December 13, 2019

Nicole Miller, Principal of MnM Consulting, is a communications professional with nearly two decades of experience creating targeted publicity and marketing campaigns for a range of clients in private industry and the nonprofit sector. MnM Consulting specializes in media development, digital and print publishing, brand strategy, content creation, and clean energy/sustainability education for business and general audiences. MnM Consulting works with several small business, government, and non-profit clients on brand development, project management, event coordination and product deployment. Ms. Miller has a BA in Arts, Media, and Culture from the University of Washington and a Master of Science in Publishing from Pace University in New York. Ms. Miller is a resident of Newark, NJ, a member of the Newark Environmental Commission advising the Mayor and City Council on sustainability issues, Chair of the Newark Green Team, and Co-Chair of NewarkDIG (Doing Infrastructure Green), which is dedicated to resilient and sustainable municipal stormwater management.

She serves as co-chair for the Jersey Water Works Steering Committee.

George Hawkins is the founder and CEO of Moonshot Missions. He was the General Manager of DC Water, where he served for eleven years, including several as a Board member. During his tenure, he became well known across the water sector for transforming DC Water into an innovative, customer-driven enterprise, while tripling its investment in clean water. DC Water’s innovations ranged from award winning Green Infrastructure and a $500 million investment in clean energy, to creative social media campaigns and patents for new treatment technologies that require less energy and chemicals but achieve better results. DC Water issued the nation’s first century bond, world’s first environmental impact bond, and spearheaded programs to support low-income customers and provide meaningful job opportunities for District residents.

Mr. Adeem, a Newark native, began working for the City of Newark in 1991 in the Department of Engineering. In 2013, Adeem was promoted to superintendent of public works, where he oversaw daily maintenance operations of the Department of Water and Sewer Utilities. In 2018, he received his certification as a Public Works Manager and was appointed to his present position. He was a key player in various municipal projects, including the Queen Ditch Restoration Project, which helped address chronic flooding along Frelinghuysen Avenue that has plagued the area for more than 30 years. Director Adeem is credited with helping to rebrand the Department of Water and Sewer Utilities and upgrading the city’s infrastructure as it works to replace every lead service line. He is a dedicated public servant who has, and continues to, give back to his native community.

Andrew Kricun is a Managing Director with Moonshot Missions, a non-profit focused on providing technical assistance to water utilities in underserved communities. Prior to that, he served as Executive Director and Chief Engineer of the Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority, operators of an 80 million gallon per day wastewater treatment plant in Camden, NJ. He has 35 years of wastewater and biosolids management experience. He graduated with honors from Princeton University with a degree in chemical engineering. He also holds a professional engineer’s license in civil engineering and is a board-certified environmental engineer as well.

Andy serves on the USEPA’s National Environmental Justice Advisory Council and also New Jersey Environmental Justice Advisory Council.  He previously served on the board of the National Association of Clean Water Agencies and as the chair of its Utility of the Future committee and the Environmental Justice committee. He was the recipient of the Praxis Award for Professional Ethics, the President’s Award from the National Association of Clean Water Agencies, the One Water Prize from the US Water Alliance, and Environmental Quality Awards from the United States Environmental Protection Agency. He was also chosen as governmental engineer of the year by the NJ Chapter American Society of Civil Engineers in 2018.

He serves as co-chair for the Jersey Water Works Steering Committee.

Dr. Obropta was an environmental consultant for 12 years at Omni Environmental Corporation before joining Rutgers University. His experience includes watershed restoration, onsite wastewater treatment system design and management, wasteload allocations and TMDL studies, stormwater management, wetland design, effluent dilution analyses, longshore sediment transport, computer aided design, and geographic information systems. Dr. Obropta also teaches Bioresource Engineering Design I and II with the Department of Environmental Sciences at the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences at Rutgers University.

Jennifer Gonzalez, AICP, CFM, LEED-GA, ENV SP, is the Director of Environmental Services and Chief Sustainability Officer for the City of Hoboken, New Jersey where she oversees public works including parks, public property, waste management, and green stormwater infrastructure projects. She advances asset management, sustainability in municipal operations across multiple departments, and resiliency projects such as ResilienCity Park. She also supports emergency management, the Hoboken drinking water utility, and coordination with energy and sewer utilities. Before joining the City of Hoboken, Ms. Gonzalez was a Principal Planner with Louis Berger and Environmental Planner with the County of Passaic, New Jersey. She holds professional certifications from the American Planning Association (AICP), National Assocation of Floodplain Managers (CFM), U.S. Green Building Certification Institute (LEED-Green Associate), and New Jersey Board of Professional Planners (PP). She earned her M.A. in Environmental Policy from Lehigh University.

Donald C. Shields, PE, is Vice President and Director of Engineering for New Jersey American Water, the largest investor-owned water utility in the state, providing high-quality and reliable water and/or wastewater to approximately 2.8 million people. Shields oversees a staff of over 50 professionals including construction managers, engineers, planners and geographic information systems (GIS) specialists. He is directly responsible for delivering New Jersey American Water’s capital investment program of more than $350 million per year. In his role, he also provides oversight to engineering activities in the other Eastern Division states, which includes New York, Virginia and Maryland.

Shields has more than 25 years of industry experience, joining American Water in 2001. Prior to his current role, he served as Engineering Director of New Business Development for American Water’s Corporate Engineering Group. While there, he supported American Water’s regulated and market-based businesses, offering technical guidance and expertise for project development and execution, including large water, wastewater and solids digestion/management/handling/energy production.  

He also spent ten years at American Water’s former subsidiary, Applied Water Management, where he managed a team of 30 construction managers and engineers. He has significant experience with designing, building and commissioning membrane bio reactors, a key technology used in water reclamation and reuse. 

Prior to joining American Water, Shields spent ten years working for Bergen County Utilities Authority in Northern New Jersey, where he worked on capital improvement projects ranging from automated meter systems and force main rehabilitation, to wastewater treatment plant upgrades.

Shields is a licensed Professional Engineer in New Jersey, and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Villanova University.

Mark Mauriello began his career with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) in May 1980. He was appointed as land use regulation director in 2002 and assistant commissioner in 2006, and in November 2008 he became NJDEP commissioner, replacing newly confirmed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson. Upon his retirement from NJDEP in January 2010, he formed his own consulting firm, specializing in coastal zone management, floodplain management, land use regulation, and regulatory compliance. He then accepted a position as director of environmental affairs and planning with Edgewood Properties, where he is responsible for overseeing the company’s environmental programs and serving as an advisor on regulatory issues and property acquisitions.

Jane Kenny is founder and managing partner of The Whitman Strategy Group, an all-women firm specializing in environmental and energy issues and government relations. Previously, she served as a regional administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Ms. Kenny has been a top advisor to three governors of New Jersey and served as New Jersey’s commissioner for the Department of Community Affairs. She serves on the board of directors for New Jersey Resources. She is a trustee for New Jersey Future and a visiting associate at the Eagleton Institute at Rutgers University.