America's Water 2022 Agenda

Agenda

The Water Opportunity Now

9:00-9:45 AM

  • Welcome to the Forum, Wafaa El-Sadr, EVP Columbia Global & Director, Columbia World Projects
  • Introductory Remarks, Alexander Loucopoulos, Partner, Sciens Water
  • Morning Keynote, Seth Siegel, Author and Entrepreneur
  • Opening Remarks, Professor Upmanu Lall, Director, Columbia Water Center

Developing a National Strategy: What is the Federal Government Doing?

9:45-10:45 AM

  • Michael Connor, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works
  • Sarah Kapnick, Chief Scientist, Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
  • Gloria Montano Greene, Deputy Under Secretary for Farm & Conservation, United States Department of Agriculture
  • David Palumbo, Deputy Commissioner, Operations, Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation
  • Nicholas Shufro, Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Risk Management Directorate, Federal Emergency Management Agency
  • Dr. Candace Vahlsing, Associate Director for Climate, Energy, Environment and Sciens, Office of Budget and Management at The White House
  • Wendi Wilkes, Senior Advisor to Assistant Administrator Fox, Environmental Protection Agency Office of Water
  • Moderator: Adam Schempp, Senior Attorney, Environmental Law Institute

Major Challenges to Water Delivery and Safety

10:45-11:30 AM

  • Margaret Bowman, Principal, Bowman Environmental
  • Paul Gallay, Columbia Climate School
  • Maurice Hall, Vice President, Environmental Defense Fund
  • George McGraw, CEO & Founder, Dig Deep
  • Mayor Errick Simmons, City of Greenville, Mississippi
  • Moderator: Lauren Foster, Senior Writer, Barron’s

 

Coffee Break 11:30-11:45 AM

The View from the Top: Key Macro Trends in the US Water Market

11:45-12:30 PM

  • Kenneth Bockhorst, Chairman, President & CEO, Badger Meter
  • Patrick Decker, President & CEO, Xylem
  • Carlos Rojas Aboumrad, CEO, Rotoplas
  • Karine Rouge, CEO, Veolia North America’s Municipal Water Services
  • Moderator: Rachel Wolfe, Reporter at The Wall Street Journal

Jackson, Mississippi: A Wakeup Call for America 12:30-1:15 PM

  • Thomas Rooney, Operating Partner, Sciens Water
  • John Rigas, CEO, Sciens Water
  • Josiah Cox, CEO, Central States Water Resources

Lunch 1:15-2:15 PM

Sciens Water AQ Test 2:15-2:30

Technology's Role in Supporting Industry's and Society's Efforts to Adapt to an Uncertain Water Future

2:30-3:15 PM

  • Tom Ferguson, Managing Partner, Burnt Island Ventures
  • Daniel Raizman, Climate Analytics Director, Aon
  • Chris Peacock, CEO, AQUAOSO
  • Vikram Srinivasan, Head of Product Innovation, ClimateAi
  • Moderator: John Robinson, Partner, Mazarine

Academia’s Role in Supporting Industry Research Efforts to Adapt to an Uncertain Water Future

3:15-4:00 PM

  • Bill Becker, PhD, Vice President, Hazen and Sawyer
  • Mark Elliott, PhD, Associate Professor of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, University of Alabama
  • Sunil Sinha, PhD, Professor, Construction Engineering and Management, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
  • Chi Ho Sham, PhD, Vice President and Chief Scientist, Eastern Research Group
  • Dr. Julie Zimmerman, Professor and Senior Associate Dean, Yale University
  • Moderator: Howard Neukrug, Professor of Practice, University of Pennsylvania

Successfully Building and Growing a Water Business

4:00-4:45 PM

  • Henry Charrabe, CEO, Seven Seas Water
  • Josiah Cox, CEO, Central States Water Resources
  • Zachary Sadow, CEO, KMX Technologies
  • Dr. Mirka Wilderer, CEO, De Nora Technologies
  • Moderator: Damian Georgino, Partner, Womble Bond Dickson

Drought in the West: The Failure of Agriculture?

4:45-5:15 PM

  • Shelly Cartwright, Deputy General Manager – External Affairs, Westlands Water District, CA

Closing Remarks 5:15-5:30 PM

  • Conference summary, Professor Upmanu Lall, Columbia Water Center
  • Concluding remarks, Alexander Loucopoulos, Partner, Sciens Water

Breakout Programming Overview

9:00am-5:00pm:

  • Antoine Walters’ Podcast Center outside the Foyer
  • Sciens One-on-One Chats – email Meshal Alduraywish [email protected] to pre-schedule a time

11:00am-12:00pm:

  • Seth Siegel book signing of New York Times Bestseller Let There Be Water and Troubled Water: What’s Wrong with What We Drink

1:15pm-2:15pm: Lunchtime Supplemental Programming

In the Atrium:

  • Womble Bond Dickson networking table
  • Mazarine Ventures networking table
  • DigDeep networking table

Breakout Rooms:

  • Addressing water workforce scarcity: Scoping the problem and identifying levers to address capacity and capability gaps – Facilitated by McKinsey invitation only, if you are interested in participating, please email Meshal Alduraywish [email protected] and express why
  • Raymond James Recruiting Room – email Nate Tsimikas [email protected] to pre-schedule a time