Catawba Wateree Water Management Group 2015 Annual Report

We are excited to welcome multiple industry leaders, experts, and advocates to this year’s Water for All Summit.

Welcome

Chris Carney

Mayor, Town of Mooresville
Mayor Chris Carney served in the U.S. Navy as a Seabee from 1991 to 1999. In 2005, he was elected to the Town of Mooresville Board as the Ward 4 Commissioner, was reelected in 2009, and was selected by fellow commissioners to be the Mayor Pro-Tem. During that time, Mayor Carney and other commissioners recruited Niagara Water to Mooresville. He served in the North Carolina Senate from 2011 to 2013, representing Iredell, Lincoln, and Gaston Counties, and held positions on committees including Education, Health Care, and Finance, while also serving as Vice Chairman of Transportation. Mayor Carney was among the leaders who helped secure funding to realign the intersection of Highway 115 and Mazeppa Road. In addition, he owns a business, Strategic Capital Solutions.

Bridging Generations: Community-Driven Water Resiliency

Fushcia Hoover, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, UNC Charlotte | Harvard Radcliffe-Salata Climate Justice Fellow
Dr. Fushcia Hoover is an assistant professor of environmental planning at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and the founder of EcoGreenQueen, a company devoted to expanding the use of environmental justice frameworks and methods in research and practice. As an interdisciplinary researcher focused on socioecological systems, she centers on environmental justice, green infrastructure, and planning, exploring how people, place, and the environment interact. Dr. Hoover is a 2023–2024 Harvard Radcliffe-Salata Climate Justice Fellow and a faculty affiliate with the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability’s Central Arizona–Phoenix Long-Term Ecological Research site at Arizona State University.

Lorena James

Founder, Invasive Impact Initiatives
Lorena James is an ecopreneur dedicated to environmental resilience, sustainability, and community-driven solutions. She founded Invasive Impact Initiatives to address invasive species via innovative solutions, ranging from upcycling projects to public education campaigns and hands-on removal efforts that connect conservation to circular economies. James is also the founder of Roundtree Resilience LLC, which provides communications solutions and consulting services aimed at environmental sustainability. With a background in Environmental Studies from Davidson College and a Master of Management Science in Global Affairs from Tsinghua University, she brings a global perspective to local environmental challenges.

Elizabeth Pierczynski

Director of Water Resources, Greenville Water
Elizabeth Pierczynski is the Director of Water Resources at Greenville Water, managing and operating the Adkins and Stovall water treatment plants—rated at 90 MGD and 75 MGD, respectively. She began her career in the utility sector and later moved into engineering consulting, working on a range of water and wastewater projects throughout the Southeast. Pierczynski is active in multiple state and local organizations, including the Lake Keowee Source Water Protection Team, the Blue Ridge Foothills District, and the SC LLR Exam Review Committee. She earned a degree in environmental engineering from Mercer University and a master’s in civil engineering from the University of South Carolina.

Hurricane Helene: Relief and Recovery Through Collaboration

David Melton

Director of Water Resources, City of Asheville
David Melton is the Director of Water Resources for the City of Asheville, North Carolina. He has spent nine years with the City of Asheville and has 29 total years of experience in the drinking water industry, holding positions in water distribution, surface water, and water treatment operations across North and South Carolina. Melton is the NCWaterWarn State at Large officer for the American Water Works Association (AWWA) and serves as the Regional Leader for the Endowment and Membership Committees of the North Carolina Water Resources Directors Roundtable. He holds a B.A. in Business Administration.

Catawba-Wateree Lake System: Cleanup, Collaboration, and Future Resilience

Kaity D’Angelo

Community Science Manager, Catawba Riverkeeper
Kaity D’Angelo serves as a volunteer and Community Science Manager at the Catawba Riverkeeper. Through this work, D’Angelo merges community and service to protect water resources. In this role, she manages stream and river cleanups, including organizing Riversweep, and oversees various community science and volunteer opportunities such as Swim Guide, fishing line recycling, and restoration efforts. With more than a decade of experience working on, exploring, and managing programs on rivers and creeks across the Southeast, she focuses on sharing knowledge and passion for water protection.

Pierce Lawrence

Senior Environmental Resource Manager, Duke Energy
Pierce Lawrence is the Senior Environmental Resource Manager at Duke Energy, with a background in biology, water quality, and hydrology. He oversees compliance monitoring, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) filings, and lake data management for hydrology projects in the Carolinas. Before this role, Lawrence served as an Environmental Scientist at the McGuire Environmental Lab, focusing on fisheries, water quality, and biological sampling at Duke Energy power plants throughout the Carolinas. He holds a B.S. and an M.S. in Environmental Sciences from North Carolina State University and UNC-Wilmington, respectively.

Logan Thomas

Owner, South Fork Marine & TowBoatU.S. Lake Wylie
Logan Thomas is the owner of South Fork Marine and TowBoatU.S. Lake Wylie, drawing on extensive maritime knowledge and experience. He graduated from the University of North Carolina Wilmington and the Chapman School of Seamanship and has devoted his career to the boating and marine industry. Thomas holds a U.S. Coast Guard 50 GRT Master Merchant Mariner credential. Raised on the South Fork River and Lake Wylie, he has a deep-rooted connection to the water, fueling a passion for delivering reliable marine services in the Lake Wylie area.

Billy Wilson

Board Member, North Carolina Wildlife Federation | President, Lake Norman Wildlife Conservationists
Billy Wilson is a longtime champion for North Carolina’s natural environment and has served as a volunteer dedicated to protecting the state’s resources. He has been a board member of the North Carolina Wildlife Federation (NCWF) for nearly a decade, including a term as board chair. Wilson currently serves as president of NCWF’s community chapter, the Lake Norman Wildlife Conservationists, and as a commissioner on the Lake Norman Marine Commission, where he previously served as chair. In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Wilson spearheaded NCWF’s cleanup efforts on Lake Norman, demonstrating a steadfast commitment to preserving North Carolina’s natural habitats. He holds a master’s degree in public administration.

The Disruptors: Combating Harmful Species in Our Waterways

JoAnn Burkholder, Ph.D.

William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor & Director of the Center for Applied Aquatic Ecology, NC State University
Dr. JoAnn Burkholder is a William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor of Aquatic Ecology in the Department of Applied Ecology at NC State University. Her research emphasizes chronic effects of nutrient pollution and other adverse human-related influences on aquatic ecosystems, from freshwaters to marine coasts. She is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and has authored or co-authored 185 peer-reviewed publications. Dr. Burkholder’s work has led to numerous awards for excellence in research and for service in water resource protection. She has also been invited to testify before Congress multiple times and has served on several governor-appointed policy boards focused on water resource protection.

Brett Hartis, Ph.D.

Senior Project Manager, Duke Energy
Dr. Brett Hartis is a Senior Project Manager and the FERC Licensing Manager for the Catawba-Wateree Reservoir System at Duke Energy. He manages complex hydropower compliance projects as part of federal licensing requirements, including flow releases, lake levels, drought management, water quality, and stakeholder agreements. Over the course of his career, Dr. Hartis has helped navigate stakeholder-driven management planning and policy, developed species management plans for project lands and waters, and implemented realistic, effective management strategies. He earned a B.S. in Fisheries Science at East Carolina University and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology from North Carolina State University.

Mark Heilman, Ph.D.

Vice President, Environmental Restoration and Advocacy, SePRO Water Diagnostics & Restoration
Dr. Mark Heilman is Vice President of Environmental Restoration and Advocacy at SePRO, where he leads government relations and outreach efforts to enhance policies and resources for managing aquatic ecosystems. Throughout his career, Heilman has studied and developed various management technologies, including reduced-risk aquatic herbicides, biopesticide concepts for aquatic plant and invasive mussel control, and new approaches for water quality restoration. He received his B.S. in Biology and his Ph.D. in Aquatic Ecology from the University of Notre Dame. Dr. Heilman is a past president of the national Aquatic Plant Management Society (APMS) and the Northeastern Aquatic Plant Management Society (NEAPMS) and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the North American Invasive Species Management Association.

Rob Richardson, Ph.D.

William H. Culpepper Distinguished Professor & Aquatic Weed Control Program Director, NC State University
Rob Richardson is the William H. Culpepper Distinguished Professor of Aquatic Weed Science at North Carolina State University, responsible for Aquatic and Non-Cropland Weed Science. Since 2005, he has led research and extension activities focusing on the management of invasive weeds in aquatic areas. Richardson is a past president of the Aquatic Plant Management Society, the North Carolina Vegetation Management Association, the South Carolina Aquatic Plant Management Society, and the Weed Science Society of North Carolina. He currently serves as an aquatic plant management subject matter expert to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Pesticide Programs.

Conserve and Restore: Strengthening Resiliency Through Nature-Based Solutions

Nancy Daly

Water Resources Program Manager, Wake County Government
Nancy Daly is the Water Resources Program Manager for Wake County and serves as Project Manager for the Wake County One Water Plan, a 50-year plan integrating all forms of water to ensure the county has the resources to support its growing population. She has more than 20 years of experience in water resources work across public, private, and nonprofit sectors, focusing on planning and implementing strategies to address water resource challenges through collaboration and partnerships. Daly holds a B.S. in Biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an M.S. in Biology from the University of North Carolina Wilmington.

Michele Eddy

Senior Research Environmental Engineer, RTI International
Michele Eddy is a Senior Research Environmental Engineer at RTI International, bringing over 20 years of experience in designing, creating, and using watershed and water quality models and database systems. Her work generally centers on the development, analysis, and application of spatially based watershed models for watershed management, ecological and climatological analyses, and policy initiative investigations. Eddy leads the research and development of RTI’s Watershed Flow and ALLocation modeling system (WaterFALL®), which supports water use, allocation, and nature-based solutions under changing climate and landscape conditions.

Raven Lawson

Deputy Director of Conservation, The Nature Conservancy Arkansas
Raven Lawson is the Deputy Director of Conservation for The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Arkansas, where she oversees conservation staff and creates strategies to expand conservation lands across the state. Prior to TNC, Lawson spent a decade as the Watershed Protection Manager at Central Arkansas Water, protecting and managing nearly 25,000 acres of watershed land and water resources owned by the utility. She currently chairs the AWWA’s Source Water Protection Committee and serves on various boards and committees for Arkansas forestry organizations. Lawson earned a B.S. in Biology from Arkansas State University and holds graduate degrees in Wildlife and Fisheries Ecology, Environmental Sustainability and Natural Resources Management, and Business Administration.