WATERSTART - Key Persons
Andrew Kingsford brings thirty years of leadership in business transformation across numerous public and private sectors. In his extensive career, Andrew has pioneered major business change programs and is a business and technology and innovation specialist. He has delivered successful reform initiatives across sectors including water, transportation, local government and natural resources and has previously held roles of Strategy Practice Lead, Chief Information Officer and Director with a successful leadership history.
Job Titles:
- Member of the WaterStart Team
- Intern
Currently in her senior year at the University of Nevada Reno, Audrey is majoring in environmental science with a focus on natural resources and planning management. Her passion for sustainability and water conservation aligns perfectly with our mission here at WaterStart.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Australian Committee Member
Barbara-Anne Bensted has had a successful international, multi-industry career in enabling organisations to achieve sustainable business transformations through the adoption of leading technologies, process and organisational behavioural changes. Barbara-Anne is currently Cap Gemini's VP for Digital Transformations. Previous to that Barbara-Anne was Partner, Digital Delta, Energy & Natural Resources for KPMG.
Job Titles:
- Member of the WaterStart Team
- Director, Finance and Business Administration
Danielle is a motivated and driven accounting professional with over 20 years of experience. Danielle's expertise ranges from general ledger and financial reporting to the implementation of complex financial systems. Before starting her consulting business in 2018, Danielle held Controller level and Corporate Accounting positions for large publicly traded, international gaming manufacturers and casinos.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Channels Board
- Board Member / Deputy General Manager, Operations, Southern Nevada Water Authority
- Chairman / Deputy General Manager, Operations, Southern Nevada Water Authority
- Deputy General Manager of Operations for the Las Vegas Valley Water District
David L. Johnson is the Deputy General Manager of Operations for the Las Vegas Valley Water District and Southern Nevada Water Authority. Mr. Johnson has been with the agency since 2004, previously holding the position as director of the Water Quality & Treatment department for the Southern Nevada Water Authority.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Board Member / CEO at Klir
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Board Member / Entrepreneur
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Board Member / General Manager, Truckee Meadows Water Authority
Mr. Zimmerman was named TMWA's General Manager by the TMWA Board of Directors on June 15, 2022. Prior to that, he served as TMWA's Assistant General Manager (June 2021 - June 2022) and Water Resources Manager (March 2016 - June 2021). Before joining TMWA, John practiced law for 10 years with a Reno firm where he specialized in water, mining, and real property law. In private practice, John represented a wide-array of clients in water right disputes before the Nevada State Engineer and state and Federal court and with numerous water right and real property transactions. At TMWA, John leads a highly-skilled and professional team responsible for managing all issues related to providing high-quality drinking water to the Truckee Meadows. John earned his law degree from Boyd Law School and holds a master's and bachelor's degree in resource economics from the University of Nevada, Reno.
Mr. Zimmerman is licensed to practice law in Nevada and is a member of the State Bar of Nevada and Washoe County and American Bar Associations, Nevada Water Resources Association, and the Board of Advisors of the National Judicial College's Dividing the Waters program. John has written extensively and made numerous presentations to local, state, and national bar associations and other professional organizations regarding water law and real property issues.
Job Titles:
- Member of the WaterStart Team
- Operations Manager for the Australia
- Operations Manager, WaterStart Australia
Katie Dwyer joins WaterStart as Operations Manager for the Australia region. Katie brings over 11 years of experience in the Energy and Water Sector and specializes in complex project development and delivery. Katie is keen to continue exploring how technology can enable water resilience and sustainability. She holds a Bachelor of Business / International Studies from the University of Technology Sydney and is currently completing her MBA at the University of Queensland.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Board Member / Interim Executive Director, Governor 's Office of Economic Development ( GOED )
- Interim Executive Director for the State of Nevada
Kristopher Sanchez serves as the Interim Executive Director for the State of Nevada, Governor's Office of Economic Development (GOED). Mr. Sanchez, previously worked as GOED's Director of International Trade and a Congressional staffer in the United States House of Representatives.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Board Member & Australian Committee Member / Former CEO, Queensland Urban Utilities
Louise has been Chief Executive Officer of Urban Utilities since 2012, and prior to this, was the utility's founding Chief Financial Officer. Preceding Urban Utilities' formation, Louise held several senior management roles at Brisbane City Council, including Executive Manager Water Retail, where she helped facilitate Australia's largest water sector transition that merged five local government water and sewerage businesses into Australia's fourth largest water retailer (Urban Utilities). Prior to joining Brisbane City Council, Louise spent 17 years with leading accounting and advisory firm, KPMG. Louise is the President of the Australian Water Association and a director on the boards of WaterAid Australia and WaterStart. As well as being a Chartered Accountant, Louise holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Queensland, is a Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and is an Engineering Executive.
Mr. Thomas is a licensed mechanical and civil engineer in California, with 30 years working in the water,
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Channels Board
- Board Member / Director of Natural Resources, Truckee Meadows Water Authority
- Founding Executive Director
Nathan Allen is the founding Executive Director of WaterStart. Nate developed the initial program model and grown the organization into a globally recognized water innovation hub. He led the development for online innovation knowledge sharing portal, CHANNELS, and opened up WaterStart to its first international office located in Queensland, Australia. Nate has also served on the U.S. Department of Commerce Environmental Trade Advisory Committee and regularly speaks internationally on water innovation. He currently serves as the Director of Natural Resources at the Truckee Meadows Water Authority.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Channels Board
- Member of the Board
- Senior Fellow for Climate Adaptation and Environmental Policy at the Metropolitan Policy Program
Pat Mulroy is a Brookings nonresident senior fellow for climate adaptation and environmental policy at the Metropolitan Policy Program located at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, Boyd School of Law. She also serves as the senior faculty advisor for water resources and technology at the Desert Research Institute. Mulroy also served as the general manager of SNWA for twenty-five years.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Wells Fargo 's Climate Strategy and Innovation Leader
Ramsay Huntley is Wells Fargo's Climate Strategy and Innovation Leader and a member of the Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility leadership team. In this role, he works with business partners to develop new opportunities that support Wells Fargo's $200 billion sustainable finance commitment to lead the transition to a low carbon economy. Ramsay is also responsible for the bank's cleantech philanthropy programs, including Innovation Incubator (IN2) in conjunction with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
Job Titles:
- Interim Executive Director
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Channels Board
- Member of the WaterStart Team
Prior to joining WaterStart in 2013, Rebecca spent 14 years working on water resources management issues for the Southern Nevada Water Authority gaining an intimate perspective of the challenges in obtaining, treating, and delivering consistently high-quality water to a growing community. While at SNWA, she developed and managed the evaporation data collection and analysis program to support groundwater-basin hydrologic budgets and water-right appropriations, scientific studies for species protected by the Endangered Species Act, Migratory Bird Treaty Act, Nevada Revised statutes, and other federal policies, and negotiations for contractual third-party agreements.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Board Member / Chief Innovation Officer, Anglian Water Services
Job Titles:
- Member of the Channels Board
- Board Member / Founder and CEO of Water Foundry, LLC CEO, Colorado River Basin Fund
- Co - Founder of WetDATA
- Founder and CEO of Water Foundry
Will Sarni is the founder and CEO of Water Foundry. He is also the CEO of the Colorado River Basin Fund. Prior to Water Foundry, Sarni was a managing director at Deloitte Consulting where he established and led the water strategy practice. He was the founder and CEO of DOMANI, a sustainability strategy firm, prior to Deloitte.
Sarni is co-founder of WetDATA and is a board member of Flowater, Silver Bullet, Project WET and the Rocky Mountain Rowing Club. He is also on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Water Security.