For Immediate Release

October 12, 2004

Contact: Lori Burkhammer
1(703) 684-2480
lburkhammer@wef.org

OREGON'S J. MICHAEL READ NAMED PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE
 WATER ENVIRONMENT FEDERATION

Water Quality Professional Brings Leadership Experience to Position

Alexandria, VA - J. Michael Read, a water quality professional from Oregon City, Oregon, has been elected President-Elect of the Water Environment Federation (WEF), an international technical, scientific, and educational water quality organization. He was elected to the post on Tuesday, October 5 in New Orleans during WEFTEC®.04, the Federation's 77th annual technical conference and exhibition (October 2-6).

A wastewater professional with over 30 years of experience, Read is currently a Vice President with HDR Engineering, Inc. Prior to that, he was the Director of Water Environment Services (WES), a department of Clackamas County Oregon. From 1989 through 1997, Read was the Director of Wastewater Management for the City of Portland's Bureau of Environmental Services.

A Federation member since 1980, Read served on the Executive Committee from 2000-2002 and has been active on numerous Federation committees. He was the Chair of the Long Range Planning Committee, leading recent efforts to change WEF’s Goverance and update the Strategic Plan. He also served as the Frontier Region Government Affairs Liaison, and on the Developing Countries Task Force.

Read has been an active member of the Pacific Northwest Clean Water Association (PNCWA) serving as President, Vice-President, and WEF Director. He is currently the Chair of PNCWA's Constitution and Bylaws Committee.

In addition to WEF and PNCWA, Read has served as a Director of AMSA from Region 10, and as an officer of the Oregon Association of Clean Water Agencies. He also served on the Clackamas River Basin Council, and is a member of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. He has also served on several Oregon Department of Environmental Quality Technical Advisory Committees.

Read is a certified Wastewater Systems Operator in Oregon and in New York State. He attended the State University of New York at Oswego and received his NYS Wastewater Systems Operations and Management training through the Department of Environmental Conservation training program conducted by Syracuse University's Department of Civil Engineering.

About WEF
Founded in 1928, the Water Environment Federation (WEF) is a not-for-profit technical and educational organization with members from varied disciplines who work toward the WEF vision of preservation and enhancement of the global water environment. The WEF network includes water quality professionals from 79 Member Associations in over 30 countries. www.wef.org