Member Portrait: Angela Lee

Originally published in the Winter 2016/17 issue of NC Currents magazine

How timely it is for Angela Lee to become chair of the board of trustees just when NC AWWA-WEA is forging ahead with two new bold educational initiatives. A passionate advocate for the Academy and the Institute programs, the chief of operations for Charlotte Water has devoted most of her energy and time as a volunteer to education and training. She spent many years on the Board of Education and Examiners, including a term as chair. She also served with the Collection and Distribution Schools Committee and three terms on the board of trustees. At the same time, she has been a member of the National Collection Systems Committee and the National Program Committee and currently sits on the WEF Collection Systems Symposia.

“I have been involved with education and training for many years,” Lee acknowledges. “So I understand the importance of delivering quality education. As a utility manager, I also understand the importance of receiving that education. I hope I can bring those perspectives to the organization.”

It is a perspective that Lee adopted early in her career. After graduating from North Carolina State University with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering, she spent two and a half years with the Charlotte Department of Transportation (Storm Water) before joining what was then known as the Charlotte Mecklenburg Utilities Department (now Charlotte Water) as Wastewater Administrative Officer in 1990. Immediately, she did two things. She continued working on her master’s degree in Public Administration at UNC Charlotte, and she joined the state’s premiere professional association for water and wastewater. “The director set an expectation that staff would be involved in the NC AWWA-WEA,” explains Lee. “It was part of the culture of our organization and it still is.”

Two years later, when she assumed the position of Water Distribution Superintendent, the NC AWWA-WEA became an invaluable resource for both networking and professional development. “When I became the superintendent, I really saw the benefit in terms of education and training for both me and my staff,” says Lee. She went on to complete her Grade A Certified Water Distribution Operators License and become Operator Responsible in Charge for the water distribution system. It was also around this time that she became involved with the Collection and Distribution Schools, where she has served as the Grade A Coordinator since the mid- 1990s. In recognition of her active role in NC AWWA-WEA, she has received several awards, including the AWWA’s George Warren Fuller Award, WEF’s Arthur Sidney Bedell Award, Raymond “Red” Ebert Award, and Golden Manhole. Lee is also a member of the 5-S Society.

Along with her graduate degree, which she completed in 1995, her experience with the NC AWWA-WEA has played an important role in the advancement of her career and her commitment to training. An important part of her drive for continuous improvement at Charlotte Water has been ensuring that staff is properly cross-trained to provide a variety of repair functions. She has also created full-time valve operations crews and developed water main break procedures to facilitate onsite water quality testing. Other initiatives have included developing asbestos cement pipe repair procedures and upgrading sewer equipment so that crews could be more efficient when cleaning and responding to calls for service.

In 2004, when CMUD combined the water distribution and wastewater collections divisions, Lee was named Field Operations Division Manager for the entire conveyance system, including 300 employees and over 8,000 miles of pipe. Her leadership was instrumental during this challenging period of transition.

It is experience that she is sure to put to good use as she takes on the leadership of the board of trustees at this critical juncture in the history of NC AWWA-WEA. Says Lee: “I am looking forward to leading the organization through this time of transition, and focusing on strategic initiatives such as the Academy and membership engagement.

“As the NC AWWA-WEA improves its training model and moves forward toward fully implementing the Academy and the Institutes, it is going to take volunteers and maybe even a different way of delivering training, using technology as well as resources that are both internal and external to the organization.” She adds that, along with growing the membership, it is also important to keep members engaged and active.

Professionally, her goals include continuing to increase her utility knowledge in order to help Charlotte Water reach its strategic goals. “Utilities across the country have the awesome charge of providing safe drinking water and of protecting the environment,” she notes. “I am very proud to work in an organization that is an industry leader in this field.”

In her leadership role at Charlotte Water and now with the NC AWWA-WEA, Lee is committed to doing her part to make a difference in the industry. “It’s a tremendous opportunity to be able to serve in this role,” she says, referring to her new position as the chair of the board of trustees. “I am honored by the faith the membership has placed in me.”