Students and Young Professionals Community

The mission of WEF's Students and Young Professionals Community is to encourage and facilitate student and young professional involvement in WEF and the Member Associations through professional development and leadership opportunities. The SYPC is made up of students, young professionals, academics and water quality professionals.

SYPC Welcome Guide  Explore WEF's
Student
Chapters

Natalie Cook
Community Role: SYPC Chair
Job: Water and Wastewater Engineer
Company: Donohue & Associates, Inc.
Location: Chicago, IL
Member Association: Central States Water Environment Association
Email: ncook@donohue-associates.com

Liz Heise
Community Role: SYPC Vice Chair
Job: Water/Wastewater Engineer
Company: Trotter & Associates, Inc.
Location: St. Charles, IL
Member Association: Central States Water Environment Association
Email: e.heise@trotter-inc.com

Carolyn Klunder
Community Role: SYPC 2nd Vice Chair
Job: Business Development
Company: Trinnex
Location: Conshohocken, Pennsylvania
Member Association: Pennsylvania WEA
Email: Carolyn.Christy@trinnex.io

Bernadette Drouhard
Community Role: Immediate Past SYPC Chair
Job: Process Specialist, Water Division
Company: Black & Veatch
Location: Atlanta, GA
Member Association: Georgia Association of Water Professionals
Email: DrouhardB@bv.com

Guy Yager
Community Role: YP Workshop Subcommittee Co-Chair
Job: Civil Engineer, Water
Company: Black & Veatch
Location: Walnut Creek, CA
Member Association: California Water Environment Association
Email: YagerG@bv.com

Prachi Salekar
Community Role: YP Workshop Subcommittee Vice-Chair
Job: Process Engineer
Company: Black & Veatch
Location: Houston
Member Association: WEA of Texas
Email: SalekarPA@bv.com

Vishal Vaidyanathan
Community Role: Student Design Competition Sub-committee Co-Chair
Job: Water/Wastewater Engineer
Company: Mott MacDonald
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Member Association: Pennsylvania WEA
Email: vishal.vaidyanathan@mottmac.com

Sydney Gard
Community Role: Student Design Competition Sub-committee Co-Chair
Job: Environmental Engineer
Company: Burns & McDonnell
Location: Kansas City, Missouri
Member Association: Kansas WEA (KWEA) and Missouri WEA (MWEA)
Email: sgard@burnsmcd.com

Olga Mikhalchishina
Community Role: WEF Community Service Project Chair (New Orleans 2024)
Job: Engineer
Company: Woodard & Curran
Location: Tampa, FL
Member Association: Florida Water Environment Association
Email: omikhalchishina@woodardcurran.com

Brandon Friedland
Community Role: WEF Community Service Project Vice Chair (Chicago 2025)
Job: Project Manager, WSSC Program
Company: Pure Technologies, a Xylem Brand
Location: Baltimore, MD
Member Association: Chesapeake Water Environment Association
Email: brandon.friedland@xylem.com

Joe Lapastora
Community Role: WEF Community Service Project Immediate Past Chair (2023)
Job: Staff Engineer
Company: Northern Moraine Wastewater Reclamation District
Location: Island Lake, IL
Member Association: Central States WEA
Email: lapastora@nmwrd.org

Monica Morales
Community Role: Water Palooza Subcommittee Chair
Job: Water Resources Engineer
Company: Jacobs
Location: Reno, Nevada
Member Association: Nevada WEA

Remmie Monahan
Community Role: Water Palooza Sub-committee Co-Chair
Job: Regional Sales Executive
Company: Transcend Software
Location: Remote / digital nomad
Member Association: Kansas WEA, Nebraska WEA
Email: remmie.monahan@transcendinfra.com

Hamed Heidari
Community Role: Student Activities Community Chair
Job: Graduate student
School: University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Member Association: Nevada Water Environment Association (NWEA)
Email: heidah2@unlv.nevada.edu

Nicole Cohen
Community Role: Workshop Committee Liaison
Job: Lead Engineer
Company: Carollo Engineers
Location: Sarasota, FL
Member Association: Florida Water Environment Association  
Email: ncohen@carollo.com

Grant Zebold
Community Role: EYPL Co-Chair
Job: Senior Project Engineer 
Company: Lamp Rynearson
Location: Leawood, KS
Member Association: Kansas Water Environment Association
Email: grant.zebold@lamprynearson.com

Hannah Keife
Community Role: EYPL Co-Chair
Job: Civil Engineer
Company: Black and Veatch
Location: Rancho Mission Viejo, California
Member Association: California Water Environment Association
Email: keifehn@bv.com

Josh Donegan
Community Role: SYPC Steering Committee Chair
Job: Senior Engineer
Company: Consor
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
Member Association: Water Environment Association of Utah
Email: joshdonegan@gmail.com

Nicholas Merchant-Wells
Community Role: SYPC Member Association Outreach Chair
Job: Process Engineer
Company: Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
Member Association: Ohio Water Environment Association
Email: merchant-wellsn@neorsd.org

Jayesh Charthal
Community Role: SYPC Engagement Chair
Job: Water and Wastewater Process Engineer
Company: Jacobs
Location: Draper, Utah
Member Association: Water Environment Association of Utah (WEAU)
Email: jcharthal99@gmail.com

Jenny Warren
Community Role: SYPC Outreach Chair
Job: Environmental Engineer
Company: Burns & McDonnell
Location: Kansas City
Member Association: Kansas Water Environment Association
Email: jnwarren@burnsmcd.com

WEF Staff Manager
Ama Richardson
Students and Young Professionals Manager
Email: arichardson@wef.org