Women in the Field: Profiles

The following is a compilation of several profiles written by women in the field of water quality. The information here has been written by these individuals specifically for this issue of Clearwaters in hopes that women considering this exciting and challenging field will find this information enlightening.

Sandra Allen

As the director of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's Division of Water, I oversee New York State's water quality, water quantity, dam safety, and flood control programs. This opportunity provides me the privilege of working with dedicated staff on the many challenges faced today in New York's water environment. I am especially fortunate in that my position offers me a big-picture glimpse of state and national issues impacting water. I also get to see first-hand the tremendous efforts of so many New Yorkers-inside and outside government-working together to safeguard our waters. At the DEC, I have also had the privilege of working with parties implementing the historic New York City Watershed Agreement.

I was charged with coordinating New York State's activities in the watershed, including control of water pollution, management of water supply, review of city land acquisition, provision for the recreational use of city-owned lands, and enforcement of environmental laws that protect the city's water supply. I have worked to build partnerships with local governments, landowners, environmental groups, and business organizations that were critical to the implementation of sound environmental programs for the watershed.

I have learned from my experiences working in the government that such achievements are not accomplished by government alone. Success comes from engaging people in decision making and inspiring them to action. The purpose of most of the regulations we promulgate, the policies we develop, and the funds we distribute is to give individuals and local governments the tools to protect their environment. I treasure the real, lasting changes that happen when individuals are empowered to ensure the health of the environment and of the world they leave to their children.

Florence Braunius

I grew up in the Adirondack Mountains, and after two years of college and living in a small city, I returned to the Speculator area, got married, and raised four children. I was employed part-time by the Village of Speculator's wastewater treatment plant to do the lab work. I also had a seasonal job with Hamilton County. My work with the county took me to 22 lakes around the county for water quality testing.

When my youngest child was ready for school, my employment with the Village became a full-time position. I am currently certified with the New York State Department of Health as a grade 2B water operator and with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation as a grade 3A wastewater operator. Since 1999, I have been chief operator for the Village's wastewater treatment plant. As a certified operator, I am required to obtain 60 hours of renewal credits over a five-year period. This has enabled me to travel throughout New York and take trips to Loveland, Colorado; Spokane, Washington; Washington, D.C.; and to Chicago, Illinois, to receive a national award.

I am still doing my original job, in the lab, and am responsible for reporting to the regulatory agencies, writing plans for workplace safety and emergency response, housekeeping, tracking inventory for operational supplies, budgeting, and probably many more tasks than I realize. I am in the treatment plant everyday to make observations and decisions on daily operations. I do not get involved with the mechanical work but can depend on capable and qualified co-workers. My workplace relies heavily on teamwork, with everyone recognizing his or her talents and weaknesses.

Living so close to beautiful recreational waters, it gives me satisfaction in knowing that when I go to work each day, I am playing a part in maintaining the quality of the water we enjoy.

Patricia Cerro-Reehil

I was seven months pregnant when the New York Water Environment Association Board of Directors voted me as the ninth executive director and first woman to hold the position. At that time, the board gave me a vote of confidence, trusting that I would be able to balance motherhood with the commitment of being an effective executive. For me, the balance works; for others it may not. My success in the balance rests with the support of my husband, Roy, who is the primary caregiver to our six-year-old son, Ethan.

My preparation to become qualified for the position of executive director started shortly after I was hired. The kind of work that was passing through the office was very interesting to me and peaked my interest in environmental management and, in particular, the nonprofit field. With encouragement from my supervisor, mentor, and NYWEA's then executive secretary Robert D. Hennigan, I pursued formal training and took college courses that expanded my education, culminating in a B.S. degree in nonprofit management from Empire State College and a certificate in nonprofit management from Case Western Reserve University.

After my experience at Case Western, it was evident that missing from my résumé was volunteer service on a nonprofit board. My father fostered my philanthropic interest, as he had served on the Municipal Commission in Boonville and the Board of Trustees for Albany College of Pharmacy. I knew that the service of a board helps to keep an organization in balance, and I was yearning for volunteer experience that could enrich and enhance my position as NYWEA's executive director.

Fortunately, I was asked to serve on the board of directors for the First Universalist Church of Central Square from 1998-2000. Since then, my volunteer work continues, having been inspired by the many committed NYWEA volunteers I work with, and I am currently the president of the Cleveland Historical Society.

As NYWEA's executive director, it is an honor to work with such insightful, talented, and progressive leaders who have helped to define not only my success but also the success of the organization.

Gabriella Maria Circosta

As an important member of the Dvirka and Bartilucci Consulting Engineers team, I have worked with multiple municipalities on Long Island and in Westchester County. I have experience that encompasses a wide range of civil and environmental engineering projects related to water resource improvements, including wastewater treatment and collection, water supply, and related pollution control. I am responsible for the development of engineering reports, preparation of design plans and specifications, analysis of stormwater drainage, and modeling of water distribution. I have conducted land and roadway surveying, prepared water distribution analysis, and assisted in the preparation of environmental impact statements.

I have prepared design drawings and contract specifications and have overseen construction for chemical transfer containment areas. I prepare annual water quality reports for several water districts and maintain a record of their water distribution systems. In addition, I was actively involved in the preparation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Phase II Notice of Intents and followed up with the preparation of Storm Water Drainage Condition Survey and Management Plans.

I have prepared design drawings and general contract specifications for several water booster station modifications in Westchester and Long Island. These projects included the design of a transfer containment station; caustic storage, oil storage, diesel storage, and day tanks; chemical feed pumps; static mixers; tank compliance; and upgrades for several municipalities. One recent project, which is under the construction phase at the present time, included the design and coordination of two emergency tablet chlorination systems for the Westbury water district at their State Street booster station.

I have been working in the engineering field for four years. Presently, I am the chairperson of the chapter's Academia and Young Professionals Committee and serve as the secretary of the Lower Hudson chapter of NYWEA. I have passed the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam, and I plan on taking the exam for my professional engineering license in October 2005. I am a graduate of Manhattan College with a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering, and I am currently working on my master's degree in environmental engineering at Manhattan College. I reside with my family in Westchester County and enjoy teaching piano to children on Saturday mornings.

Lisa J. Derrigan

I am a project engineer with Malcolm Pirnie, in Buffalo, New York, where I have been employed for 11 years since graduating from the State University of New York at Buffalo with an M.S. in civil/environmental engineering in 1993. I am a licensed professional engineer and a member of Malcolm Pirnie's Wastewater Process and Planning Resource Team. My responsibilities include project engineering and management, and technical assistance and guidance for wastewater treatment plant process evaluations. I am also involved with sewer system evaluations, sewage facilities planning, energy audits/evaluations, and water distribution modeling. The most rewarding aspect of my career is working as part of a team to help clients solve problems in ways that benefit the environment. I also enjoy being involved with NYWEA, which provides great networking opportunities to meet colleagues from across the state and discuss environmental issues.

Ann Marie Flynn

When I helped the chemical engineering department at Manhattan College one summer by teaching two courses, I thought I had died and gone to "job heaven." It was and is an amazing feeling to place a complicated concept clearly into a student's head and watch the "oh, I get it now" look come over his/her face. These days as an associate professor of chemical engineering at Manhattan College, I teach a great variety of subjects to all levels of engineering students-but the satisfaction I get is still the same. I know that I am providing this generation of engineers with the tools to make better heat shields for spacecrafts, paint that doesn't smell, disposable diapers that are biodegradable, pharmaceuticals that make sick people better. I spend my days with my "big" kids and my nights and weekends with my own two little ones-and every day I think, "How cool is my life!"

Anita Freudenthal

One of my awards reads "scientist, educator, civil servant." That makes me proud, humble, and happy and describes my busy half-century professional life. The "scientist" evolved from continuing studies through the master's degree and the Ph.D. The more courses I took, the more fun it became because I could pick and choose the specialties. In order to become a professor and teach at the college level, you need to keep studying. Being an "educator," sharing my knowledge and inspiring others to do likewise, is one of my great pleasures. Additionally, I became a "civil servant" as one of the first municipal marine biologists in the country, for the Nassau County Department of Health's Bureau of Water Pollution Control. There, the opportunity presented itself again and again for me to help people, putting events and cause and effect together and making scientific discoveries. So, through the years, everything I had learned and taught became exciting live action as I worked to solve environmental and health problems or mysterious occurrences, and I was called the "Detective of the Seas."

How could I have ever imagined what a wonderful, varied, rewarding life it would become when I decided, at age 14, to be a much better high school biology teacher than the one I had. That was the course I pursued until I was recruited to teach college at 21, changing my career path a bit. And hands-on, feet-wet summer classes at the famed Marine Biological Laboratory on Cape Cod drew me specifically to marine biology.

I married another scientist, and soon he too went on to obtain a Ph.D. in marine biology. Environment and ecology were little-used words back then; but as a college professor, my husband created one of the first graduate programs in the country in marine and environmental science. Many of the students he and I taught are now working for environmental consulting firms, are civil servants in local, state, and federal agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency, or are teaching these classes at middle and high schools or college. And more recently, some of their students have also begun careers in the environmental arena.

The Health Department responsibilities included all the plants and animals-microscopic and macroscopic-that live in all the surface water habitats (Long Island Sound, ocean, harbors, bays, ponds, streams) in the county, investigating whether suspected pollution was really pollution or a natural event and how marine organisms affected human health. Depending on the event, I would be recognized as the sludge or oil spill lady, the worm or dead fish lady, the itch or jellyfish lady, etc. Among my many activities, I became an expert on human illnesses caused by marine organisms, devised a rapid method to identify suspected sewage sludge, and compiled a database with more than 1,800 species that I had seen in our waters. Because of the unusual nature of my work, with so much of it being new, I presented the results at conferences all over the world, meeting fellow scientists who were solving similar problems. And I was honored with many awards from the numerous professional organizations to which I belong.

As members of the Water Pollution Control Federation (now the Water Environment Federation), my husband and I were the only scientists, and I was the only female for a long time. Appointed chairman of the Operators Committee and then to the Board of Directors, I started an Environmental Science Committee to bring together geologists, hydrologists, microbiologists, chemists, etc., working in pollution careers into the group. Many were former students, and many were women. Back then, there weren't too many women schooled in the new environmental science efforts of air, land, and water quality, conservation, pollution, restoration, etc. Now, many exciting committee activities take place with many interesting people participating in this multifaceted field. My proudest accomplishment has been to lead students (especially women) to explore, enjoy, and embrace science (particularly environmental science) as a career, and to bring acceptance and recognition to women in environmental science and water pollution, fields once dominated by male engineers.

Roberta L. Gaiek

When I was in grammar school and high school, there was not a real focus on teaching about environmental studies, or specifically water and wastewater treatment. I had no idea that what went down the drain was actually cleaned before it was returned to our environment. One summer during my years in high school, I had a job working for the Youth Conservation Corps. As part of that job, we went on field trips and learned about the environment. One of our trips was to a wastewater treatment plant! That was my first introduction to this world. Ever since then, I have been totally excited and interested in this type of work. Today, I have an M.S. degree in civil engineering, and I am a licensed professional engineer in New York State. I am currently a treatment plant administrator for the Buffalo Sewer Authority, which is the second largest wastewater treatment plant in New York State.

I have spent over seven years working in management for the Buffalo Sewer Authority. In my job, I oversee the process department, which develops operating procedures and goals for the wastewater treatment plant, prepares reports for regulatory agencies, and monitors the plant operations to make sure we meet our discharge permit requirements. I manage engineering studies and facility construction projects, and I am also a board member for the Western chapter of the New York Water Environment Association.

Ann Kupferschmid

While raising my two young children, I earned an associate's degree in chemical technology. My first position was in a lab at a wastewater treatment plant. After several years there, I was encouraged to participate on an Operations Challenge team. This experience changed my lab job into a career in wastewater. I learned about process control, all kinds of equipment, the collection system, plant safety, and the basics of how wastewater becomes clean water. My current job as an industrial waste technician for the Monroe County Department of Environmental Services is in pretreatment. I inspect and sample industrial discharges, interpret data from labs, and work on special projects such as headwork's loading, odor control in the collection system, and illegal discharges. Over the years, I became more involved in my local NYWEA chapter. I volunteered for the chapter board and have been treasurer for several years. I am currently the chapter representative and serve on the NYWEA Board of Directors.

The people I have met in the field of wastewater have had a great impact on me personally. I have been given support for my training and encouraging words from competitors; I have formed strong friendships along the way. The more I learned about wastewater, the more I wanted to know. So, while my son was in college, I decided to return to college part-time myself and finish my bachelor's degree, this time concentrating on the environment. I enjoy the variety of experiences that are offered in the field of wastewater. It mixes biology, chemistry, and engineering; the result is a cleaner environment for everyone. The environment is one place in particular where a single person can make an impact.

Sandy Lizlovs

I am an environmental engineer for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) office in Syracuse. The short version of my job description is that I help keep the water clean. The long version includes reviewing and approving engineering reports, plans, and specifications for industrial and municipal wastewater treatment systems; writing discharge permits and enforcement actions; and inspecting wastewater treatment plants. The projects range from working with a small municipality in troubleshooting the operation of their sewage treatment plant, to working as part of group on large clean-up sites. My most rewarding experience has been in meeting and learning from individuals at plants, industries, consulting firms, and the DEC. The experience and knowledge they continue to share with me has been a tremendous asset.

Early in my career, my supervisor suggested that I join NYWEA, and that I look for women to serve as my role models. This was one of the best pieces of advice I have been given. I became active in the Central chapter, eventually serving as one of the first women on the chapter's Board of Directors, and as one of the chapter's first female representatives on the state association's Board of Directors. By helping to restart the student chapter at SUNY ESF in Syracuse and establishing the Central Chapter Memorial Scholarship, I helped set the groundwork for the next generation of scientists and engineers. As for female role models, I'm proud to say that several of them are profiled in this edition.

I give my family credit for making me into who I am. I give my father, a chemist, credit for instilling in me a love of science and nature as well as volunteering time to organizations. Being ambitious comes from my mother, a pediatrician. In fact, when she graduated in 1954, my mother was one of only three women in her medical school class at the University of Buffalo. We've certainly come a long way since then!

Karen M. Miller

My college education included a concentration in writing; so taking a position as a technical writer at R&D Engineering seemed natural. I was later excited to be promoted to marketing manager. The position requires the ability to communicate the details of environmental projects. I often say that I take "engineer speak" and turn it into something the average person can understand. In any given week I can be writing proposals, designing presentations, or traveling to industry trade shows to explain our various services to potential clients at the company booth. The part of the job that I enjoy the most is my interaction with other professionals through industry organizations, such as NYWEA, where I act as editor of the Western chapter newsletter.

Kathleen M. O'Connor

My first bachelor's degree was in political science and my second in civil engineering. My master's degree was in environmental engineering. After five years in consulting, I decided to change my focus and take a position in the public sector. As an associate project manager for the New York State Research and Development Authority's environmental research and development group, I currently manage approximately $4 million in projects aimed at encouraging New York's municipal water and wastewater facilities to adopt innovative, energy efficient treatment technologies. I am expecting my first child in November and plan to work on a part-time basis once my son is born.

Uzoamaka Okoye

Immediately after finishing graduate school, I began working as a project engineer with Metcalf and Eddy of New York (M&E). On the wastewater side of things, I work on the Owls Head Water Pollution Control Plant project which, after 20 years and over $300 million in construction costs, is in its final stage of a construction upgrade.

I began my first "clean water" project when I joined the Hillview Reservoir Improvements Project. The design of the Hillview Reservoir is in its third phase involving, among other things, the replacement of all of the sluice gates in chambers originally constructed in the 1910s and the 1930s. My responsibilities include coordination between all disciplines such that the project produces contract documents that are complete and constructible. As the project engineer, I assist in various aspects including budget management, addressing staffing issues, and preparing changes to our client agreement based on changes in the scope of the work being done.

Working for a consulting firm in New York City has allowed me to be involved in large, complex projects from the beginning. As a project engineer, I have had the opportunity to work with many interesting people to bring a project together. I also interact with the client, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, by attending project meetings and being involved in negotiations for contract changes.

Jane Ork

I am an associate chemist at the Buffalo Sewer Authority (BSA), where I have worked for the past 19 years. I started out at a bench chemist in the laboratory. For the past eight years, I have worked in process control. Although the main focus of my job now is to ensure that BSA meets all state and federal regulatory monitoring and reporting requirements under the State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System and Title V permits, my job remains multifaceted. At any time, I may be monitoring process control data, setting process goals, working on plant pilot projects or plant improvement projects, escorting visitors on tours, or doing laboratory work. My job has afforded me the opportunity to learn about almost every aspect of wastewater treatment. I have never been bored and truly enjoy my job.

Patricia M. Pastella

I recall a time during my senior year in high school when I was sitting in the school library at a computer monitor running a program to determine what my career path should be. After entering gender, subjects of interest, subjects I performed well in, likes, dislikes, etc., the program results suggested I become a grade school teacher. As I did not have the patience or desire to spend six hours a day with 20 seven year olds, I decided to follow an educational path that would land me a career somewhere in the environmental field. I enrolled in the Ecology and Environmental Technology Program at Paul Smith's College. It was there that I was exposed to my first wastewater engineering course, which set the destiny of my career. Continuing my education at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, I earned a degree in forest engineering while taking every wastewater and hydraulics course that I could. Eighteen years ago, I started my first job with the environmental consulting firm Stearns and Wheler, LLC, in Cazenovia, New York. I began working immediately on design and construction projects. It was a wonderful opportunity to put my hydraulics and problem-solving skills to use. My most memorable project as a young engineer was an upgrade to the Village of Moravia wastewater treatment plant. I began working on the project during the planning stage and was able to continue with the project through its design and construction. Because I had performed the calculations for the plant hydraulics myself, I witnessed the first time the wastewater flowed through the new facilities with a great sense of accomplishment and relief saying, "Yes! It really works!" Being pregnant during this construction, I recall checking the completion of punch list items at the job site on my delivery due date. Over the years, my work responsibilities have progressed from performing calculations, writing specifications, reviewing equipment drawings, etc., to being promoted to project manager. In my current position as a project manager, I am responsible for all phases and coordination of a project. Projects I have managed in the past range from preparation of engineering reports to multimillion-dollar designs and construction of wastewater treatment facilities and collection systems.

After working for 12 years at Stearns and Wheler, I went to work for the Onondaga County Department of Water Environment Protection as a construction supervisor and construction administrator for three years. This position was a wonderful experience that gave me a view of environmental engineering from the client's perspective. Working for a municipality was very rewarding in that I had a sense of ownership for the work that was completed as it was undertaken for the benefit of the public. This is not to say that consultants do not take ownership in projects, but there is a difference between the ownership for a consultant who works to produce a quality product for a client to make a profit and a municipality that is paying to have a project completed.

Because I missed the varied challenges and fast pace of consulting, I returned to Stearns and Wheler in 2001 to continue my career as a project manager. In spite of the occasional long hours and travel to project sites, I can still say (after 18 years) that I love my work. My career is very fulfilling professionally and personally, especially when discussing the work I do with my daughter, now 11 years old, who says, "You really do that-cool!"

Margit Brazda Poirier

I am the executive director of a small nonprofit organization called the Water Education Collaborative (WEC). The WEC is a coalition of 16 organizations that all work together to help educate and inspire citizens to protect and improve water quality. Clean water is important to all of us, but we need to work together to protect streams, lakes, and rivers.

My workday is as varied as the weather in Rochester, New York, where we are based. I develop educational programs, brochures, and websites; write grants; hire staff; teach at schools; organize large community events; and more. The most satisfying part of my job is working with ordinary people who are willing to spend their volunteer time doing extraordinary things. My advice: get out and meet people who work in the environmental field, ask lots of questions, and volunteer for things that energize you!

Khaivchandra Ramjeawan (NY Rep. at SJWP)

I became part of the New York community in 1997 when I came to the United States from a small country in South America called Guyana. Since then, I have lived the American dream due to my interest in the sciences.

In 2000, I embarked on an amazing four-year journey. I decided to join the Uniondale High School Science Research Program and soon became the senior president of the program. This choice changed my life and shaped my future career goals. Upon entering the program, I decided that I wanted to make a contribution to the environment. Thus, I committed myself to the field of environmental science.

For the past four years, I have competed in many high-level science competitions. My project on the removal of arsenic from soil and water using cost effective and environmentally safe procedures has brought me much acclaim. Most recently, I have been recognized as having the best environmental science project on Long Island. This year, I won eight awards at the Long Island Science and Engineering Fair, "best in category" and "best in fair" at the New York State Science and Engineering Fair, "overall winner" at the Manhattanville Annual Science Competition, and I was the New York State representative at the 2004 Stockholm Junior Water Prize Competition. At the 2004 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, I was awarded first place in the world in environmental science.

I will be attending Dartmouth's Thayer School of Engineering this fall where I will be pursuing a career in environmental and chemical engineering while being involved in undergraduate environmental research. Being involved in the field of environmental science has literally changed my life. I find that my career is rewarding, even at its early stage, because I am able to make a difference in the world in which we live. I strongly believe that we should preserve and care for our planet today so that we may have a brighter tomorrow.

Wendi M. Richards

As a senior project engineer for C&S Engineers, I'm fortunate to be in a position where I can envision solutions to real problems and then lead others in the planning, design, and construction of those solutions. I must stay on top of the latest research and products in water and wastewater treatment and apply it to best meet our clients' needs. From complex wastewater treatment plant retrofits, such as the biological aerated filters (BAFs) in Binghamton, to helping eels climb dams in the St. Lawrence River, I have the opportunity to work on many different projects and with many talented regulators, engineers, architects, contractors, and equipment suppliers. My job requires skills in hydraulics, chemistry, biology, writing, and communication. It's very satisfying to be part of an extensive team that develops a design on paper and then sees it built and function to ultimately improve our environment.

Kathleen Russell

I am a partner in a manufacturers' representative and industrial filtration distribution firm, AFTEK Inc. We serve both industrial and municipal customers and engineers. We offer innovative and responsible technologies to the environmental marketplace. I work with engineers and customers to solve their problems in the most cost-effective and efficient manner possible.

The rewards are many. The greatest of these is the people I work with. The engineers and customers are interesting, bright, and fun, too. We work together to match the proper technology to the application and/or solve a problem. It's a great job!

Alexis Sabine-Mathosian (NYWEA's 1st Major Scholarship Winner)

I am just beginning my college education in the field of environmental studies. Being awarded NYWEA's $10,000 scholarship will help me to realize my goals, and for that, I am very grateful and honored. I have been interested in environmental issues for many years, beginning as early as elementary school with beach clean-ups with Girl Scouts, to environmentally centered projects in high school such as instituting a school-wide recycling program. I decided to major in environment studies after taking an advanced placement environmental science class as a senior in high school. My teacher was incredibly passionate about protecting the environment, and his passion was contagious. I thought it would be great not only to do volunteer work, but also to pursue a career in the field. Although I am not exactly sure what my environmental focus will be in the future, I am sure both my education in the field and my career choice will be rewarding and exciting.

Bobbi Sablinski

I am chief operator of IBM East Fishkill's water pollution control facility (WPCF). I am a certified 4A wastewater treatment plant operator in New York State and have been working at the East Fishkill facility for 25 years. I am responsible for overseeing the operation and maintenance of the WPCF. My daily work tasks include taking treatment system measurements, performing repairs and preventative maintenance on equipment, submitting purchase orders for chemicals and other supplies, and attending meetings with engineers, managers, contractors, and other IBM personnel.

What I find most rewarding about my job at IBM is the challenge of treating a complex wastewater to a high-quality effluent that discharges into a class C(T) brook. Fish, turtles, muskrat, blue herons, and other wildlife can be seen in the brook, which makes my daily work gratifying.

Lorraine Samuels

I'm lucky. My work connects with what I do best (teach) within an industry integral to my values (respect the earth). Guess that's why I've remained in the environmental field for 20 years!

As Malcolm Pirnie's manager of education programs for the past seven years, I'm challenged each day with the unexpected-I like that, it keeps me alert! I design and deliver classroom-style courses and coach "subject matter experts" (that is, our technical staff) to teach and make presentations to clients and colleagues. I manage the firm's learning group, educators who design and coordinate training who often deliver their information via a Web-based platform. I began my career in the environmental field in Pirnie's corporate marketing department, writing proposals, designing presentations, and gaining a broad knowledge of projects and the municipal and industrial clients the firm serves. I have learned much, continue to learn, and feel proud to work for a firm dedicated to protecting our environment.

Ligia Santos

I'm an environmental engineer with CDM, a company that specializes in municipal wastewater infrastructure design and construction oversight. I'm currently the project manager for the upgrade of the South Monmouth Sewerage Authority project in New Jersey and a project engineer for the upgrade of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection Spring Creek combined sewer overflow facility.

In addition to my responsibilities with CDM, I keep active in NYWEA where I currently serve as the New York State leader for Stockholm Junior Water Prize Competition, committee chair for the Long Island chapter's Public Education Committee and a member of the Environmental Science Committee. I was the 2003 recipient of NYWEA's Public Education Award and the 2002 recipient of the Long Island chapter's Achievement Award.

I received both my bachelor's and master's degrees in environmental engineering from Manhattan College, and I'm currently serving as a trustee member of the Tau Chi Alpha environmental engineering honor society.

I enjoy the challenges and rewards of being a woman engineer for CDM. However, the most rewarding part of my job is being able to educate and mentor young women about engineering as a profession.

Milagros Soriano

Nematodes and stalked ciliates. Rotifers and filaments. In essence, it's these microorganisms that perform all the necessary activities to produce a plant effluent of acceptable quality in New York City's Department of Environmental Protection wastewater treatment plants. Ensuring that these bugs are appropriately cultivated to flourish throughout the treatment plant is one of my most enjoyable responsibilities as process engineer in Coney Island's wastewater treatment plant in Brooklyn, New York. Dissolved oxygen, suspended solids, and carbonaceous biochemical oxygen concentrations are among many parameters that are important for a process engineer to monitor. To change these parameters, I work with plant staff (including the plant superintendent and deputies, sewage treatment workers, and engineers) to adjust wasting rates and gate settings.

I have been working in the Department of Environmental Protection's process engineering section for almost four years after having graduated with a B.S. in chemical engineering from Manhattan College. I recently became a licensed grade 1 wastewater treatment plant operator. I look forward to obtaining the grade 4 license. I am currently working on becoming a licensed professional engineer, after having passed the Engineer in Training Exam.

Janine Witko

In my junior year in college, while majoring in biology, I was faced with a dilemma: what career path should I choose which will allow me to use my most proficient skills and provide continuing growth and opportunity? Pursuing the career path of a scientist surely meant a Ph.D. Although I was not sure that I wanted another five years (at least!) of college, I knew I had a strength and interest in math and was encouraged by one of my ecology professors to investigate opportunities in environmental engineering. I embarked on two parallel paths of interest: a graduate degree in limnology and a master's degree in environmental engineering.

I have no regrets as to my decision: a career in environmental engineering. Working in the consulting engineering practice has offered me the opportunity to continue to learn and grow. It has also afforded me many technical, management, and personal challenges. I have worked at three major consulting firms in the New York-New Jersey area over the past 22 years. I've had the opportunity to work in water, wastewater, and hazardous waste; travel to project sites and meetings throughout the United States; and participate in or manage a variety of traditional projects as well as alternative delivery (design-build and design-build-operate) projects or pursuits. Perhaps one of the most interesting projects I was involved in was serving as project manager on the investigation of a leak in one of shafts of a major water supplier in the region. The goal was to identify the source of the leak and design remediation. We sent a diver down 650 feet into the shaft in an atmospheric diving suit to try to locate the leak and conduct some flow monitoring. The effort was a success: the source of the leak was identified and later remediated.

As area manager for Black and Veatch, I am responsible for growing the water/wastewater business for the company in the New York metropolitan region (New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut). For the opportunities that we pursue, I ensure that the appropriate technical and management resources are brought to the project, and that a quality product is provided to our clients. Oftentimes this means reaching beyond our local resources and bringing in expertise from our other offices. Black and Veatch has a staff of over 8,000, including resources in Europe and Asia. I have found these resources to be readily available to us. We strive to provide value and quality to our clients. That also means making sure that our staff members are actively involved in the technical and business decisions and are challenged every step of the way; it also means active involvement by our technical and management staff in professional organizations.

I've been able to continue my involvement in professional organizations at both the local and national level. Aside from the technical, management, and business challenges that we face every day, it's the "people aspect" that I find very interesting. The opportunity to work with a variety of people in solving problems of both a technical and management nature is of particular interest to me.

The hours are long and the work is demanding. The personal challenge is finding the correct balance between family and personal needs and work demands. I have been married for over 20 years and my husband and I have two teenage children, and all of us with active schedules. My husband and I feel that involvement in our children's activities is important. We find ourselves juggling and sharing those commitments as best we can while recognizing our individual professional demands as well.

There are few women who stay in this field, and finding other successful female mentors and peers is a challenge. I've found it's best to put gender issues aside as they exist everywhere. Do the best job you can and always keep learning and growing. Challenge yourself to do better at every turn.

Gale E. Wolfe

When I was in my high school calculus class, I never imagined that 30 years later I would be getting excited about the successful operations of an award-winning wastewater treatment plant that produces sparkling clean effluent water. At Cornell University, during my Soils Mechanics class, I never imagined that the technology being presented to me would assist me with being responsible for a solid waste landfill. I just never imagined how rewarding it would be to work in the fields of wastewater and solid waste such that I was partly responsible for improvements to our environment.

Two years at Corning Community College provided me with an associate of science degree. Three more years at Cornell University provided me a bachelor of science and a master's degree in engineering. My education curriculum was directed towards geotechnical engineering having to do with the heavy construction of roads, dams, tunnels, runways, etc. After working for a few years at a major construction company, I accepted a position as an engineer with the Chemung County Sewer Districts. Twenty-five years later, I am the director of environmental services for the County of Chemung, and I am responsible for all municipal wastewater and solid waste functions. I feel so fulfilled to know that I'm doing something important for the environment and that I have a role in saving the Earth for the future.

I am Gale E. Wolfe. I am a licensed professional engineer with the State of New York. I have a grade 4A certification from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation for the operation of wastewater treatment plants, and I am now a certified landfill operator. I am a past president of the New York Water Environment Association. I served on the Executive Committee of the Water Environment Federation. I am a proud member of the Select Society of the Sanitary Sludge Shovelers and have also been awarded the Golden Manhole Award.

Who would have imagined?

I never imagined all of this when I was working on that calculus homework problem so many years ago. Allow yourself to imagine a meaningful environmental career for yourself. You won't be disappointed.

JuJu Xia

Don't get me wrong-I am not what I appear to be in the photo. You might think I am a laboratory chemist, but that's not true. I am a wastewater treatment plant process engineer for the New York City Department of Environmental Protection. I oversee the treatment of sewage at the Red Hook wastewater treatment plant.

In this picture I am performing a fecal coliform test for the laboratory event in the recent state competition for the Operator's Challenge. The Operator's Challenge is a national competition organized by the Water Environment Federation. It is a five-event competition consisting of three physical events (pump maintenance, collection systems, and safety), the laboratory event, and the process control event.

This was my first time joining a team and competing in the state competition. During the challenge, my team worked together and was graded in the five different events. Although my team placed third overall and therefore will not be going on to compete in the national competition, I enjoyed every part of the state competition and am ready to try again next year.

I received my bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Polytechnic University and master's degree in environmental engineering from Manhattan College. I have worked for New York City for almost four years now. I passed the Engineer in Training Exam a couple of years ago and am working on my professional engineer's license. I am a licensed grade 1A plant operator and am working towards my grade 4A.

Amy K. Zander

I am a licensed professional engineer and a professor of environmental engineering at Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York. I love being an environmental engineer because engineers solve the problems that need to be solved in order to keep the environment healthy and safe. I perform research with my students to figure out new and better ways to protect the environment, such as how to get arsenic out of drinking water or how to remove toxic organic chemicals from wastewater before it is discharged to a river. I also teach the design of water and wastewater treatment processes to engineering students. I enjoy knowing that upon graduation my students will be responsible stewards of the environment.