PLENARY AND TECHNICAL SESSION KEYNOTES
PLENARY SESSION
Agenda setting from the most prominent figures within the water sector and beyond. Plenary speakers are the top specialists in their field and will provide the overarching narrative for the conference.
Lisa Alvarez-Cohen
UC Berkeley, United States
Lisa Alvarez-Cohen is the Vice Provost for Academic Planning at UC Berkeley. She began serving in this role on July 1, 2018.
She is the Fred and Claire Sauer Professor, past-Chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and past Chair of the Faculty Senate at UC Berkeley. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering and Applied Science from Harvard University and her M.S. and Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering and Science from Stanford University.
Her research areas include biotransformation and fate of environmental water contaminants, environmental microbiology and ecology, bioremediation, biological wastewater nutrient removal, and application of molecular and isotopic techniques for studying environmental microbial communities. She teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses in environmental microbiology, environmental engineering, and biological process engineering, and has co-authored the textbook Environmental Engineering Science.
She is a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology and a member of the National Academy of Engineering. She has won a number of awards including the China 1,000 Talents National Award, the ASCE Simon W. Freese Environmental Engineering Award, the W. M. Keck Foundation Award for Engineering Teaching Excellence, and the National Science Foundation Young Investigator Award.
Steve Kloos
Partner, True North Venture Partners, United States
Steve Kloos is a Partner with True North Venture Partners, a Chicago-based firm that invests in early stage disruptive innovations in cleantech and supports those companies on their journey to transform and lead global industries over time.
Steve is the Chairman of the board of Current, a non-profit platform for water innovation, he serves on the ImagineH2O Advisory Board, and is as a judge for the Global Cleantech 100. Steve has also advised the Singapore Government on water issues, trends, and research.
Prior to joining True North, Steve worked in various R&D roles at General Electric in the US and Asia, including serving as Advanced Technology Leader, being an active member of GE’s venture capital team, founding and leading GE’s Singapore Water Technology Centre at NUS and founding and leading GE’s water R&D team in Shanghai. Steve started his career at Osmonics doing membrane R&D and he holds a PhD in Chemistry from North Dakota State University.
Rick Warner
President,Warner and Associates, United States
Rick Warner, PE, is founder and president of Warner and Associates LLC, a company focused on bringing communities together to solve complex water challenges and create unique opportunities. As a passionate and recognized water leader, Rick has served in numerous national leadership positions. He has traveled globally to share his expertise, insights, knowledge and enthusiasm for water.
Mr. Warner has over 30 years of experience in the public-sector. He has devoted his career to providing water policy development, strategic planning, design, project management, construction management, permitting, commissioning, and optimizing operations. Mr. Warner’s expertise spans drinking water, wastewater treatment, and water recycling. Rick has essential experiences in non-potable reuse systems for municipal and industrial uses, and is presently serving as Program Manager for OneWater Nevada, a regional initiative examining municipal-scale potable reuse.
Keynotes will frame the key discussions and topics that will be addressed during the Technical Sessions.