People Behind the Pipes

How did you get your start in the water sector? 

After high school, I attended CSU Monterey Bay while working part-time at hotels to support myself. Ten years later, I was an Assistant General Manager at a beachfront resort in Monterey. However, I knew that something was missing in my career. My then-fiancé encouraged me to go back to school to find a career path that I found more rewarding. 

A family friend told me about working in the water industry, so I enrolled in a community college for several semesters before taking my first treatment plant operator state exam. After a yearlong internship at a major Bay Area water utility, I was hired by Dublin San Ramon Services District in 2019.  

Ever since I was a child, I’ve always been fascinated by water and how it travels. In hindsight, I know that my lifelong interest should have led me to explore water sector careers sooner. However, I grew up with very modest means and barely any exposure to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers. Because of this, I now consider it my duty to help expose others to water sector career tracks. 

What were your main learning objectives for attending WEFTEC? How will you apply what you learn in your work, and share this knowledge with your coworkers and the community? 

At WEFTEC, I knew I would have the opportunity to meet water professionals from across the United States. Working in drought-prone California, I have always been curious how water professionals in arid desert states handle diminishing supplies. On the flip side, I was also looking forward to speaking with professionals from regions prone to freezing temperatures and heavy rainfall, which create their own water management challenges.  

I consider myself a “human sponge” who can spark a conversation with anybody, so this conference was right up my alley. I cannot wait to share anecdotes about operational challenges and successes from around the country with our customers, when I lead tours of DSRSD’s Regional Wastewater Treatment Facility. Water treatment and conveyance are one of the most important cornerstones of civilization. However, there is no “one size fits all” solution to water management because so many factors depend on an area’s climate and available local water sources.  

What are some highlights from your experience at WEFTEC?  

I found myself in awe of the immense scale of WEFTEC.  It was the first time in my career that I felt like I was “in the room where it happens”. For almost a week, I was surrounded by researchers, scientists, engineers, business leaders, and policy makers. Seeing the way water-related issues permeate every level of government was striking. Over a dozen representatives from various U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) departments and regional water boards from around the country presented on topics that spanned the gauntlet of water in all its forms.