Jorge Flores Named Water Innovation Leadership Development Fellow at Duke University
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2024
Eagle Pass Water Works System (EPWWS) Assistant General Manager Jorge Flores has been named a 2024-2025 Water Innovation Leadership Development Fellow at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, said Dr. Martin Doyle, Professor of River Systems Science and Policy at Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment.
Flores is one of 18 Fellows selected nationally to participate in the prestigious Water Innovation Leadership Development Environment+ program at Duke University, added Dr. Doyle.
“The idea is to help emerging leaders build a network of peers they can brainstorm with and seek advice from, even after the program ends,” Doyle said. The program develops young leaders nationally in water, wastewater, and environmental systems to provide leadership for emerging communities in the United States.
Flores selection to this prestigious program recognizes him as an emerging leader in water and wastewater systems in the United States.
Flores and his 17 other Fellows will take part over the course of a year in five online sessions and two three-day workshops on Duke’s campus in Durham, North Carolina.
These online sessions and in-person workshops will be facilitated by industry experts and leading researchers, with an emphasis on strengthening leadership development for all fellows. The will also be a significant emphasis on peer-to-peer learning, according to Doyle.
The 18 Fellows represent a wide range of utility sizes, form those serving communities as small as a few thousand people to utilities serving several millions.
Towards the end of the program, Flores will be required to complete an individual capstone project that demonstrates their new skills and knowledge in their current work, or a profession project. Program graduates receive a non-credit-bearing Certificate of Completion from Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment.
Flores will receive a full scholarship to cover the expenses associated with this program, including tuition, travel and lodging costs estimated to be over $15,000. Flores will commence the program in September 2024.
“I am thankful for the opportunity to participate in this leading water and wastewater leadership program at the prestigious Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University,” Jorge Flores, said.
“I look forward to expanding my knowledge on water and wastewater systems as well as networking with an outstanding group of Fellows throughout the United States. This leadership program will greatly enhance my work as Assistant General Manager at the Eagle Pass Water Works System,” Flores said.
