The Board of Directors of the US Water Alliance announced that Mami Hara will be the organization’s next CEO.
According to US Water Alliance, Mami currently serves as general manager and CEO of Seattle Public Utilities and previously served as the first deputy commissioner at Philadelphia Water. Mami has over three decades of experience in water and land management and advances sustainable practices through: investments, workforce development, cultivating leaders and partnerships, inclusive community participation, science-based decisions and planning, and knowledge sharing.
“I want to thank the board for their faith in me to serve as the next CEO of the US Water Alliance at this critical juncture for the organization, the One Water movement, and water management in the US,” said Mami Hara, incoming CEO of the US Water Alliance in the US Water Alliance news release. “We have so many opportunities to build on the great work this organization has done over the last several years and move the conversation forward on water’s most pressing challenges. Now is water’s time, and as the heart and conscience of the water sector and One Water movement, the US Water Alliance must facilitate common-ground solutions to challenges around investment in water, water equity, climate resilience, and more.”
Mami Hara will continue to serve as the CEO of the Seattle Public Utilities until Oct. 14 and will assume the role of CEO of the US Water Alliance on Oct. 15, according to US Water Alliance.
Mami has served as board chair for the US Water Alliance and stepped back from that role during the CEO search period, subsequently resigning from the board.
The board of directors also announced that Oluwole A. (OJ) McFoy, general manager of the Buffalo Sewer Authority, will serve as the new chair of the US Water Alliance Board of Directors. Previously, OJ served as board vice chair.
“The board wants to acknowledge and thank Alliance Vice Presidents Sara Aminzadeh and Renée Willette, who worked diligently as interim co-CEOs during this transition. The Alliance has a deep bench of talented staff and a committed board ready to work alongside Mami as we move the organization’s critical work forward,” said OJ McFoy, board chair of the US Water Alliance, in the US Water Alliance press release.