SWAN 2023 Conference
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Conference Agenda

May 24-26, 2022 I Washington Marriott Georgetown


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"Connecting Innovation to Impact"

​The 12th Annual SWAN Conference will be held May 24-26, 2022 in Washington, DC at the Washington Marriott Georgetown featuring 40+ leading, global utility speakers. This year's theme "Connecting Innovation to Impact" will focus on the economic, social, and environmental impact of data-driven water solutions. There will also be an APAC virtual panel to begin the Conference and two, technical water and wastewater tracks. 

Our hybrid format will enable online attendees to live stream select sessions or view them on-demand. View New Roundtable Topics!

​Scroll below to view the full agenda.
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Join us on May 24th for one of three, pre-Conference Workshops on Digital Twins, Data-as-a-Service, and Young Professionals and May 27th for the DC Water Blue Plains Study Tour.
(Click below to learn more)
Digital Twin Workshop
Data-as-a-Service Workshop
Young Professional Workshop

Keynotes
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Kishia L. Powell
COO & EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT/
​PRESIDENT
​

​DC Water/NACWA
​
View Bio
Kishia L. Powell joined DC Water in May 2020 and serves as the Authority's Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President, overseeing all operating departments, including Engineering, Water and Sewer Operations, Wastewater Operations, Customer Care, IT and the Shared Services cluster.  Her responsibilities include oversight of more than $400M in operating budget and delivery of the Authority’s $6.4 billion capital improvement program.  Ms. Powell came to DC Water from her previous role as Commissioner of the City of Atlanta’s Department of Watershed Management, where she had served since June 2016. As a Global Water Leader, she led the City of Atlanta’s Department of Watershed Management to recognition in the inaugural class of Leading Utilities of the World during the Global Water Summit in Madrid, Spain in April 2017.  With expertise in water equity, sustainable infrastructure management and utility operations, she has leveraged 25 years of experience in both the public and private sectors to successfully serve municipalities across the United States and London, England.  
 
In 2018, Ms. Powell was nominated for the Center for Servant Leadership/Turknett Group Leadership Character Award; and she received the Pacesetter Award from the National Association of Minority Contractors.  In 2019 and 2020 she was recognized as one of Georgia’s Top 100 Influential Women in Engineering Georgia Magazine and received the WaterNow Alliance’s 2019 Impact Award for leadership in closing the country’s first publicly offered Environmental Impact Bond. In 2021, she testified before both the Senate and the House of Representatives on the importance of water infrastructure funding in support of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Climate Resilience.
 
On behalf of DC Water, Ms. Powell serves as the President of the National Association of Clean Water Agencies, representing more than 340 utilities across the country.  Under Ms. Powell’s leadership, NACWA has operationalized their commitment to equity by launching the inaugural Environmental Justice Committee in 2021 to guide the Association’s advocacy efforts around environmental justice both within the municipal clean water sector but also in broader clean water policy.  Ms. Powell is a licensed Professional Engineer in the District of Columbia, Virginia and Maryland.  She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Morgan State University’s Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr. School of Engineering. Throughout her career she has maintained a strong sense of ethics and has distinguished herself as a leader, blending global reach, local knowledge, strategic thinking, and technical excellence to deliver sound solutions.
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Tim Baines
Prof. of Operations Strategy/Exec. Director

Advanced Services Group
View Bio
Tim Baines is Professor of Operations Strategy & Executive Director of the Advanced Services Group at Aston University. Tim is the leading international authority on servitization and spends much of his time working hands-on with both global and local manufacturing companies to understand servitization in practice and help to transform businesses.
His book Made to Serve: How manufacturers can compete through servitization and product service systems has been described as, ‘Essential reading for any companies or executives looking to explore this option for their business’ and provides a practical guide to servitization, based on in-depth research with leading corporations such as Xerox, Caterpillar, Alstom and MAN Truck & Bus UK.
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Dr. Nancy Lin
​LEADER, BIOMATERIALS GROUP
​

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
View Bio
Dr. Nancy Lin is the Leader of the Biomaterials Group in the Biosystems and Biomaterials Division at the National Institute of Standards and Technology.  Her research focuses on developing measurements and standards to enable detection, characterisation, and quantification of microbes and microbial communities, with an emphasis on microbial cell reference materials, biofilm-material interactions, antimicrobial efficacy, microbiome, and biosurveillance.  Nancy holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Valparaiso University and a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University.
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Jon Lawrence
James Webb Space Telescope  - Mechanical Systems Lead Engineer
NASA
View Bio
Mr. Lawrence has been a mechanical engineer at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center for over 30 years. He has been responsible for mechanical, structural and launch-service aspects of the JWST mission since its early studies, through its recent launch, and during its current commissioning phase.

**Please note, that not all sessions will be live-streamed, however will be available on on-demand after the Conference.
  • What will be live-streamed: Digital Twin Workshop (May 24th), DaaS Workshop keynote (May 24th), all panels and keynotes (May 25th), the morning water track and afternoon sessions (May 26th) 
  • What will not be live-streamed: Any interactive roundtable sessions 
  • What will be available later on demand: Data-as-a-Workshop panel (May 24th) and morning wastewater track (May 26th)

Wednesday, May 25th

* The below panel will take place virtually 11-12 pm AEST (Australia), which is also 9-10 pm EST the night before on May 24th. 
11:00 – 12:00 pm AEST   Connecting Innovation to Impact in Asia-Pacific 
Moderator: Mai Flor, Executive Director (Waterlinks, Philippines) 
Speakers: ​
  • Dr. Mongkolaya (Molly) Rungvetvuthivitaya, Innovation Specialist (East Water, Thailand) and Carmen de Miguel, Strategic Marketing Manager, Water & Wastewater (Schneider Electric)
  • Wiljeim B. Laureola, Head, NRW Services (Maynilad Water Services, Inc., Philippines)
  • Ben Steel, Manager Water Service Performance (Logan Water, Australia)


The Conference will take place in-person with select, live-streaming options. 
*All times below are in US EST and content is subject to change.
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7:00 
– 9:00 am           Conference Registration
​
8:00 – 9:00 am          Breakfast Sponsored by Ampcus

Located in the Metropolitan Foyer
​
8:00 – 9:00 am           Young Professional Breakfast Sponsored by Master Meter
Located in the West End Room
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9:00 – 9:10 am           Conference Introduction 
Nadia Abboud, President (ENAY Group) & Travis Kennedy, Group Publisher (Water Online & B2BrandWater)
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9:10 – 9:30 am            Keynote: Kishia L. Powell, Chief Operating Officer & Executive Vice President (DC Water)

9:30 – 10:30 am          Connecting Innovation to Global Impact
Moderator: George Hawkins, Founder & President (Moonshot Missions​)
Speakers: ​
  • Ruben Fernandes, Executive Board Member (Águas e Energia do Porto, Portugal)
  • Reid Campbell, Director, Engineering & Technology Services (Halifax Water, Canada) and Katie Umberg, Senior Management Consultant (Arcadis)
  • Clayton MacDougald, Investment Manager - Water (Emerald Technology Ventures)
  • Genevieve Edens, Director, Impact & ESG (WaterEquity)

10:30 – 11:00 am         Refreshments and Networking

11:00 – 11:45 am          From Small to Emerging: Unlocking the Value of Smart Water
Moderator:  Sarah Buck, Senior Director of Programs (Rural Community Assistance Partnership) 
Speakers: ​
  • André Kowalewski, Senior Engineer - Water Services (Drakenstein Local Municipality, South Africa) and Dr. Alex Sinske, CTO (GLS Consulting)
  • Jose Leon, Maintenance and Operations Director (Johnson County Wastewater, US)
  • Chris Sosnowski, CEO (WaterClick)

11:45 – 12:45 pm          Driving Equity and Resilience through Digital Asset Management          
Moderator: Zeynep Erdal, Integrated Solutions Director (Black & Veatch)
Speakers: ​​
  • Ana Rita Santos, Coordinator - Water Engineering Services Sector (AGS, Portugal)
  • Michele Samuels, Global Practice Manager - Asset Performance (Xylem)
  • Adolfo Carpio, Project Manager, Asset Management Division (WSSC Water, US)
  • Bojana Jankovic-Nisic, Chief of Strategy (Optimatics)​ ​
 
12:45 – 1:45 pm            Lunch Sponsored by Xylem ​
1:45 – 2:45 pm             Interactive Roundtable Session 

Topics & Facilitators:
  • The Relevance and Value of Artificial Intelligence in the Water Industry Ken Thompson, Vice President, Global Technology Lead - IoT and Smart Sensors (Jacobs)
  • We Demystified Intelligent Water, Now Let's Demystify Water Loss Control Jim Cooper, Global Director for Water Optimisation (Arcadis)
  • Improve Sustainability: How to Transform Customer Behavior & Improve Service Rebecca Willey, Technical Solutions Engineer (Innovyze, an Autodesk company)
  • The Case for Putting Digital at the Center of Infrastructure: How can Government Institutions Influence the Adoption of Digital Solutions in the water sector? Christine Boyle, Vice President of Digital Product Development (Xylem)
  • Talkin' SaaS: The pitfalls of government tech and how water can access private-sector worthy software Elaine Kelly, CRO & Co-Founder (Klir)
  • Digital Transformation: Accelerating the Journey to Smart Water Kelvin Hurdle, Water & Wastewater Industry Manager (Rockwell Automation)
  • The Role of Smart Water in the Journey to Zero Pollution Phil Tomlinson, Commercial Director (Metasphere)
  • The Building Blocks & Benefits of a Digital Twin - A Follow up to the Continuous Evolution of the Digital Twin Journey Joel Johnson, Manager of Product Success & Civil Engineering and Paul West, Senior Success Manager - Water Infrastructure (Bentley Systems)
  • No Data Left Behind: Identifying & Generating Value from (Overlooked?) Data Sources Vincent Page, Global Product Manager - Digital Services (De Nora Water Technologies)
  • Becoming Digital to Meet the Demands of the 21st Century Freddie Guerra, North American Digital Water Lead (GHD Digital)​
  • SaaS, Daas, HaaS, Maas: How can I use 'as a service' products to run my utility? Cory Sides, Technology Sales Manager - East (Mueller Water Products)
  • How do utilities influence and support improved public health? Alexandra Wallach, Head of Business Development Strategy (Kando)
  • What are smart water opportunities in the developing world? Fred Royan, Vice President/Global Leader, Sustainability and Circular Economy (Frost and Sullivan)
  • Challenges and Solutions of Effective Data Collaboration from Building Information Modelling Dane Chapman, Water BIM Lead (NEOM)
2:45 – 3:10 pm             Refreshments and Networking

3:10 – 3:30 pm             SWAN Update and Leadership Awards

3:30 – 4:20 pm            Forgot Your Password? Cybersecurity as a Mindset 
Moderator: Biju George, Executive Vice President, Utilities (Ampcus Inc.)
Speakers: ​
  • Jennifer Rebeiro, CIO (Greater Western Water, Australia)
  • Andrew Hunt, Manager of Cyber Threat Intelligence (Bechtel) 
  • Cody Falcon, Digital Technology Leader, Energy Industries (ABB)

4:20 – 4:40 pm            Virtual Keynote: "Taking the plunge into wastewater surveillance standards." Dr. Nancy Lin, Leader, Biomaterials Group (NIST - National Institute of Standards and Technology)
Dr. Lin's research focuses on developing measurements and standards to enable detection, characterisation, and quantification of microbes and microbial communities, with an emphasis on microbial cell reference materials, biofilm-material interactions, antimicrobial efficacy, microbiome, and biosurveillance.  
​
4:40 – 5:30 pm            Out of the Box Environmental Monitoring (Dams, Lakes, Rivers)
Moderator: Ebie Holst, Director, Clusters & Innovation (Cleveland Water Alliance) ​
Speakers: ​
  • Christine Zheng and John Nguyen, Civil Engineering Associates (LADWP, US) 
  • Terry Daniel, Water Operations Director (GLWA, US) and Mahesh Lunani, Founder & CEO (Aquasight)
  • Mike Meyers, Watermaster (Idaho Water District 63, US) and Rick Lucero, Public Sector IoT Specialist (Cisco)

5:30 – 5:40 pm             Summary and Conclusion 
Nadia Abboud, President (ENAY Group) & Travis Kennedy, Group Publisher (Water Online & B2BrandWater)

6:00 – 8:00 pm            Drinks and Light Food Reception Sponsored by Jacobs

Thursday, May 26th

*All times below are in US EST and content is subject to change.
​

8:00 – 9:00 am           Breakfast Sponsored by SUEZ

*Day 2 will begin with two, separate water and wastewater tracks in different Conference rooms until lunch (Only one track will be live-streamed)


Water Track
 
9:00 – 9:10 am          Welcome Remarks
Chair:  Janelle Boelter, Director of Infrastructure Management  (SNWA and LVVWD, US)

9:10 – 10:00 am         When Customers Become Advocates
Moderator: Javier Fernández Delgado, Deputy Director Telecontrol (Canal de Isabel II, Spain)
Speakers: ​
  • Damon Boutwell, General Manager (Pace Water Systems, US) and Dave Johnston, Director Smart Infrastructure (Mueller Water Products)
  • Nina Rossiter, Digital Water Analyst (Bluefield Research)
  • Jonas Kneip Araújo, Innovation Lead (CORSAN, Brazil)

10:00 – 10:30 am       Refreshments and Networking

10:30 – 11:20 am        From Water Loss to Digital Efficiency Gains
Moderator: Rik Thijssen, Business Development Manager (Vitens, Netherlands)
Speakers: ​
  • Nele Philips, Program Manager R&D Industry 4.0 (De Watergroep, Belgium)
  • Rebecca Losli, Vice President of Engineering and Business Development (Missouri American Water Company) and Billy Kelly, Senior VP Business Development - Americas (Syrinix)
  • Prof. Sunil Sinha, Director, Sustainable Water Infrastructure Management Center (Virginia Tech) and Richard Niswonger, Division Chief, Integrated Modeling and Prediction Division, Water Mission Area (U.S. Geological Survey) 
​
11:20 – 12:10 pm         Who Led the Lead Out
Moderator: Meena Sankaran, Founder & CEO (KETOS)
Speakers: ​
  • Michelle Cock, Utility Asset Manager (City of Salem, VA, US) and Greg Brazeau, VP of Sales (Trinnex)
  • Chuck Hansen, Chairman & CEO (Electro Scan Inc.)
  • Eric Schwartz, Co-Founder & Co-CEO (BlueConduit)
Wastewater Track

9:00 – 9:10 am          Welcome Remarks
Chair: Ken Thompson, Vice-President, Global Technology Lead – IoT and Smart Sensors (Jacobs)

9:10 – 10:00 am         The Smart Sewer Journey: People, Processes, Technology
Moderator:  Luis Montestruque, Principal (HydroDigital)
​Speakers: ​​
  • Srini Vallabhaneni, Smart Sewer Officer (KC Water, US)
  • Mary Roman, Integrated Water Management, Technical Director (GHD)
  • Jay Boyd, Director of Market Development (ADS Environmental Services)

10:00 – 10:30 am       Refreshments and Networking
​

10:30 – 11:20 am         Treatment Powered by Machine Learning
Moderator: Alan Tucker, Technology Planning Solution Lead (Brown and Caldwell)
Speakers: ​
  • Katya Bilyk, Senior Associate (Hazen and Sawyer)
  • Kim Ervin, Global Technology Leader for Master Planning & Applied Digital Tools (Jacobs)
  • Xuhui Zeng, Civil Engineer (Greeley and Hansen, LLC)
​
​11:20 – 12:10 pm          A Wastewater Systems Thinking Approach
Moderator: Amanda Siqueira, Co-Founder & CEO (VAPAR)
Speakers: ​
  • Tom Davies, Deputy Executive Manager, PDCA (Trinity River Authority of Texas, US)
  • Samantha Sloan, Drainage Area Manager (United Utilities, UK) 
  • Alexandra Wallach, Head of Business Development & Strategy USA (Kando)


12:10 – 1:10 pm           Lunch Sponsored by Metasphere

1:10 – 2:10 pm           
The Intersection of Data, Communication, and Regulation
Moderator: Patrick Keaney, Worldwide Director of Development (Amazon/AWS Water)
Speakers: ​​
  • Siya Bashe, Director, Commercial Services Department - Water and Sanitation Directorate (City of Cape Town, South Africa)
  • Fionn Boyle, Strategic Innovation and Shop Window Lead (Anglian Water Services, UK)
  • Elaine Kelly, Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer (Klir)
  • Shawn Dent, Digital Water Group, Principal Technical Lead (Carollo Engineers, Inc.)

2:10 – 2:30 pm           Keynote: “A giant telescope built for Space discovers strategies to overcome extraordinary challenges on Earth.” Jon Lawrence, James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) - Mechanical Systems Lead Engineer, Launch Vehicle Liaison (NASA)

2:30 – 3:20 pm           The Future is Inclusive: A Smarter Way Forward
Moderator: Joone Lopez, General Manager (Moulton Nigel Water District, US)
Speakers: ​
  • Calvin D. Farr, General Manager/CEO (Prince William County Service Authority, US)
  • Paige Peters, Founder & CEO (Rapid Radicals Technology)
  • Emma Weisbord, Digital Water Partnerships Lead (Royal HaskoningDHV Digital)

3:20 – 3:30 pm           Closing Remarks
Manuel Parra, VP Strategic Partnerships and Alliances (Xylem Inc.)


Friday, May 27th

DC Water Blue Plains Study Tour
The largest, advanced wastewater treatment plant in the world.
*Now sold out
8:00 am                         Meet at Hotel Lobby to Take Bus  

8:00 – 8:30 am              Arrival at Visitors Center 

8:30 – 9:00 am              Welcome and Overview of the Plant   


9:00 – 9:30 am              Visit to the Central Operations Area 

9:30 – 10:45 am             Visit to Process Areas 

10:45 – 11:00 am            Wrap up 

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Sponsored by:
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  • #SWAN2023
  • Register
  • Agenda
    • Main Agenda
    • Digital Twin Workshop
    • Scaling Innovation Workshop
    • Young Professional Workshop
  • Sponsors