Ready, Set, Network!

Kaoru is a senior project manager for the Region of Waterloo’s Water Services Division, where he is primarily responsible for long-term planning of water and wastewater infrastructure.

Prior to the Region, Kaoru worked in many Middle East, Asia, and Caribbean countries as a water supply engineer.

He obtained his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering at the University of Waterloo and Kyoto University respectively.

Kaoru enjoys discussing career paths in the water sector through his volunteer work with the local chapter of the Professional Engineers Ontario and with the Ten Thousand Coffees initiative, run through his alma mater.

As the General Manager of Infrastructure and Water Services, Alicia is responsible for the operation, maintenance, infrastructure engineering and capital improvements for the regional water and wastewater systems in the CRD. She is also responsible for the water and wastewater systems in the local service areas of the CRD.

Prior to joining the CRD, Alicia Fraser was the president and CEO of the Ontario Clean Water Agency (OCWA), a provincial agency that provides water and wastewater operations and technical services to municipalities across Ontario. Before becoming president and CEO, Alicia was VP of Operations in South Peel, where she was responsible for overseeing the operation and maintenance of water, wastewater, distribution and collection systems that serve nearly 1.4 million people in the Region of Peel.

Alicia has spent her entire career in the water industry with experience in consulting engineering, designing and project managing water and wastewater plants throughout Ontario and British Columbia.

Renée Grosselle is the Manager of Environmental Standards for the City of Winnipeg’s Water and Waste Department.

Renée is responsible for significant functions of the Water and Waste Department including: regulatory compliance monitoring and reporting; provision of accredited analytical services; industrial wastewater licensing, control and revenues; By-law enforcement; cross connection and backflow programs, and security and emergency preparedness auditing and governance.

Education:

Renée holds a B. Sc. with a Major in Environmental Chemistry, an Honours Certificate from the Canadian Institute of Management and a Masters Certificate in Municipal Management from York University – Schulich School of Business.

Work History:

Her career started with the City performing laboratory sampling and analysis.  With over 25 years of experience and extensive knowledge in the water and wastewater field, her accomplishments include administering and implementing the Environmental Monitoring and Compliance Reporting programs for the City of Winnipeg.

Membership in Organizations:

She is a member of AWWA (American Water Works Association), the WCWWA (Western Canada Water and Wastewater Association), the Canadian Water and Wastewater Association (CWWA).

David Unrau is currently the Director of Public Works for the Town of Petawawa. He brings with him more than 20 years of municipal experience, having held similar roles in other municipalities including the City of Pembroke. David also brings similar expertise from employment in the private sector (CNL) as well as federally through positions held with Defence Construction Canada. His skillset includes those in management, leadership, communications and critical thinking. He has proven to be an excellent resource on the Board and has voluntarily participated in and attended many other meetings and functions in order to gain more knowledge about the Hospital and the Board. He also sits on the Ottawa River Energy Solution Board and national/provincial committees on Asset Management, Active Transportation and Vision Zero.

In 2024 Mr. Goffin joined Toronto Metropolitan University as Water Policy Fellow in the School of Public Policy and Democratic Innovation and affiliated with the Bruce Fellowships in Canadian Freshwater Policy.

Prior to joining Toronto Metropolitan University Mr. Goffin spent more than forty-years in the Public Service of Canada, with Environment and Climate Change Canada, during which time he was engaged in policy develop and program delivery in a wide variety of areas including environmental protection, wildlife management, meteorology, water and ecosystem management, intergovernmental affairs, Indigenous relations and community outreach and engagement.

For more almost twenty years Mr. Goffin was responsible for leading Canada’s efforts to restore and protect the water quality and aquatic ecosystem health of the Great Lakes and in 2012 he was lead negotiator for Canada responsible for negotiation of the Canada-United States Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement.  In 2020 Mr. Goffin took on a new role, leading the creation of the Canada Water Agency.

Mr. Goffin received his undergraduate training in environmental studies from the University of Toronto, and has a Master of Science degree in Geomorphology, also from the University of Toronto.