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MEET THE PRESENTERS (PDF)

National Outlook on the Future of Water Infrastructure

Bruno Pigott, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Bruno Pigott is Acting Assistant Administrator for the Office of Water.  Prior to joining EPA, Bruno held multiple roles at the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, serving most recently as the Commissioner, Agency Chief of Staff, and Assistant Commissioner in the Office of Water Quality. He started his state service as chief of the State Revolving Loan Fund Program in Indiana. Bruno holds a bachelor’s degree in political theory and economics from James Madison College at Michigan State University and a master's degree in public and environmental affairs from Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs.

Dr. Jennifer McLain, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Jennifer McLain is the Director of the Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water and has 20 years of experience at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in both the Office of Water and the Office of Pesticide Programs. Jennifer joined EPA after earning a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Notre Dame and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Princeton University.

Dr. Andrew Sawyers, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Andrew Sawyers is the Director of the Office of Wastewater Management at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Before his appointment to that position, he served as Deputy Director of the Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water. Prior to EPA, he was the Deputy Director for the Maryland Water Quality Financing Administration, managing Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund and the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds. Andrew has a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University.

Programs, Policy and Perspectives on Water Infrastructure Investment

Investing in Innovation

Heather Strathearn is an Environmental Engineer in the Office of Wastewater Management at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Heather holds a B.S. in Environmental and Ecological Engineering from Purdue University and an M.S. in Environmental Engineering from Stanford University. With a passion for holistic and realistic wastewater management, Heather currently works in the Sustainable Communities and Infrastructure Branch. Her work focuses on wastewater technologies and operations to support small, resource-constrained communities; address existing challenges with nutrient management; and meet new challenges with emerging contaminants.

Protecting Investments in Water Infrastructure

Drew Pizzala is an Environmental Protection Specialist in the Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, supporting drinking water technical assistance and serves as the asset management coordinator. He is a team lead for the Lead Service Line Replacement Accelerators project addressing existing barriers and accelerating progress towards lead service line identification and replacement in 40 communities.

Investing in Water Infrastructure in America’s Heartland

Matthew Holmes is CEO of the National Rural Water Association (NRWA), where he has served rural communities for more than 20 years. Matt began his career in Rural Water by helping small, rural, and tribal communities in New Mexico modernize their utilities and provide safe water to their residents. He worked his way up from the grassroots into leadership at the state and national levels. He is accountable to a volunteer Board of Directors representing 50 State Rural Water Associations and more than 30,000 drinking water and wastewater utility members nationwide. He previously served as NRWA’s Deputy CEO for six years and was responsible for operations and management. Matt holds a Master’s in Environmental and Natural Resource Economics from the University of New Mexico and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Arizona. Matt is an Eagle Scout and a lifelong outdoorsman. He holds certificates in avalanche rescue and rifle marksmanship. He grew up in Los Alamos, New Mexico.

Increasing Cybersecurity for Water and Wastewater Utilities

Nushat Thomas is the Cybersecurity Branch Chief in the Office of Water at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. She joined EPA in 2009 as a member of the Communications and Interdependencies Team and the Preparedness, Response and Recovery Team. Before EPA, she was responsible for managing environmental compliance and permits at the Potomac River coal-fired generating plant. Prior to this, she served on active duty in the United States Army as an Environmental Science Engineering Officer at Fort Bragg, N.C. and continues to serve in the District of Columbia Army National Guard. She earned a Bachelor’s in Chemistry from Johnson C. Smith University and a Master of Science in Environmental Studies from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Lauren Wisniewski is the Water and Wastewater Sector Liaison at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency where she partners with U.S. EPA, other agencies and public and private partners to increase the resilience of our nation’s critical water infrastructure. Prior to joining CISA, Lauren served as an environmental engineer in the EPA Office of Water for more than 20 years. During her tenure, she earned two EPA Gold Medal Awards for Exceptional Service and two EPA Bronze Medal Awards for Commendable Service. Lauren earned a Bachelor of Science in Engineering, summa cum laude, in Civil Engineering from Duke University and a Master of Public Health degree from the George Washington University.

ECONOMICS OF INVESTMENT IN WATER INFRASTRUCTURE

State of the Economy

Jane Dokko is Chief Economist at the Department of Commerce. In this position, Dokko serves as an advisor to the Commerce Department on economic matters and analyzes domestic economic developments. Jane is on leave from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, where she was a Vice President and provided strategic direction for the Community Development and Policy Studies team’s work to improve economic outcomes in low- and moderate-income communities through research, analysis, and outreach. She has also worked for the U.S. Treasury Department, the White House Council of Economic Advisers, and the Federal Reserve Board. Her areas of expertise include housing finance, consumer finance, financial regulation, and local economic development. Jane graduated from Haverford College with a B.A. in economics and received a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Michigan.

Investment Perspectives about Municipal Markets

William J. Fazioli is the Executive Director of the Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank. Bill has over 35 years of public administration experience in municipal finance, economic development, and infrastructure investment. Most recently, Bill was the Director of Planning & Economic Development for the City of East Providence where he oversaw the city's largest ever residential, industrial and commercial developments which were shepherded through the midst of the Covid 19 pandemic. His background includes senior financial advisory roles with the nation's largest public finance firms where he implemented successful municipal debt financings for notable regional clients including Boston, MA, Manchester, NH, New Haven, CT, Burlington, VT and Providence, RI. He previously also served as the Executive Director of the New England States Government Finance Officers Association for over 20 years. Bill earned an MPA degree in public finance from SUNY-Albany and a BA in public administration & sociology from Rhode Island College.

Omar Ouzidane holds the position of VP-Senior Analyst within Moody's Ratings Public Finance Housing and State Revolving Funds Team. He serves as a lead analyst for a diverse portfolio that includes state and local housing finance agencies, state revolving funds, student housing, and privatized military housing. With over 20 years of experience, his responsibilities extend to serving as a rating committee chair and a member of Moody’s ESG task force group. Omar has contributed to the sectors he analyzes through his authorship of numerous publications on a range of topics related to market conditions and credit trends. Before stepping into his present role, Omar was part of the U.S. Public Infrastructure Team, where his duties encompassed the evaluation and rating of U.S. infrastructure sectors such as toll roads, airports, mass transit, and solid waste. His academic credentials include a B.A. from Baruch College and a M.S. from Pace University.

Kristen Reifsnyder is a Director within the U.S. Public Finance department at Fitch Ratings. Her responsibilities include covering a portfolio that is national in scope of water, sewer and State Revolving Fund issuers. Additionally, she serves as committee chair, presents Fitch's rating criteria to internal and external stakeholders, and provides analytical mentorship to junior analysts. Kristen joined Fitch in 2019 and is based in the New York office. Before joining Fitch, she worked at several financial institutions, and the City of New York's Office of Management and Budget, where she served as the Deputy Treasurer for the New York City Municipal Water Finance Authority. Kristen holds an MBA in Finance from New York University, an MS in Policy Analysis and Public Management and a BA in Economics, both from SUNY Stony Brook.

John Schulz is an Associate Director on the Cross-Analytic Practice Expertise team in S&P Global Ratings’ U.S. Public Finance Department, specializing in Municipal Pools, General Obligation, and Utility Revenue. Prior to his work in U.S. Public Finance John worked in other roles with S&P. John is a member of the Municipal Analysts of the Rocky Mountains, and the National Federation of Municipal Analysts. John attended the Colorado State University-Pueblo where he received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in Economics. John has also attended the University of Iowa where he received two Master’s degrees in Business Administration and Business Analytics.