through energy and operating cost optimization.
John graduated from the University of Lowell in Lowell, Massachusetts with a degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing. He holds several technical training certifications and is very active in several industry organizations including Water Environment Federation (WEF), American Water Works Association (AWWA) and the Design Build Institute of America (DBIA)
John is married with three grown children and resides in Western Massachusetts.

Peter Mainz
Chief Executive Officer and President, Sensus

Mr. Mainz was appointed Chief Executive Officer and President and named as a member of the Company's Board of Directors in April 2008. Prior to this appointment, he was Chief Operating Officer beginning in August 2007 with responsibility for all global Sensus Metering Systems business units. He has also served as Chief Financial Officer, Vice President of Operations and Finance for the Europe Asia Pacific (EAP) region of Sensus and Vice President of Finance. Prior to joining Sensus, Mr. Mainz held financial positions with Schlumberger and IBM for 8 years. Mr. Mainz holds BA and MBA degrees.

Samantha Malone, MPH, CPH
Communications Specialist & Doctoral Student, University of Pittsburgh

Samantha is a doctoral student in the Environmental and Occupational Health department of the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health (GSPH) and the Communications Specialist for the Center for Healthy Environments and Communities (CHEC) within GSPH. At CHEC, she has helped to identify natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale region of the United States as an emerging environmental and public health threat and launched FracTracker.org. FracTracker is a geo-web platform designed to share multidimensional data and information related to shale gas drilling in order to construct a more comprehensive depiction of such a complex industrial system.
Samantha joined CHEC in 2009 after earning a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree from GSPH in the Behavioral and Community Health Sciences department. Among her responsibilities at CHEC, Samantha conducts environmental health research, is the webmaster, manages FracTracker.org and its training program, and oversees the communication of CHEC's various research projects and social media. Ms. Malone also manages a collaborative project between CHEC and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette called 'Pipeline', a community initiative that provides the newspaper's readership with online shale gas information via FracTracker.org.

Clifton E. McCann
Partner, Venable LLP

Clifton McCann is an experienced patent attorney who specializes in the strategic development and defense of patent rights in the chemical, biological, and mechanical arts, including patents for water treatment methods and equipment, anti-corrosive materials, chemical recycling, polymers, and alloys. As lead trial and appellate counsel he has an undefeated record in patent infringement litigation, with awards and settlements ranging into eight figures in the water purification field.
Mr. McCann uses his 30 years of experience to help clients stay focused on business and practical aspects of patenting, which in turn allows his clients to make informed decisions on patent procurement, exploitation, and defense based on realistic estimates of cost and the likely impact of patent protection on market share, industry leverage, profits, and business value.  Mr. McCann provides patentability and infringement opinions, procures patents and manages patent portfolios, conducts IP audits, drafts and negotiates patent licenses, enforces patent rights, defends against patent infringement challenges, and when necessary, litigates patent rights in the federal district courts and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. 
Mr. McCann has served as Chairman of the Patent Section of the Bar Association of D.C. and Chairman of the American Bar Association’s Committee on Intellectual Property Litigation.  He is currently a member of the Executive Board of the Patent Section of the Bar Association of D.C., a Trustee of the Foundation of the Bar Association of D.C., and an active member of the American Intellectual Property Law Association and the Licensing Executives Society.  He is a frequent speaker at the International Water Conference and other forums on topics of patentability, damages, dispute resolution, and other patent issues.
Mr. McCann is an equity partner at Venable LLP in Washington, D.C.  Before joining Venable he managed Lane, Aitken & McCann, a patent boutique listed in Martindale-Hubbell's Bar Register of Preeminent Law Firms.  Mr. McCann studied chemistry and biology at Northern Illinois University, obtained his J.D. from Catholic University of America, and received an LL.M. in intellectual property law from George Washington University, one of the nation’s top three law schools in the patent field.

KEVIN M. MCGOVERN
Chairman & CEO, The Water Initiative

The founder of over fifteen companies, six of which have become world/category leaders, McGovern has also been lead negotiator/principal in over twenty-five (25) global join ventures; As chairman of McGovern Capital, a global investment, strategy and licensing provider to business, he is also affiliated with McGovern & Associates, a corporate law firm specializing in both technology and intellectual property. Since its inception in 1989, McGovern Capital has also been one of three owners of KX Industries, L.P., the largest manufacturer and worldwide source of carbon air and water purification filters. KXI holds over 60 issued patents and has created and supplied the initial "end of the tap" filters ($US 500 million market) for both Procter and Gamble under the "PUR" brand and Clorox under the "Brita" brand. In 1996, KX Industries invented and supplied the first refrigerator water filters - currently a $US 300 million market.
McGovern is also renowned for his nanotechnology involvement, serving as co-chairman of Angstrom Publishing LLC. Angstrom Publishing LLC and Forbes Magazine co-publish a global monthly Nanotechnology newsletter, entitled The Forbes/Wolfe NanoTech Report.
For the last 12 years, McGovern, has helped spearhead the development, launch, distribution and licensing for Tristrata, the world's leading supplier of skin care products marketed to/through dermatologists and plastic surgeons. NeoStrata is sold in 70 countries and has attracted (43) licensors/partners - including Avon, L'Oreal, Beiersdorf and Estee Lauder; many consider Tristrata's licensing success within its categories to have been the most successful licensing program of a consumer technology.
In addition, McGovern is also one of the three (3) founders of SoBe Beverages, a nutraceutical beverage that grew to $250mm in three years - and sold to Pepsico in 2001 for $US 370 mm.
McGovern is a Cornell University Trustee and the current Co-Chair of its Intellectual Property Tech Transfer Management Committee. He also Chairs Entrepreneurship@Cornell and teaches Global Innovation and Commercialization at Cornell's Johnson Graduate School of Business. McGovern graduated form Cornell in 1970 and in 1975 graduated from St. John's University School of Law.
McGovern is a member and board member of Cornell's Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise and its Base of the Pyramid Learning Lab (see Stu Hart below). In 2007, Cornell University honored McGovern as its worldwide Entrepreneur of the Year.

F. MARK MODZELEWSKI
Executive Director, WIA

Mark is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Water Innovations Alliance, a seasoned technology entrepreneur, executive, investor and visionary, currently focused on developing several early stage ventures in cleantech and health 2.0.
Mark is the former managing director and co-founder of Bang Ventures, an investment firm focused on technology investments including Web 2.0, new energy innovations and medical devices. He also co-founded New Europe Ventures, the Benet Group, Leonardo BioSystems, Lux Research and the NanoBusiness Alliance. He has served as a senior executive at, Opion, GolinHarris and NRW and has consulted for companies such as NanoSys, Engelhard, Mastercard, Yahoo, eSpeed, Pixar and DaimlerChrysler.
Mark was recognized by Forbes as a "powerbroker" and has been featured in Time, Newsweek, U.S. News, ABC, BBC, N.Y. Times, Business Week, Fortune and the Wall Street Journal, among others. Mark also appears regularly as a Fox Business News and CNBC technology commentator and on occasion serves as a co-host of SquawkBox. Mark was an appointee in the Clinton Administration developing policy, legal and communication strategy for HUD and FHA programs. He is a graduate of the U. Denver College of Law (JD) and Boston U. (BFA, Painting).

Charles J. Morton, Jr.
Partner

Venable LLPChuck Morton co-chairs Venable's Business Transactions Practice and the firm's Junior Capital / Mezzanine Practice Group, which he founded. He has a national practice representing entrepreneurs and the people who invest in them including representing clients in mergers and acquisitions, financing agreements, including subordinated loan transactions, second lien loans and related equity investments. He regularly acts on behalf of private equity groups. In addition to recognition in Chambers USA, he is recognized in six categories as one of the Best Lawyers in America (Corporate Law, Leverage Buyouts and Private Equity Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law, Structured Finance Law, Technology Law and Venture Capital Law) by Best Lawyers in America (Woodward/White). He has also been repeatedly tapped as one of five top M&A lawyers in Maryland by Maryland Super Lawyers, and has been Martindale-Hubbell AV Peer Rated since 2000. Clients describe him as "…unwavering in his commitment to us" – Chambers USA 2010.
Mr. Morton currently serves on the International Board of Directors of the Association of Corporate Growth ("ACG"), and was elected to serve as Vice Chairman of the Global Board of the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) for 2011-2012. He is the Immediate Past-President of the Maryland Chapter of the ACG, serves as a Board Member of the Technology Development Corporation of Maryland (TEDCO) and serves as General Counsel to the Maryland Chamber of Commerce. He teaches an undergraduate course in the entrepreneurship program at Johns Hopkins University focused on tech transfer. He helps to manage more than $100 million dollars through his service to two different university related endowments.
Mr. Morton holds, or has held, leadership roles in the American Bar Association, the Maryland State Bar Association and the Bar Association of Baltimore City.

Mark Owen
CEO, Puralytics

Mark Owen is the CEO of Puralytics which he founded in January, 2007 to develop water purification products based on LED activated nanotechnology, and is a primary inventor of the company’s technology. Puralytics purification process has been selected for research grants by US Army, the Natl Science Foundation, and the Nanoscience and Materials Institute and has received many awards including the National Grandprize in the Cleantech Open, Water Investment Idol by the Global Water Intelligence, and twice by ImagineH20 and the Artemis Project.
Prior to founding Puralytics, Mr. Owen was the founding CEO and is a Director of Phoseon Technology, the world leader in UV LED photo-curing systems to the inks, coatings, and adhesives industry, and grew the company to multi-million dollar in sales and market leadership during his 5 years there.
Mark has also held business development, marketing, and engineering management roles at Agilent Technologies, Electro Scientific Industries, and Tektronix. He has over 30 patents issued or pending, has published over 40 technical articles, and more than $1B in revenues have been derived from products involving his patents. Mr. Owen holds a Masters in Advanced Manufacturing Technology from the University of Limerick, Ireland and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering degree from Oregon State University.

Eric S. Petersen
Partner, Hawkins Delafield & Wood LLP

Mr. Petersen has spent his entire legal career with Hawkins Delafield & Wood LLP, becoming a partner in 1981. He was instrumental in building the Firm's public contracts and procurement practice upon a strong foundation of public finance, project finance, tax and environmental expertise, and since 1984 has practiced full time and is nationally recognized as a leader in this field. Mr. Petersen has, on behalf of municipal government, been the lead negotiator in more than 100 major public works contract procurements. These have resulted in design-build, design-build-operate, and asset management contracts with private service providers nationally and internationally valued at several billion dollars, including contracts for projects in the water, wastewater, solid waste, electric power, transportation and civic facilities sectors. His clients in more than two dozen states have included towns, cities, counties, districts and public authorities, as well as the governments of the United States and several states and foreign nations, and his professional experience encompasses all forms of public-private arrangements under which public works facilities are owned, permitted, designed, built, operated and financed.
In the water and wastewater sector, Mr. Petersen was the chief architect of the groundbreaking Cranston (RI) wastewater public-private partnership and related USEPA approvals, the first 20-year contract in the country for the operation, maintenance, repair and replacement of a large wastewater system and the design and construction of related system capital improvements. In Seattle (WA), he authored the Tolt River design-build-operate water treatment plant contract as special counsel to the City, the first transaction of its kind in the water industry. Mr. Petersen has also played a key role as special counsel in the development and management of major North American water, wastewater and residuals management projects in Phoenix (AZ), Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (Boston), Stockton (CA), Fulton County (GA), San Diego County Water Authority (CA), San Jose (CA), Waterbury (CT), Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (PRASA), Sacramento (CA), Springfield (MA), Spokane County (WA), Laredo (TX), Lynn (MA), Naugatuck (CT), Newport (RI), San Juan Capistrano (CA), Charlotte (NC), Tijuana (MX) and several dozen eastern U.S. Navy bases.
In the solid waste sector, his experience as procurement and contract counsel extends to the full range of municipal solid waste management projects and services. These include waste-to-energy contracts (Halifax (NS), Broome County (NY), San Juan (PR), Huntington (NJ), Westchester County (NY), Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority, Monmouth County (NJ), Montreal (QU), Pittsfield (MA)); materials recovery and composting contracts (Monroe County (NY), San Diego (CA), Somerset County (NJ), Rockland County (NY)); and hauling, disposal and franchise agreements (New York City (NY), Orange County (CA), Bergen County (NJ) and Anaheim (CA)).
Mr. Petersen is a co-founder of the U.S. Conference of Mayors' Urban Water Council. He makes regular presentations at conferences organized by the Council and by the American Water Works Association/Water Environment Federation (Joint Management Conference), the Center for Business Intelligence, the Design/Build Institute of America, the National Council for Public-Private Partnerships, the International City Managers Association, the Solid Waste Association of North America, and other forums on legal, environmental, tax and financing topics critical to the water, wastewater, solid waste and general infrastructure industries, and has authored numerous articles in the public contracts and procurement field.

Jim Phillips
Chairman / CEO

Mr. Phillips is internationally credited with being very instrumental in launching instant messaging, the PDA, Cable Modem, PCS, Fixed Cellular, Time Magazine's Medical Invention of the Year- the VeinViewer, and iPix, at the time, the world's largest provider of digital imaging infrastructure for the internet, in such areas as online real estate, auction listings, and classified ads.
Throughout his business career, Jim has held numerous prominent positions and founded and co-founded many successful corporations while introducing many products used by millions worldwide. He started his career in 1975 with Northern Telecom, when the company was the 2nd largest telecom manufacturer in North America rising in management to Vice-President; became President & Co-Founder of SkyTel - the nation's largest messaging company; President & Vice Chairman of Telular Corp.; Corporate Vice President and General Manager of Motorola, PCS and Multimedia divisions, where his team invented the cable modem and pioneered telephone service over television cable networks worldwide. Mr. Phillips received the Motorola Patent Disclosure Award.
As President and Vice-Chairman of Telular Corporation (WRLS) Jim took the company public (NASDAQ) and was instrumental in the development of the wireless local loop; cellular voice and data telephone (wireless dialtone); pioneering machine to machine communications (M2M) for wireless telemetry applications around the world in energy, transportation and agriculture; and wireless security alarm systems protecting hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses across the U.S.
Mr. Phillips served as Senior Vice-President of Mobilecomm, the second largest provider of cellular and paging services in the U.S. at the time.
Jim also Co-Founded iPIX Corporation where he served as Chairman and CEO. During his tenure with iPIX, he led the company to become what Forbes called "the Kodak of the Internet." The company revolutionized imaging across the internet, inventing virtual tours that are a staple on real estate, hotel & entertainment websites and the only 360x360 security camera system used by the White House and many government agencies and corporations. Millions of internet users experienced immersive imaging and "telepresence" for the first time through iPIX. In addition, through the acquisition of Bamboo.com and Picture Works, Jim's team oversaw the development of the popular image submission process utilized by millions of e-Bay users everyday.
Mobilecomm Corporation was sold to BellSouth Corporation, SkyTel Corporation was sold to MCI Verizon, and iPIX was sold to Sony Corporation.
While furthering his management career in the financial sector, Mr. Phillips served as CEO in Residence and Special Advisor to the Private Equity and Investment Banking Groups at Morgan Keegan & Co.
As Founding Chairman and Executive Director of the FedEx Institute of Technology (FIT), he helped establish this leading research park on the campus at the University of Memphis. Information Week called FIT "the technology industry's newest center for innovation" and WIRED Magazine compared it to the Media Lab at MIT.
In 2004, Jim was named an Information Week Magazine "Innovator of the Year". That same year, he became Chairman and CEO of Luminetx Corporation and led with his management team the development, FDA clearance, and commercialization of the breakthrough medical device called the "VeinViewer" named by Time Magazine as "Coolest Medical Invention of the Year," and Red Herring Magazine featured Luminetx Corporation at the top of the list of North America's 100 Best Technology Startups in 2006 under Mr. Phillips leadership. Mr. Phillips personally named and branded VeinViewer, Luminetx, Skytel, SkyPager, SkyWord, SkyMail, PCSone, CellDock, CyberSurfer Cable Modem, Snowflake Technologies, and the CPX Cellular Phone Exchange.
Jim also founded and served as Chairman and CEO of Snowflake Corporation - a leader in biometric identification technology awarded the 2009 Frost & Sullivan Innovation of the Year Award for the biometrics market.
Among his many honors and awards, Jim won the CLIO Award, the 2005 BENNY Chairman's Award, the University of Memphis Distinguished Graduate Award, the Fogelman College of Business Distinguished Executive of the Year, the Herff College of Engineering Distinguished Service Award, the National Golden Key Award, and was named Tennessee Businessman of the Year in 1999 by the U.S. Small Business Administration. In 2006, he was inducted into the Memphis Entrepreneurial Society.
Jim holds BBA and MBA degrees from the University of Memphis, graduating with academic honors. As a student, he was President of the Tennessee Student Association, Cadet Commander of the largest ROTC Detachment in the U.S. and Vice President of the SGA. He was commissioned as a Lieutenant and attended Jet Pilot Training at Webb AFB in Texas. He was honored with the Professor of Aerospace Studies Award and the United States Air Force Distinguished Military Graduate Award.

Alan Rae
Director, R3 Fusion

Dr. Rae has been associated with the materials industry for over 25 years and recently has been applying this experience in the fields of nanotechnology, electronics and “clean tech”. Before forming his contract research and consultancy company, TPF Enterprises LLC, in June 2009, his most recent assignment was at NanoDynamics Inc., developing and commercializing nanotechnology-based products and processes including nano solder, a nano solder replacement, silver and copper for printed electronics, process intensification, carbon nanotubes, nano cement and ALD coated particles. He was successful in running product development as a profit center using contract research funding from U.S. Government and private companies.
From 1986 to 2004 Alan held a number of positions at Cookson Electronics Inc. and its subsidiary TAM Ceramics Inc. He was instrumental in the creation, growth and turnaround of highly profitable businesses across the electronics supply chain and led the cross company initiative to move to lead-free soldering systems from 1999 to 2004 during the transition when a significant proportion of electronics manufacturing capacity migrated to Asia. His experience includes dielectric materials, laminates, plating materials and surface finishes, solder, printing and dispensing equipment, reflow equipment, packaging materials and semiconductor chemicals. The Cookson Performance Solutions process laboratory, which Alan ran in 2003-4 incorporated these materials and equipment types and was instrumental in preparing boards for iNEMI industry reliability programs.
Alan holds a B.Sc. in Chemistry from the University of Aberdeen as well as a Ph.D. in Metallurgy and Engineering Materials and a M.B.A. in Business Administration from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. He is a member of the Royal Society of Chemistry and a Chartered Chemist

Geoff Segal
Senior Vice President of Government Relations, Macquarie Capital (USA)

Geoff Segal is Senior Vice President of Government Relations for Macquarie Capital (USA). Over the course of his career in public policy, he has served as an advisor to former Florida Governor Jeb Bush’s Center for Efficient Government, to South Carolina Governor Mike Sanford, and to Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, where he primarily worked with the Government Efficiency and Financial Planning Group inside the Office of Management and Budget. Recently, Mr. Segal was appointed to the Commonwealth Competition Council by House Speaker William Howell and was subsequently elected Vice-Chairman.
Before joining Macquarie in October 2007, Mr. Segal worked at the Reason Foundation for seven years. At Reason, he was Director of Privatization and Government Reform, overseeing the research center on privatization and public-private partnerships and conducting original research and political outreach.
Mr. Segal has worked closely with legislators in two dozen states in efforts to improve government performance and enhance accountability in government programs. Specific initiatives include: testifying to the United States Senate and numerous state legislatures and agencies; writing dozens of articles for leading publications including the Atlanta Journal Constitution, New York Sun, Houston Chronicle, Indianapolis Star, and Investor’s Business Daily; and being a frequent guest on television and radio, appearing on Fox News Channel’s “Your World with Neil Cavuto” and CNBC’s “Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo,” “Power Lunch,” and “Kudlow and Company.”
Currently, Mr. Segal coordinates and manages Macquarie Capital (USA)’s public affairs and government relations programs, including monitoring and actively responding to critical legislative, public relations, and regulatory issues at local, state, and federal levels.
Mr. Segal provides direction, management, and administration of Macquarie Capital’s government relations activities and programs in the U.S. He helps set strategic direction and makes recommendations on policy matters affecting Macquarie Capital’s businesses. He also provides counsel to senior Macquarie Group staff on political and policy affairs and develops and executes strategies for outreach and education on matters or concerns relevant to Macquarie Group businesses.
Mr. Segal serves on the Commerce and Insurance Task Force at the American Legislative Exchange Council and on the P3s Study Committee at the National Conference of State Legislatures.
He is based in Washington, D.C.

Kathy Shandling
Executive Director

International Private Water Association (IPWA)
Kathy Shandling is the Executive Director of the International Private Water Association (IPWA) – a global advocacy/non-profit organization that serves as a conduit between the public and private sector players involved in the water/wastewater infrastructure project and service arena. IPWA specifically promotes the implementation of public-private partnerships, the development/use of long-term sustainable financing tools, and the creation of project development facilities that assist in the viable structuring of bankable water utilities/water projects.
Ms. Shandling was instrumental in launching the IPWA Financial Tools Taskforce which has been steadfast in its support of evolving sustainable local currency financing initiatives for the funding of water/wastewater infrastructure projects in developing countries as well as the implementation of new funding instruments to address the growing infrastructure refurbishment requirements in the more advanced Middle Income and OECD-member countries.
In addition to her commitments with the International Private Water Association (IPWA), Ms. Shandling has been a frequent contributor to a number of trade publications and websites including UIM, Global Water Intelligence, and Maxims News.
Kathy Shandling holds an MSc Economics (political economics) from The London School of Economics and a BA from Wellesley College..

R. Paul Stimers
Partner, K&L Gates

Mr. Stimers focuses his lobbying efforts on matters related to emerging technologies, such as nanotechnology, IT, water technology, and commercial spaceflight, and advises a wide range of companies and industry associations in pursuing legislation and representing their interests before Congress and federal agencies.
Mr. Stimers represents the NanoBusiness Alliance, the nanotechnology industry association, in developing and advocating for policies that will expand the nation's nanotechnology infrastructure.  He coordinates the Alliance's annual Policy Tour, which brings dozens of nanotechnology leaders to the capital for meetings with senior government officials.  He also works with several of the world's leading nanotechnology companies to secure federal funding for research and development projects. 
In the field of information technology policy, Mr. Stimers works with software companies and industry associations to ensure data and network security without restricting technological development.  He has helped manage industry-wide efforts to prevent technology mandates while improving security.  He has also assisted companies in developing privacy policies that protect consumers' personal information while enabling new products and services.
Mr. Stimers has been active in helping to change the direction of NASA, promoting an increased role for the private sector in restoring the nation's human spaceflight capability as the Space Shuttle program ends.
In addition to his work with emerging technologies, Mr. Stimers works extensively with non-profit organizations addressing the needs of the world's poorest people.  Mr. Stimers helped to pass the Water for the Poor Act of 2005, which created a framework for the United States to help provide millions of people with sustainable access to safe drinking water and sanitation.  Since then, he has helped direct more than $1 billion toward providing water and sanitation to those who need it most, and has testified before Congress on the issue.  He also advises a non-profit organization that focuses on slum improvement and housing in the developing world.
Mr. Stimers was recently listed among the “40 Under 40: K Street’s New Generation of Lobbyists” by The Washingtonian.

Jennifer Vanderhart, Ph.D.
Principal Economist, Exponent

Dr. Vanderhart is a Principal Economist at Exponent, Inc. in the Epidemiology and Computational Biology group. She has a Ph.D. in Economics and specializes in applied econometrics and microeconomic analysis, including theoretical and empirical analysis in the areas of intellectual property, antitrust, breach of contract, and commercial damages. Prior to joining Exponent, Dr. Vanderhart was a Managing Director at Invotex Group. She has also held positions at LECG and Navigant Consulting, Inc., and was a graduate instructor and lecturer at Texas A&M University, in the departments of Economics and Management, respectively.
Dr. Vanderhart’s experience includes valuations of intellectual property for arms-length licensing and litigation matters, calculating and testifying as to reasonable royalty and lost profit damages in intellectual property infringement cases, and economic analysis of price erosion and other market issues. She has also provided testimony as to appropriate data cost-sharing compensation under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). In addition, Dr. Vanderhart has been involved in assessing damages in numerous commercial damages matters and in matters concerning antitrust counterclaims in intellectual property infringement cases. Dr. Vanderhart has submitted analysis, testimony, and affidavits in state and federal courts as well as for federal arbitration.

William F. Wescott Ph.D.
Vice President, Innovation - Americas
Veolia, Environnement

Bill is Vice President, Innovation - Americas for Veolia Environnement, the world's largest environmental services provider. He works closely with Veolia's worldwide research and innovation group and all four of Veolia's business divisions (water, waste, energy management, public transportation), to source clean technology innovation through strategic initiatives such as the Veolia Innovation Accelerator. Bill works closely with entrepreneurs and investors to identify promising technologies that meet the evolving needs of Veolia's clients and can benefit from Veolia's top position in key markets around the world.
Bill is an internationally recognized clean technology expert, speaking at conferences for over 20 years on how organizations can benefit from environmental technologies and practices. He has extensive experience in environmental control technologies for water, air and waste, information/communication technologies, climate change, new venture development, and organizational governance as well as in the energy, natural resources, chemical, electronics, and environmental services sectors. A lifelong intra- and entrepreneur, Bill has worked with startups, corporations and investors to create new cleantech ventures and assess cleantech opportunities. He has served as an advisor to organizations including the Romanian, Italian, Mexican, Brazilian, and U.S. governments, UNIDO, the Sustainable Performance Group Investment Fund, PROPEL Board of Directors, The Conference Board, The Pew Center on Global Climate Change, The Institute of the Americas, and the World Resources Institute. Bill was an environment, health and safety consulting director at Arthur D. Little, Inc. where he worked for 15 years with over 100 clients across all sectors on 5 continents in 4 languages (English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian).
Bill has a Ph.D. in Engineering and Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon and BSE in Chemical Engineering from Princeton

Maryl Widdows
Director of Strategic Initiatives, Rhiza

Maryl Widdows is the Director of Strategic Initiatives for Rhiza, a leading provider of location intelligence software to enterprise, NGO and government clients. Rhiza clients like Comcast, Dun & Bradstreet, Chesapeake Bay Funders Network, Conservation Fund, R.K. Mellon Foundation, Heinz Endowments and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation use Rhiza tools to simplify data collection, management and analysis. Rhiza websites like Fractracker and the Chesapeake Commons have won national acclaim for their ability to provide scientists, advocates, industry partners and policy experts with the online tools they need to make data-driven conservation decisions with confidence and transparency. Prior to joining Rhiza and its parent company MAYA in 2005, Ms. Widdows held senior positions in the social finance sector, with the Opportunity Fund and RSF Social Finance advising and funding social ventures, and start-ups. She’s helped mission-driven enterprises around the world grow their businesses while improving their communities and the environment. Ms. Widdows holds an MBA in International Business from Thunderbird.