Event

Join the Penn Alumni Water Forum for the next edition of our Speaker Spotlight series, focused on Health Risk Communication and PFAS Water Treatment Technologies, moderated by Water Center Senior Research Manager and Penn Arts & Sciences Alum Brianne Callahan.

Speakers:

Brian Brach is a passionate and pragmatic leader with over 2-decades of experience in the water resources field, primarily focused on wastewater. His career path includes vast experience in the consulting industry with the last decade spent as Executive Director leading a mid-size regional sewerage authority in central New Jersey. Mr. Brach is currently the 1st Vice President of the Association of Environmental Authorities (AEA NJ), Vice President of the New Jersey Water Environment Association (NJWEA) and was honored to recently participate inThe Water Center's 2023/2024 Water Leadership Collaborative cohort. In his capacity in these various organizations, Mr. Brach has been on the forefront of communicating the significant consequences that PFAS regulations pose on the wastewater field, in NJ and abroad. Addressing PFAS in the wastewater sector poses many circular challenges that require innovative solutions (and financing!) to address. Communicating these challenges effectively will be paramount for successful legislative, regulatory and practical outcomes.

José N. Hernández, P.E. is the Manager of Engineering for Cleveland Water in Cleveland, Ohio. Cleveland Water is a municipally held regional water utility. It is the 10th largest water utility in the United States, serving 1.4 million customers in 78 municipalities in northeast Ohio. José has authored technical articles in engineering and water industry publications, as well as a chapter in the Steel Tank Handbook for the American Water Works Association (AWWA). He has over 30 years of experience in the utility engineering field; has worked on or managed over 100 design and construction projects; and has patents pending in the areas of liquid tank mixing and valves.
He was born in Caguas, Puerto Rico, where he graduated Valedictorian of his high school class at Notre Dame High School. He received a degree in Bioengineering, with a concentration in Mechanical Engineering, from the University of Pennsylvania. Jose is a frequent motivational speaker to schoolchildren throughout the community. He has also been a mentor to dozens of high school and college engineering-oriented students for the past 20 years.