The US Water Alliance has named Seattle Public Utilities chief Mami Hara as the organization’s next CEO. Hara will fill the top position at the US Water Alliance after Radhika Fox departed the organization earlier this year to become assistant administrator of the U.S. EPA’s Office of Water.
Hara currently serves as general manager and CEO of Seattle Public Utilities and previously served as the first deputy commissioner at Philadelphia Water.
With more than three decades of experience in water and land management, Hara works to advance sustainable practices through investments, workforce development, cultivating leaders and partnerships, inclusive community participation, science-based decisions and planning and knowledge sharing.
“I want to thank the board for their faith in me to serve as the next CEO of the US Water Alliance at this critical juncture for the organization, the One Water movement, and water management in the U.S., Hara said. “We have so many opportunities to build on the great work this organization has done over the last several years and move the conversation forward on water’s most pressing challenges. Now is water’s time, and as the heart and conscience of the water sector and One Water movement, the US Water Alliance must facilitate common-ground solutions to challenges around investment in water, water equity, climate resilience, and more,” said Mami Hara, incoming CEO of the US Water Alliance.”
“On behalf of the US Water Alliance, I want to congratulate Mami Hara on her appointment to serve as the organization’s next CEO,” said OJ McFoy, general manager of the Buffalo Sewer Authority, who was also recently appointed board chair of the US Water Alliance.
“The board wants to acknowledge and thank Alliance Vice Presidents Sara Aminzadeh and Renée Willette, who worked diligently as interim co-CEOs during this transition. The Alliance has a deep bench of talented staff and a committed board ready to work alongside Mami as we move the organization’s critical work forward.”
Hara will continue to serve as the CEO of the Seattle Public Utilities until Oct. 14 and will assume the role of CEO of the US Water Alliance on Oct. 15. Previously, Mami served as board chair for the US Water Alliance. She stepped back from that role during the CEO search period and subsequently resigned from the board.
