WaterNow Alliance is excited to announce the exceptional winners of our fifth annual Emerging Leader Awards! The award is designed to celebrate, lift up, and support the work of mid-level utility and municipal professionals from under-represented backgrounds in the water utility sector, poised to take on leadership roles in coming years. The award is presented to Emerging Leaders whose work reflects dedication to the values of sustainability, equity, and community engagement in the water sector.
Our 2025 Emerging Leaders winners showcase the passion and innovation needed from water leaders to drive substantial change and ensure equitable and climate resilient water management solutions. Each of this year’s winners will receive a $1500 stipend to support their continued professional development, and will be invited to receive their award in person at the Emerging Leader Awards Ceremony, to be held in Denver, Colorado on June 11, 2025. The winners will also be invited to take part in WaterNow’s Emerging Leader Network, gaining access to dedicated networking and educational events, tailored resources, and a community of rising leaders aligned in their efforts to serve their communities and champion environmental and social values in the water sector.
Without further ado, we present to you this year’s winners:
Aaron Kirkland, Philadelphia Water Department, Pennsylvania
Aaron Kirkland is the Superintendent of the Philadelphia Water Department’s Green Stormwater Operations unit, working to ensure that green stormwater infrastructure projects implemented through the city’s Green City, Clean Waters program continue to provide community benefits and meet stormwater treatment obligations. A graduate of the PowerCorps PHL Program, Aaron played a pivotal role in structuring and expanding the department’s in-house stormwater operations team, reducing reliance on contractors while creating stable, well-paying jobs through an apprenticeship program for residents who might otherwise face barriers to entering the workforce. Seventy percent of the current Stormwater Operations team, including sixty percent of its leadership, have come up through PowerCorps and the apprenticeship program, demonstrating Aaron's commitment to addressing utility workforce development needs while benefitting residents and building trust between the utility and the community. Aaron also serves as an ambassador and champion for the program, sharing the successes and benefits of Philadelphia Water Department’s green stormwater initiative at conferences across North America.
Dani Morgutia, Long Beach Utilities Department, California
Dani Morgutia spearheads a variety of efforts and initiatives in her role as Water Resources Analyst at Long Beach Utilities Department (LBUD), including designing and launching monthly water-wise landscaping and water conservation classes, onboarding and mentoring two California Climate Action Corps fellows, and leading stakeholder engagement on California AB-1572, the state’s non-functional turf restriction on commercial, industrial and institutional (CII) properties. She has also successfully secured over $8.2 million in funding from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, ensuring LBUD’s conservation programs are fully funded through 2027. Through her participation in the 2024 Transformative Water Leadership Academy, Dani developed a compliance support initiative for LBUD’s AB-1572 implementation, now the focus of a Project Accelerator in partnership with WaterNow Alliance. Dani is also dedicated to empowering underserved populations and the next generation of the water workforce. As an agrarian educator and community garden manager at Mt. San Antonio College, she mentors former foster youth, teaching them to grow their own food and guiding them academically through the Guardian Reach Scholars Program.
Tony Searls, Greater Cincinnati Water Works, Ohio
Tony Searls is the Commercial Services Superintendent of Greater Cincinnati Water Works. In his role, Tony has implemented creative and inclusive strategies to ease the burden of outstanding water bill debt on customers and avoid water shutoffs. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Tony partnered with the Promise Network to introduce the PromisePay portal, offering interest-free, flexible payment plans, which maintains a 90% success rate. As pandemic shutoff moratoriums were lifted, Tony worked with Natural Resources Defense Council to test their Water Affordability Business Case Tool. Building on this pilot, Tony implemented a debt relief program that resulted in $2 million of debt relief in two months. His work through the debt relief program and PromisePay portal has resulted in 71% of scheduled delinquent shutoffs being cancelled and has lowered overall customer debt by $8 million. Tony has demonstrated a commitment to the underserved communities in the greater Cincinnati area, using census data to identify disadvantaged communities. He engaged directly with community members and set up additional lines of communication between community members and the utility. He has been involved with the US Water Alliance's Racial Equity and Authentic Community Partnership Taskforce to address systemic inequities in the water sector. Additionally, Tony is part of the Greater Cincinnati Water Works steering committee and serves as the diversity liaison on the American Water Works Association Ohio’s Young Professionals Committee.
Corwin Washington, Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans, Louisiana
Corwin Washington is the Senior Environmental Project Manager at the Sewage and Water Board of New Orleans (SWBNO), where he oversees the Stormwater and Wastewater Treatment Divisions within the Environmental Affairs Department. In his six years at SWBNO, Corwin has worked to improve systems and lift up local leaders while consistently addressing environmental initiatives and driving support for disadvantaged communities in New Orleans. He collaborates with local environmental organizations like Keep New Orleans Beautiful on litter abatement programs, protecting drainage systems in disadvantaged communities. He is also working with academic institutions to find beneficial uses for the by-product of incinerated biosolids from the Wastewater Treatment Plan to keep them out of the landfill. Corwin is championing innovative approaches to stormwater management to reduce flooding, improve water quality, and protect historically disadvantaged communities that are facing the threat of flooding and urban heat island effects. His efforts have been reflected in his participation in the AWWA/WaterNow Transformative Water Leadership Academy, Duke’s Water Innovation Leadership Development Program, the Lincoln Vibrant Communities Fellows Program, and WEF Water Leadership Institute. Currently, he is a WEF Delegate representing the Clean Water Professionals of Louisiana, a Director for the Water Collaborative of Greater New Orleans, and an Assistant Coach for AWWA/WaterNow Transformative Leadership Academy. He has additional committee appointments to The National Association of Clean Water Agencies for Climate & Resiliency, Communications & Public Affairs, and Environmental Justice committees. Corwin is an advocate for those he works with, encouraging career advancement and hiring from within, and serving as a mentor to his peers and colleagues.
Lisa Pace, Colorado Springs Utilities, Colorado
Lisa Pace is a driving force in water conservation at Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU), bringing her extensive background in landscape design, irrigation management, and business to shape innovative programs and policies. Lisa was instrumental in developing CSU’s Water Wise Rules to limit outdoor water waste, saving over 500 acre-feet of water in the program’s first year, and collaborated on the highly successful residential native grass turf replacement program. She manages the award-winning Water Wise Demonstration Garden and has achieved the highest volunteer engagement rates in years. Lisa is also leading a statewide initiative to build a collaborative standard for waterwise landscape education for the landscaping industry. Through a partnership with WaterNow’s Project Accelerator Program, support from the Brendle Group, and a grant from the Colorado Water Conservation Board, this project will ensure that the landscape industry of Colorado has a comprehensive plan for teaching best practices related to water conservation, while remaining inclusive of workers who speak English as a second language.
This year’s selection process was both challenging and inspiring, given the large number of impressive applications, and we would like to share our thanks with everyone who submitted a nomination for the Award. We are so excited to welcome these Award winners into our Emerging Leader Network, and we know that they represent only a portion of the amazing work that is being done in the water sector across the country and the world. We are excited to work with these five emerging leaders as they continue to make a positive change in the water sector. Thank you to Spring Point Partners for funding to make the 2025 Emerging Leaders awards possible.
Once again, congratulations to the 2025 Emerging Leaders Award Winners!