Event

While the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides $50 billion to upgrade America’s drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater systems, much more will be needed to address the nation’s water infrastructure needs amid a changing climate and shifts in population. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates the US will need almost $900 billion in water investment over the next twenty years, plus hundreds of billions more for maintenance. These sums will burden federal, state and local budgets but also pose new opportunities—and risks—for investors in water projects.

Our panel of experts will include Doug Evanson, executive vice president and chief financial officer, San Antonio Water System; Howard Neukrug, executive director, The Water Center at the University of Pennsylvania; Nicole Lick, senior life scientist, water division, United States Environmental Protection Agency Mid-Atlantic Region; and Reese Tisdale, president and chief executive officer, Bluefield Research.

Moderated by William Glasgall, Volcker Alliance senior director, public finance and Penn IUR fellow, and Susan Wachter, co-director of Penn IUR, this briefing is the fifty-first in a series of sixty-minute online conversations featuring experts from the national research networks of the Volcker Alliance and Penn IUR, along with other leading academics, economists, and federal, state, and local leaders.

Special Briefings are made possible by funding from The Century Foundation, the Volcker Alliance, and members of the Penn IUR Advisory Board.

Recordings of the entire Special Briefings series are available on the Volcker Alliance website: SPECIAL BRIEFING SERIES ARCHIVE.

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Doug Evanson was named Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at San Antonio Water System in April 2005.  In this capacity he is responsible for the treasury, finance, purchasing, supply, and accounting activities of this municipally owned utility serving more than 2 million people in and around San Antonio.  He also oversees the organization’s Information Systems department.

Prior to joining SAWS, Evanson worked in the private sector having held management positions with UtiliCorp United and Black & Veatch while also having served as the Chief Financial Officer for United Energy located in Melbourne, Australia.  He has served on a number of Boards including the Greater San Antonio YMCA, the Montessori School of San Antonio and the San Antonio Chapter of Financial Executives International.  He holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and a Bachelor of Science (Accounting and Business Administration) from the University of Kansas.  He and his wife Annette have two sons.  

Howard Neukrug is the former Commissioner and CEO of Philadelphia Water, where he was responsible for all aspects of utility operations, environmental compliance, engineering, financing, budgeting, capital and strategic planning, customer service, human resources, and legal and policy decisions for its drinking water/wastewater/stormwater system serving 2.3 million people. At Penn, he is the director of the Water Center and teaching courses on the water industry and the role of water in urban sustainability and resiliency. He is also a Principal with CASE Environmental, LLC, where he provides consulting services to cities and utilities in urban planning, systems design, sustainability, organizational development, strategic planning and trends and innovations in the global water industry. 

Nicole Lick is a Senior Life Scientist in the Water Division of Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 3 office in Philadelphia, PA.  She serves as an advisor on the Delaware River Basin.  She is a lead for engaging communities facing environmental injustice and for diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.   She serves as principal for continuous improvement and serves as the Water Reuse liaison.  Nicole uses her prior experience at the Federal Emergency Management Agency to integrate hazard mitigation and climate adaptation into water quality improvement.  She holds Master’s in Environmental Planning and Natural Resource Management from University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor’s of Art in Government and Philosophy from Franklin and Marshall College. In her free time, Nicole likes to spend time outdoors, hiking, reading, running, enjoying live music, walking her dog or relaxing on the beach.  

Reese Tisdale is the President & CEO of Bluefield Research, a leading market research and advisory firm specializing in water markets and company strategies. Prior to founding Bluefield, Reese held positions at IHS (now S&P Global), Fisher Scientific, Sunoco, and several environmental consultancies, focusing on soil and groundwater remediation for oil and gas companies. Additionally, he dedicated three years as a Peace Corps volunteer in El Salvador, leading water supply and agriculture projects following the country’s civil war. Reese received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, and a Master of International Business Administration from Thunderbird in Phoenix, Arizona.