GLWA CFO announced as keynote speaker for the 2018 Water Finance Conference

Nicolette N. Bateson, CPA, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Treasurer of the Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) will serve as the keynote speaker at the 2018 Water Finance Conference to be held Aug. 28-29 at the Washington Court Hotel in Washington, D.C. The keynote address will take place during an evening reception on Tuesday, Aug. 28.

Prior to joining GLWA, Bateson served as CFO of the Detroit Water & Sewerage Department, where she led its 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.

Bateson possesses extensive financial and public administration experience. As a visiting specialist for the State and Local Government Program with Michigan State University Extension, 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. From her recent experiences serving as CFO and treasurer of the GLWA, as well as CFO of the Detroit Water & Sewerage Department, Bateson can speak to a range of high profile water issues in the state of Michigan, including the financial perspective of Flint’s struggle with lead in drinking water, the highly-publicized water shutoffs in Detroit in recent years and the creation of a regional water organization in Michigan and why and how it has worked.

Bateson earned a bachelor’s of business administration in professional accountancy from the University of Michigan-Dearborn and a master’s of public administration in public administration from Eastern Michigan University.
The Water Finance Conference, organized by the journal Water Finance & Management, is geared toward finance directors and executives of water, wastewater and stormwater utilities. The conference explores issues ranging from budgeting, planning, rate setting and affordability to privatization, consolidation, P3s and public outreach, presenting topics and viewpoints in an open and participatory forum.

The 2018 Water Finance Conference is presented in partnership with the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) and sponsored by NACWA, Echologics, WSP and InVizion with support from the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA), the National Association of Water Companies (NAWC) and Global Water Intelligence.
For more information or to register, visit waterfinanceconference.com.