"Kathy is known for creating a strong team environment and empowering those around her," said Benita Crow, Central Region Leader. "She is a technical expert and a natural leader, and I’m really looking forward to seeing the progress and direction of her team as they continue expanding our expertise across the central region and beyond."
As a leader in the wastewater field for 33 years, including the past five years with SEH, Crowson is active in the industry and recognized for her client service. She will bring her wastewater operations experience to clients and SEH employee-owners as she heads the water and wastewater practice in the central region.
I’m excited about working with the amazing people in the water and wastewater practice to provide the best service to our clients, to continue building on SEH’s teamwork culture, and to plan for the growth of our practice.
How does your background in wastewater operations position you well for this role?
Being a leader in wastewater operations requires prioritizing sound practices and approaches, strong internal and external communications, and integrity. These same skills apply to providing engineering services.
What stands out as a top accomplishment in your career?
While employed at Western Lake Superior Sanitary District (WLSSD) in the City of Duluth, Minnesota, I really enjoyed being involved with the start-up and operation of its thermophilic digesters and centrifuges. It was gratifying to work with my WLSSD coworkers and a variety of industry experts to hone the operation to get the best volatile solids reduction, minimize odors, and prevent pathogen regrowth/reactivation.
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Describe some noteworthy projects you have led.
A current project comes to mind that has been really gratifying. We are working with a wastewater treatment client to develop a training program for operators. The training modules will cover every process at both their existing wastewater treatment plant and new systems coming online.
We work closely with the client’s engineering and operations staff to identify and incorporate relevant and accurate background information that will help ensure the trainings are particularly helpful to the operations department.
It’s been great to work with a cross-functional team within SEH — including graduate engineers, operations specialists, and graphic designers — to create training material featuring animated graphics to enhance the learning experience.
What project are you most proud of? Why?
I have many experiences that I am proud of. One is the training project mentioned above. A second project that comes to mind: While I was with WLSSD, my operations team built a year-round biosolids land application program. There are many facets to a program beyond the treatment processes, including the logistics of transporting and spreading the biosolids, working closely with farmers and landowners, selecting suitable sites, and developing sustainable practices for applying the biosolids to enable farmers to maximize their crop production while protecting public health and the environment.
I am proud of how well the program evolved, and proud of the people I worked with.
