GLWA Leadership

Mr. Hendrix has extensive experience in municipal government, finance and real estate, having served as Deputy Mayor and Chief of Staff for former Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer. During his tenure with the City, Mr. Hendrix led strategic policy development and planning and assisted the City in achieving its first balanced budget in decades, as well as an unprecedented and continuous upgrading of the City’s national bond rating.  He is a member of the Southeastern Michigan Regional Transit Authority Board of Directors, and a long-time community activist who co-founded the Rosedale-Grandmont Little League Baseball Program.

Mr. Baker is the Chief Deputy for the Macomb County Public Works Commissioner, Candice Miller, where he oversees a staff of 60 storm water and waste water professionals. He formerly served as the Finance and Budget Director for the City of Sterling Heights for more than 30 years. In that capacity, he directed the City’s financing, procurement and debt management initiatives, and worked extensively on water and sewer rate setting process, which has resulted in Sterling Heights achieving efficiencies and lowering costs, as well as on pension administration. In addition, Mr. Baker has worked regionally serving in numerous capacities, including on a municipal revenue task force established by the Governor’s Office to address ongoing problems. He has also worked closely with the Southeastern Michigan Council of Governments in similar capacities. Mr. Baker earned a Master of Business Administration from Wayne State University and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Political Science from the University of Michigan.

Dr. Walker-Griffea has over 30 years of experience in higher education and is the current president of Mott Community College. Active in the Flint community, she is a member of the Greater Flint Health Coalition Board of Directors, McLaren-Flint Board of Trustees, Metro Community Development Board of Directors, Carriage Town Ministries Board of Directors and the Flint Chapter of the NAACP. In addition, she is Chair of the Flint & Genesee Group Governing Board, President of the Ivy House Foundation, and Chair of the Michigan Community College Association Board of Directors. Dr. Walker-Griffea formerly served as a member of the Flint City Water Response Team. Dr. Walker-Griffea earned her Bachelor of Science from Oklahoma State University in Broadcast Communications, Master of Education from Virginia State University, and Ph.D. in Child Development from Texas Woman’s University. She was appointed to the GLWA Board of Directors by Governor Gretchen Whitmer to represent areas served by the Authority outside of the city of Detroit and the counties of Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb.

Jaye Quadrozzi is an attorney with over 15 years of experience in complex commercial litigation in both federal and state courts. She is a member of the state bars of Michigan, Illinois and California. In addition to her appointment to the Great Lakes Water Authority Board of Directors, since 2013, Ms. Quadrozzi has also served as the Oakland County representative on the Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority Board of Commissioners.

Ms. Quadrozzi earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy from the University of Michigan, and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Michigan Law School. Among the many honors and awards she has received, Ms. Quadrozzi was named among the 2018 Michigan Top 25 Women in Business Attorneys by Super Lawyers.

John J. Zech has over 40 years of public service experience, serving in leadership roles with a number of communities across southeast Michigan including the cities of Wayne, Allen Park, Lincoln Park, Plymouth and Southgate.

Mr. Zech is active in the community, currently serving on the St. Mary of Wayne Catholic Church Finance Council and as a member of the Growth Works, Inc. Board of Directors, and previously served on the Board of Directors for the Michigan Municipal League. Zech has earned Life Membership status with the International City Management Association. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Detroit.

He was appointed to the Board ​by Wayne County Executive Warren Evans in March 2020.

Mr. Brown was appointed the Director of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) in October 2015. Under his leadership, DWSD has been transformed to a customer-centric, fiscally responsible organization that is amid a capital improvement program to upgrade Detroit’s local water and sewer systems. Even before the COVID-19 Pandemic, Mr. Brown began shifting the department from an in-person customer service model to an efficient, responsive and technologically driven, cashless operation. Further, he has spearheaded water affordability efforts, which coupled with these other improvements resulted in a 93 percent collection rate. Mr. Brown serves on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Local Government Advisory Council. Previously, he was the City of Detroit’s Group Executive for Operations and Chief Operating Officer under Mayor Mike Duggan, charged with ensuring continued improvement of city services. He also served three years as an elected President Pro-Tempore of the Detroit City Council, and on the Detroit Police Department for 26 years including as the Deputy Chief of Internal Affairs. 

Suzanne R. Coffey is the Chief Executive Officer for the Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA).

Before being named Chief Executive Officer on June 22, 2022, Ms. Coffey served in the role of Interim Chief Executive Officer for nearly one year. Prior to that, she was the Chief Planning Officer for GLWA, a position she held at the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department from August 24, 2015 to December 31, 2015.

In her capacity as Chief Planning Officer, Ms. Coffey championed GLWA’s efforts to bolster the Authority’s asset management capacities, capital improvement program execution, analytics, as well as lead long-term planning efforts such as the Wastewater Master Plan.

Ms. Coffey became very familiar with GLWA through her role as a manager in the Oakland County’s Water Resources Commissioner’s office where she worked for 12 years, and she was an integral part of the DWSD-GLWA transition efforts.

Under the leadership of Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner Jim Nash, Ms. Coffey was responsible for supervising engineers, field staff members, administrative and technical support personnel and supporting operations and maintenance of wastewater interceptor systems, local municipal wastewater conveyance systems, drains and lake level control structures, as well as oversight of staff members who perform construction project management and construction inspection.

Ms. Coffey is a licensed professional engineer in the state of Michigan. She graduated Cum Laude from Lawrence Technological University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering and was named Young Engineer of the Year by the Northern Chapter of the Michigan Society of Professional Engineers.

William M. Wolfson is Chief Administrative and Compliance Officer for the Great Lakes Water Authority.

Prior to assuming this position, Mr. Wolfson served as the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department’s (DWSD) Chief Administrative and Compliance Officer as well as its General Counsel. Mr. Wolfson joined the DWSD as the utility’s first General Counsel in June 2012 and added the position of Chief Operating and Compliance Officer in August 2013.

Mr. Wolfson began his career in government as a seasonal Detroit Zoo employee. He later joined the City of Detroit Law Department as an attorney in 1986 and served in the Law Department under Mayors Coleman A. Young and Dennis Archer until 1998, working as the legal liaison to the Detroit City Council and on several key initiatives such as the casino and stadium development projects.

Upon leaving the City of Detroit, Mr. Wolfson moved to Wayne County’s Department of Corporation Counsel and was appointed Deputy Corporation Counsel by County Executive Edward McNamara. The succeeding County Executive, Robert Ficano, appointed Wolfson to the position of Assistant Deputy County Executive/Director of Legal Affairs. In that position, Mr. Wolfson was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the county government and its 4,500 employees.

Mr. Wolfson retired from his Wayne County position in July 2009; he then went into private practice and contracted to serve as Wayne County’s Interim Corporation Counsel.

Mr. Wolfson is a graduate of the University of Michigan and the University of Minnesota Law School.

Nicolette N. Bateson, CPA is the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Treasurer for the Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA).

Ms. Bateson’s service follows her tenure as the first CFO for the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, which began in February 2013. In that role she led the Financial Services Group through a significant transformation effort engaging cross-functional teams to achieve sustainable change. The result was a professionalized department with an unprecedented demonstration of transparency to all stakeholders. This pivotal effort supported intensive, collaborative discussions that were essential to forming the regional authority.

Ms. Bateson possesses extensive financial and public administration experience. As a visiting specialist for the State and Local Government Program with Michigan State University Extension, Ms. Bateson worked with state and local officials to address the needs of cities in fiscal stress. Her research, educational programs and writings related to public-sector financial challenges are often cited. In her roles as Assistant City Manager and Finance Director in local government, she was responsible for strategic planning, financial turnaround, information technology, labor relations, employee benefit design, project management and deploying multi-year budgeting and long-range capital planning. Ms. Bateson’s professional career began with a national accounting firm serving clients in the construction, manufacturing, and nonprofit sector.

Ms. Bateson earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in professional accountancy from the University of Michigan-Dearborn and a Master of Public Administration degree in public administration from Eastern Michigan University.

Cheryl Porter is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Great Lakes Water Authority’s Water and Field Services Area where she oversees five water treatment facilities and water transmission to the Authority's member partner communities, ensuring GLWA's water consistently meets and exceeds all quality standards and regulations.

Ms. Porter is an active member of the American Water Works Association. In addition to serving as a Michigan Section Trustee (2018-2021) and sitting on the Section’s Government Affairs Council, Ms. Porter also currently serves as AWWA’s Vice President (2021-2022) and on AWWA’s national board as Director-at-Large (2019-2022), as well as on its Finance Committees (2018-2021). In 2017, Crain’s Detroit Business recognized her as one of Detroit’s Women in Leadership.

Ms. Porter provides leadership that’s grounded in experience and manages engineers, field staff and administrative and technical support personnel. Her broad knowledge base in the water service sector began at DWSD as a Junior Chemist, where her dedication yielded eventual advancement to Water Production and Operations Manager. As the COO of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD), she was part of the team that helped establish GLWA in 2016.

Ms. Porter earned her BS degree from the University of Michigan, an MBA with a concentration in Human Resources Management from Madonna University, and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. Ms. Porter maintains State of Michigan operator certifications for both Water Distribution (S-3) and Complete Treatment (F-1). Under her direction, GLWA’s Water Works Park received the “2019 Directors Award for Water Treatment” from the Partnership for Safe Water (PSW).

Navid Mehram is the Chief Operating Officer for the Great Lakes Water Authority’s Wastewater Operating Services.

Prior to assuming this position, Mr. Mehram served as the Chief Engineer at the Oakland County Water Resource Commissioner’s office. During his tenure at the Oakland County WRC, he led the transitioning of the City of Pontiac’s water and wastewater operations and maintenance from private contract operations to county operations. The transformation included design and construction of a new state of the art biosolids processing system. This innovative process was the first in Michigan and the third in North America. In his capacity Mr. Mehram also provided leadership for engineering, field staff member and administrative and technical support personal providing service for a number of county facilities including three treatment facilities, over two hundred pump stations, community wells and retentions basins. Mr. Mehram brings over 10 years of extensive experience specializing in design and construction of water treatment, water resource recovery and pumping systems as a consultant. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Michigan, who graduated from Wayne State University with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, and as a member of Chi Epsilon – a National Civil Engineering Honor Society.

Michelle A. Zdrodowski is Chief Public Affairs Officer for the Great Lakes Water Authority.

In her capacity as Chief Public Affairs Officer, Ms. Zdrodowski guides the organization’s efforts to build and maintain its relationships with internal and external stakeholder communities.

Ms. Zdrodowski brings nearly 30 years of strategic communications and community engagement experience to GLWA. Immediately prior to joining the GLWA team, she served as Chief Communications Officer for Detroit Public Schools during a period of unprecedented challenge and change. Her previous public sector communications experience also includes her tenure as Deputy Press Secretary to former Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer. Ms. Zdrodowski also spent more than a decade leading the nonprofit/government practice group for a Detroit-based public relations agency.

Ms. Zdrodowski holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from Michigan State University.

Jeffrey E. Small is the Chief Information Officer for the Great Lakes Water Authority.

In his role as Chief Information Officer, Mr. Small provides strategic IT leadership, customer service, innovation and information security for the regional authority. Jeff is adept at leveraging technology in conjunction with business process re-engineering to improve productivity and internal efficiencies across the organization.

Jeff brings 30 years of information technology, project management, and business process experience to GLWA. Immediately prior to joining the GLWA team, he served for four years as Deputy Chief Information Officer at Wayne County, Michigan. Prior to his work at Wayne County, Mr. Small held IT leadership roles at several global companies in a cross-section of industries, including retail, sourcing, brand management and consumer products.

Mr. Small holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from The George Washington University and an MBA in Computer Information Systems from Baker College. He serves on several nonprofit boards related to technology in both the public and private sectors and was named 2019 IT Professional of the Year by the Michigan chapter of the Government Management Information Sciences.

Chief Jones was appointed GLWA’s Chief Security and Integrity Officer on January 1, 2016 after serving with DWSD in that capacity since 2012. His extensive experience in law enforcement and security spans over a 40-year career.

Chief Jones is responsible for the Authority’s entire security posture, which includes the physical security infrastructure and safety of employees, facilities and assets. In addition, Chief Jones has been pivotal in developing and implementing entity-wide integrity policies and procedures.

Prior to his arrival at GLWA, Chief Jones served as Chief of Police, Police Administrator, Fire Chief, Captain, Lieutenant, Sergeant and Deputy Sheriff with large local units of government in Michigan including the supervision of both police and fire personnel.

Chief Jones has a Master’s in Liberal Studies from Eastern Michigan University, a Master’s in Educational Leadership from Madonna University and a Bachelor’s in General Studies from the University of Michigan-Dearborn. He has also received certification from the State of Michigan to be a K-12 school administrator.

Additionally, Chief Jones is a graduate of the FBI National Academy, and a graduate of the Secret Service Dignitary Protection training, as well as a certified firefighter.

Prior to assuming this position in August 2017, Mr. Brown served in Wayne County’s Corporation Counsel Department. On January 1, 2015, County Executive Warren C. Evans first appointed Mr. Brown to serve as the Chief-Assistant Corporation Counsel for the Real Estate, Tax and Public Services Team. The following year, Executive Evans then appointed Mr. Brown to serve as the Deputy Corporation Counsel. As the Deputy Corporation Counsel, Mr. Brown managed over 30 attorneys and represented all Wayne County’s elected officials, employees and departments. During his tenure at Wayne County, Mr. Brown worked on several key initiatives, including Executive Evans’ county reorganization plan, the disposition of the County’s excess real property assets, and the negotiation of contract renewals at significant cost savings without compromising service delivery to County residents.

Mr. Brown began his legal career at Plunkett Cooney in 2005. At Plunkett Cooney, he represented Fortune 500 companies and several municipalities, including the City of Detroit, Macomb County, Oakland County, Macomb County, the City of Wyandotte and the City of Oak Park in state and federal courts.

Mr. Brown is a graduate of the University of Delaware and Howard University School of Law. He currently serves as a member of the Wolverine Bar Association and Foundation’s Board of Directors. For the 2015-2016 bar year, Mr. Brown served as the Association and Foundation’s President. He also serves as a member of the Rose Hill Center’s Board of Directors.

Jody Caldwell is the Chief Planning Officer for the Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA).

Mr. Caldwell brings more than 21 years of private consultation, municipal operations and maintenance, and asset management experience to GLWA. Prior to his appointment as Chief Planning Officer, Mr. Caldwell served as the Asset Management Director for the enterprise-wide asset management group for over five years. He helped to support functional areas by coordinating overall asset management strategies, objectives, and activities to ensure decisions are informed by risk, regional needs, and life cycle considerations.

Prior to his service with GLWA, Jody was a Chief Engineer at Oakland County’s Water Resources Commissioner’s Office (WRC) where he worked for 12 years in many different capacities. In this role, Mr. Caldwell was responsible for oversight of multiple areas including capital, asset management and planning, finance and budgeting, water operations and maintenance, water engineering, and cross connection control.

During his time with WRC, Mr. Caldwell worked closely with the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) and GLWA. He was the Oakland County representative on the DWSD Board of Water Commissioners, served as the water technical advisory committee and wastewater steering committee co-chairs, and was an important part of the DWSD-GLWA transition efforts.

Mr. Caldwell is a registered professional engineer in the state of Michigan and holds a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Michigan State University.

Jordie Kramer has been selected as GLWA’s new Chief Organizational Development Officer. In this role, Ms. Kramer will be responsible for leading all areas of GLWA’s Organizational Development Group, including recruitment, compensation, benefits, labor relations, employee relations, human resource information systems (HRIS), and training and development.

Prior to being elevated to this executive-level position, Ms. Kramer served as Director of Organizational Development, a role she has been in since joining GLWA in 2019. Before beginning her tenure at GLWA, Ms. Kramer served as Oakland County’s Director of Human Resources, and served as Labor Relations Supervisor and Senior Compensation Analyst. Ms. Kramer is active in the Michigan Public Employers Labor Relations Association and serves as a member of its board of directors and is also active in the National Public Employers Labor Relations Association. She earned a Bachelor of Science Degree from Central Michigan University.