Archives: People

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 more than 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. She is a member of the American Water Works Association’s Public Affairs Council and serves on the Board of Trustees of the Michigan Chapter of the American Water Works Association.

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.

Terri Tabor Conerway brings approximately three decades of comprehensive Human Resource, Labor Relations, and Training Experience to her position as Chief Organizational Development Officer with the Great Lakes Water Authority.

Prior to this position, Ms. Conerway served as Organizational Development Director for the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, Human Resources Director for the Detroit Public Library and held numerous managerial positions since beginning her career with the City of Detroit in 1972.

Ms. Conerway holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Wayne State University and has completed post-degree work in Educational Psychology at the University of Michigan. Ms. Conerway is certified as a facilitator for Vital Smarts and Franklin Covey training platforms.

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, ensuiring GLWA’s water consistently meets and exceeds all quality standards and regulations.

The water sector’s largest and oldest professional organization, American Water Works Association (AWWA), selected Ms. Porter as the first African-American person and first woman of color to be their next president-elect. Her term as president begins in June 2024.  Ms. Porter has been active at both the national AWWA and with the Michigan Section, serving as the Michigan Section Trustee and Director at Large while also lending her expertise to the Government Affairs Council and Finance Committees.

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 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’s 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) and the highly prestigious President’s Award in the year 2020. GLWA’s Southwest Water Treatment Plant received the President’s Award in 2023.

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.

William M. Wolfson is Deputy Chief Executive Officer for the Great Lakes Water Authority.

Prior to assuming the Deputy Chief Executive Officer position, Mr. Wolfson has served GLWA’s as its Chief Administrative and Compliance Officer and its Chief Administrative and Compliance Officer/ General Counsel. Mr. Wolfson came to GLWA from the City of Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD). Mr. Wolfson joined DWSD in 2012 as the utility’s first General Counsel  and, in 2013, added the position of Chief Administrative and Compliance Officer as well. Mr. Wolfson represented DWSD in the City of Detroit’s bankruptcy proceedings and played a pivotal role in the founding of GLWA.

Mr. Wolfson began his career in government, in 1976, 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 until 1998, under Mayors Coleman A. Young and Dennis Archer, 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. He is active and a committee member in several water sector trade organizations. In 2020, Mr. Wolfson was recognized by Michigan Lawyers Weekly as one of its Leaders in the Law. In 2024, The State Bar of Michigan honored Mr. Wolfson as a recipient of its The Frank J. Kelley Distinguished Public Service Award which recognizes extraordinary governmental service by a member of the State Bar of Michigan.

 

Sue F. McCormick is the Chief Executive Officer of the Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA), a regional water and wastewater authority that services nearly 40 percent of the water customers (3.8 million people), and nearly 30 percent (2.8 million people) of the wastewater customers in the state of Michigan.

As CEO, Ms. McCormick led the successful stand up of the Authority, which began operations on January 1, 2016. Under her leadership, GLWA experienced a number of important firsts in its foundational year. This includes two sets of upgrades to its bond ratings from all three bond ratings agencies, the execution of a money saving $1.3 billion inaugural bond sale, which will achieve more than $309 million in savings over the life of the refinanced bonds, the creation of a leadership training academy and structured development opportunities for all team members, and the establishment of a biennial budget for the Authority. GLWA also launched its sustainable assistance program, WRAP, which provides qualifying households with help in paying current and past-due water bills and water conservation efforts. In 2018, Ms. McCormick was honored by the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG) with their highest award, the Regional Ambassador Award.

Prior to her appointment with GLWA, Ms. McCormick served as Director of the City of Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD), guiding it through major initiatives that resulted in cost savings, regulatory compliance and improved financial performance. Before joining DWSD in 2012, she served as Public Services Administrator for the City of Ann Arbor, Michigan, where for 11 years she managed that city’s entire physical infrastructure, including roads, solid waste, parks, fleet and facilities, and the water and sewer system. She first joined Ann Arbor city government as Water Utilities Director in January 2001, after 22 years with the Lansing Board of Water and Light where during her tenure, she rose steadily through the ranks serving in a variety of roles, including Environmental Chemist, Environmental Laboratory Manager, Manager of Water and Steam Planning, Water Technical Support Manager and Business Development Manager.

A native of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Ms. McCormick earned a bachelor’s degree from Lyman Briggs College at Michigan State University. She is active in the 58,000-member American Water Works Association (AWWA), where she has served as an AWWA-Michigan Director and as an association Vice President, and on the Water Quality Board of the International Joint Commission.  Ms. McCormick is currently serving on the Board of Directors for the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA), as well as for the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA). She is also Chair of the state of Michigan’s Water Asset Management Council and on the board of the Michigan Infrastructure Council.

Mr. Hupy is the Public Services Area Administrator for the City of Ann Arbor. In this capacity, Mr. Hupy oversees several major city departments, including water and sewer operations, solid waste, project management and systems planning and coordinates long-term asset planning and construction across interdependent operations. He currently is administering the ongoing reconstruction of the Ann Arbor Wastewater Treatment Plant. Prior to being appointed to his position in 2011, Mr. Hupy held various leadership roles with the City, including Manager of both the Field Operations and Systems Planning Units. Through his work with the City, Mr. Hupy has also gained significant experience in utility rate design. Mr. Hupy is a registered professional engineer and holds multiple certifications through the Department of Environmental Quality. He earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Michigan Technological University.

Mr. Daddow has served as Deputy County Executive of Oakland County since October 2000. Mr. Daddow was the County’s Director of Management and Budget from January 1993 until his appointment as Deputy County Executive. In both roles, he helped further Oakland County’s multi-year budgeting, transform the County’s retiree benefits from defined benefit to defined contribution, finance the paying-off of the County’s retiree obligations and maintain the County’s AAA bond rating since 1998.

Mr. Daddow served as Co-Chair of the Legislative Commission on Statutory Mandates concluding with a report issued in December 2009. He is Vice-Chairman of the Michigan Municipal Services Authority and Chairman of the SMART board. He also participated in the writing of the e-commerce legislation enabling local units of government to publish, for a fee, data on the web as well as Public Act 4 of 2011 (emergency manager act for fiscally-distressed governmental units).

Mr. Brown was appointed the Director of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) in October 2015 by Mayor Mike Duggan. Under his leadership, DWSD has been transformed to a customer-centric, fiscally responsible organization that is amidst a capital improvement program to upgrade Detroit’s local water and sewer systems, with 425 miles of water main and 11,718 lead service lines replaced, 85 miles of sewer lined or replaced, and 19 stormwater projects installed since 2018. 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, launching the DWSD Lifeline Plan to provide a fixed bill amount for low-income residents at 1.8% of their income which uses regional, state and federal funds. Mr. Brown serves on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Local Government Advisory Council and has co-chaired committees since his appointment in August 2021. Previously, he was the City of Detroit’s Group Executive for Operations and Chief Operating Officer under Duggan, charged with ensuring continued improvement of city services. Mr. Brown has served the City of Detroit in several leadership roles over the past four decades.