YOUNG PROFESSIONALS LEADERSHIP

President, Sarah Jakositz (She/Her)
Sarah joined the NHWWA YP Executive Board as our Events Coordinator in the Fall of 2019. She served as Vice President since the Spring of 2021 before transitioning to President in January 2024. Sarah began as an Environmental Engineer with CDM Smith in January 2020 working on drinking water and wastewater projects out of their Manchester, NH office. In her career thus far, Sarah has enjoyed working on water treatment plant design, conveyance and hydraulic modeling, lead service line replacements, and PFAS investigations. She is a University of New Hampshire alum, completing her B.S. (‘18) and M.S. (‘19) in Environmental Engineering as well as a Graduate Certificate in Data Science (‘19). Originally from New Jersey, Sarah fell in love with New England while attending UNH. When she’s not working, Sarah loves to be outdoors – running, walking her dog, and strolling to small-town coffee shops.


 

Vice President, Sophie Ricard (She/Her)
Sophie studied at New England College for three years before graduating in 2014 with her B.S. in Biology. Since 2017, she has worked for the City of Concord as the Environmental Compliance Manager for the Water Treatment Plant. Sophie holds a Water Works Operator, Treatment Grade IV, certified Operator’s License and loves her job at the City of Concord. In addition to her role as a co-founder of the NHWWA YPs, she is also very involved in the water community. Sophie is the head of logistics on the Drinking Water Coalition, which plans the 4th-grade state science fair and festival. She is the secretary of the board for Laboratory Associations of NH. She has spoken at numerous NHWWA events, including the Expo/Tradeshow, Technical Symposia, and teaches water quality in the advanced T2 operators class. Before serving as the Vice President Sophie served as the Secretary of the NHWWA YPs.


 

Treasurer, Nora Sinno (She/Her)

Nora was exposed to some inspiring industry leaders during her time at the University of New Hampshire and latched on to environmental engineering after her sophomore year. Through the summer, she interned with Hazen and Sawyer, primarily working on drinking water, stormwater, and asset management projects. During her internship, she became involved with the NHWWA YP Committee by attending several events, and adored how the group encouraged, supported, and motivated each other. Currently, Nora is a full-time engineer for Hazen, exploring a variety of project topics from regulatory compliance programs to construction management.  Outside of her professional efforts, Nora can usually be found with a fishing rod by the water!

 


 

Secretary, Liam Flaherty (He/Him)
A career in the water industry unfolded for Liam during his sophomore year of college, unexpectedly but serendipitously. His profound love for the outdoors and the environment, coupled with a fascination for understanding how things work, led him to discover the perfect blend while working as a technician replacing water meters on a project in Vermont over winter break. Post-college, Liam joined an engineering firm as a project manager, overseeing various clean-water projects, with a primary focus on AMI/AMR and metering. Balancing his love for the mechanical with his inner nerd, his role with EJP provides the ideal intersection. As part of the Smart Utility Group, Liam actively contributes to projecting the industry’s trajectory, identifying challenges, and concurrently devising turn-key solutions. Beyond his professional pursuits, Liam enjoys boating, hiking, motorcycling, and quality time with his yellow lab, Clare.


 

Student Outreach Chair, Laurel Jackson (She/Her)
Laurel is currently the Quality Systems Manager at Endyne Inc. a NH accredited full-service laboratory located in Lebanon, NH. She started as a Laboratory Analyst at Endyne in 2013 and has been in the current managerial role since 2015. Originally from New Jersey, Laurel decided to pursue laboratory work and developed an interest in Environmental Sciences after completing summer research at the New Jersey Pinelands Field Station in college. In 2009, she graduated from York College of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry with Honors. She has taught a Lab Skills for Operators Training Class with Granite State Rural Water for the past 2 years. Originally from New Jersey, Laurel moved for a job opportunity in Vermont in 2010. The various outdoor adventures are what has kept her in the New England area. Laurel lives in Newport, NH with her husband Matt and two cats Misty and Lilly. She is excited to see the Young Professionals group grow and become known throughout New Hampshire.


 

Student Outreach Vice Chair, Ian Chase (He/Him)
Ian is a 2013 University of New Hampshire graduate with a B.S. in Environmental Sciences, and a focus in Ecosystems. Ian started in the industry back in 2014 installing and maintaining sewer flow monitors for a private environmental services company. He started with the City of Concord at the end of 2017 as a water meter technician and backflow tester. In 2018 Ian transitioned into a Conservation Technician role, leading leak detection and water use auditing for the City of Concord. He joined the Concord Drinking Water Treatment Plant staff as an operator at the end of 2019. Ian was born and raised in Concord, NH and currently lives there with his wife Samantha, their son Everett and dog Bruin. If not working, Ian is most likely traveling, throwing axes, or catching up on the Celtics or Bruins.


 

Networking Chair, McKenna Dunn (She/Her)
McKenna is an Engineer at Kleinfelder where she works on a variety of drinking water and water resource projects. Since she began her career at Kleinfelder in 2019, her experience has included utility infrastructure design and improvement projects, planning studies, treatment piloting and design, and bidding and construction services support. McKenna graduated from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 2019 with a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering. Since joining the NHWWA YP Board as Networking Chair in Spring 2021, she’s led the planning efforts for the many YP networking events, from the YP Treat & Meets to the annual Fisher Cats outing. She loves seeing the young professionals group grow with the success of each event and encourages everyone to attend and get involved!


 

Networking Vice Chair, Casey Harding (She/Her)
Casey is an Engineer at Pennichuck Water in Nashua, NH where she designs and manages drinking water distribution and treatment systems projects. She is currently involved in various water main extension projects to provide public drinking water to communities whose wells have been impacted by PFOA contamination. She graduated from UMass Lowell with her Bachelors and Masters degrees in Civil Engineering. Casey is an Engineer in Training and holds her Grade 2 Water treatment Operators license in New Hampshire. She is also the Co-Vice Chair for the NEWWA University Outreach Committee. In her free time, Casey enjoys spending time outside with her friends and family. Whether it is the on the softball diamond, golf course, football field, or her rollerblades…Casey is always on the move!


 

Communications Committee Chair, Susan Martin (She/Her)
Susan comes to us from Pennichuck Water, where she serves as the Customer Communications Specialist. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Film Production from The New England Institute of Art. Following her experience in the cable access industry, Susan pursued her master’s degree in Digital Marketing from Southern New Hampshire University. Leveraging her creative skills and marketing communication expertise, Susan is dedicated to crafting compelling internal and external communications for Pennichuck Water. In her leisure, Susan indulges in various hobbies such as crafting, painting, playing video games, watching reality television, and cherishing moments with her wife and their fur babies.


 

Communications Committee Vice Chair, Lauren Moylan (She/Her)
Lauren is the Corporate Trainer at Pennichuck Water in Nashua, NH. She has a bachelor’s degree in Education from Rivier University and a master’s degree in Instructional Design from Capella University. At Pennichuck, Lauren creates eLearning training courses and assessments for the company’s employees to help with onboarding and to help current employees learn about new programs and improve work-related skills. She develops training plans, facilitates live training, organizes professional development, uses programs and systems to track training, and works with each department to develop anything they may need to continue to work smoothly. Her favorite part of the job is that she is constantly learning new things. Lauren and her two children, Noah and Isla, live in Southern New Hampshire, where they love to watch movies, go to the beach, and play with their many pets!