EBC Water Forum – Series on Sustainable Water Resources Management

With in the context of Sustainable Water Resources Management, this first in a series of EBC Water Forum programs will explore the issues associated with expanding the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority’s (MWRA) service area to include municipalities that are in need of additional sources of drinking water. The point and counter point will be provided by MWRA Executive Director Frederick Laskey and Amy Vickers respectively.
Moderator:
James Stergios
Executive Director
Pioneer Institute

Keynote Speakers:
Frederick A. Laskey
Executive Director
Massachusetts Water Resources Authority

Amy Vickers
President
Amy Vickers & Associates, Inc.

Registration and Coffee – 7:30 a.m.
Program – 8:00 a.m. ? 10:00 a.m.

Participants
James S. Stergios is Pioneer’s Executive Director. Prior to joining Pioneer, he was Chief of Staff and Undersecretary for Policy in the Commonwealth’s Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, where he chaired the Water Policy Task Force, and drove the Secretariat’s efforts on land protection, smart growth, regulatory and permit reform, and other major priorities. For the Office for Commonwealth Development, he devised urban redevelopment strategies, led the state’s reinvestment strategy in the city of Springfield, and played a major role in the development of Commonwealth Capital. Stergios had served as Pioneer’s Research Director from 2000 to 2002, during which time he directed, authored and co-authored policy studies and articles on such public policy issues as regulatory reform, housing, public construction, government efficiency, education, judicial reform, and the human services. Stergios graduated summa cum laude and holds a doctoral degree in Political Science from Boston University.
Frederick A. Laskey is the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority. MWRA?s projects include the $3.8 billion Boston Harbor Project to construct the massive new wastewater treatment plant on Deer Island and the $1.7 billion Integrated Water Supply Improvement Program to improve the reliability and quality of the region’s water supply, and to ensure that all the stringent requirements of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act are met. Mr. Laskey oversees a staff of 1,260 MWRA employees working to improve the day-to-day operations of metropolitan Boston?s regional water and sewer services to its 61 customer communities. He was appointed Executive Director in May 2001.
Before joining MWRA in June 2001, Mr. Laskey served as Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Revenue from 1999 to 2001, managing the state?s tax administration, child support enforcement and local services for the Commonwealth. He served as Secretary of Administration and Finance from 1998 to 1999. As Secretary, he was the Governor?s chief fiscal advisor and had oversight of the $20 billion state budget and managed the Cabinet Secretariat that oversees the entire state workforce. Before joining the Cabinet, Mr. Laskey served as Senior Deputy Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Revenue from 1994 to 1998. He also was designated by the Commissioner to serve on the Board of Bank Incorporation. Mr. Laskey also served as Assistant Secretary in the Executive Office for Administration and Finance from 1993 to 1994.
Mr. Laskey received a Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in Political Science and History from the University of Massachusetts, Boston in 1979.

Amy Vickers is a nationally recognized water conservation expert and author of the award-winning Handbook of Water Use and Conservation: Homes, Landscapes, Businesses, Industries, Farms (WaterPlow Press, www.waterplowpress.com). She is also an engineer and president of Amy Vickers & Associates, Inc. based in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Ms. Vickers began her career working for the New York and Boston water systems. She quickly became recognized on the national scene for her ground-breaking research and advocacy efforts to establish national water efficiency standards for plumbing fixtures. Her recommended standards for low-volume fixtures were adopted under the U.S. Energy Policy Act of 1992 (?EPAct?) and are now required nationwide. America will save an estimated 6 to 9 billion gallons of water a day by 2020 as a result of the EPAct fixture standards?enough to meet the water needs of more than six major U.S. cities.

Today, Ms. Vickers works on a diverse range of water policy and conservation projects with clients in the U.S., Canada and overseas. For nearly 20 years, she has traveled extensively to advise and assist over 100 water supply systems as well as government agencies, public officials, research institutions, businesses and other organizations on ways to better manage, protect, and otherwise stop wasting water. Some of her recent clients include the Arizona Governor?s Drought Task Force, Dallas Public Utilities, Orange County Utilities (Florida), Rutgers University, and The Nature Conservancy?s Water Sustainability Certification Project.

Now in its second printing, Ms. Vickers?s highly acclaimed Handbook of Water Use and Conservation is known by many as ?The bible of water conservation.? The American Water Works Association (AWWA) calls it ?The most thorough reference ever published on water use and conservation. Everything you need to know. A gold mine of resources.? Environmental Building News hails it ?A superb reference. Anyone working on conservation programs for governments or institutions will find it invaluable, and many others will benefit from it as well.? Library Journal gave the book its coveted star rating.

In addition to her book, Ms. Vickers has published more than 50 technical papers and articles in publications that include the Journal of the American Water Works Association and magazines as diverse as Fine Homebuilding, Building Operating Management and Greenhouse Grower. She has also contributed to books published by W.W. Norton and Scholastic.

A frequent public speaker at water conferences coast-to-coast, Amy?s ideas and observations have a growing audience that has included CNN, The New York Times, and the White House. She is featured as one of the notable women in the water industry in the March 2006 special collector?s edition issue of Journal AWWA that celebrates the 125^th anniversary issue of the American Water Works Association.

Ms. Vickers holds an M.S. in engineering from Dartmouth College and a B.A. in philosophy from New York University.