Hello Drinking Water Partners:

I hope this message finds you, your families, and utilities well.  This summer flew by and as we move into fall, I want to update you on the Office of Drinking Water’s recent hiring. We have recruited for the five open leadership positions in the office since this summer. Four of these positions have filled, and new faces will be starting in the office soon. We are still in the midst of the Field Operation Manager recruitment and hope to have someone on board in that position permanently by the end of the year. For now, please join me in welcoming Holly, Kay, Corina, and Brad.

ODW Director: I’m excited to announce Holly Myers will be the new Office of Drinking Water Director beginning November 16, 2021. Holly joins ODW after working as the Operations Manager for the state Department of Ecology’s Office of Columbia River since 2019. Before her recent work at Ecology, Holly was the Environmental Health Director at Yakima Health District where she oversaw environmental health regulatory programs including drinking water, on-site sewage disposal systems, solid waste facilities, water recreation, and food safety. Her career also includes working at Kittitas County Public Health as an Environmental Health Supervisor and at the City of Yakima Wastewater Treatment Division, writing National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits. In 2018 Holly volunteered with Friendly Water for the World to train people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to create bio-sand water filters, for clean and sustainable drinking water. Holly’s experience shows her devotion to public health and we are excited about the leadership and engagement she will bring to this role and our agency.

ODW Deputy Director: Kay Rottell has accepted the Deputy Director position permanently, a position she has been filling since June 2021. Kay has been with DOH since 2007 serving in various environmental public health positions. She has been with ODW for the last seven years in the Southwest Regional Office. Prior to working at DOH, Kay spent seven years as an Environmental Specialist at the Benton-Franklin Health District. Kay’s experience shows her commitment to public health and in ensuring safe and reliable drinking water. We are excited to see Kay step into this new role at ODW. 

SRF Manager: Corina Hayes will continue as the new State Revolving Fund Manager. She became permanent in this position on October 16, 2021. Many of you know Corina from her work with the Source Water Protection program she has been leading for several years. Some of you may also know her from when she was a planner and the SRF point person in our Southwest Regional Office. Corina comes to her new role with a wealth of private, local, and state experience. She will be leading our team in providing low-interest loans to utilities for infrastructure needs, coordinating with utilities and federal and state partners as we work together to continue to provide safe and reliable water for the people of Washington state.

Policy and Planning Manager: I am excited to welcome back Brad Burnham to the Office of Drinking Water as the new Policy and Planning Manager beginning November 1, 2021. You may remember Brad from when he previously worked in the ODW as a policy coordinator. For the last six years, though, he worked in the Office of Health Professions as a program manager and then as executive director. We are excited to have Brad’s ODW drinking water policy experience and his experience with other divisions at DOH.

Thanks for all your patience as our Office of Drinking Water works through this transition. 

Sincerely, Joe Laxson