Sweet Water Team Members
Sweet Water’s team is made up of a group of staff members, program associates, and board members who are all dedicated to achieving Sweet Water’s Mission of restoring the Greater Milwaukee watersheds to conditions that are healthy for swimming and fishing. Learn more about this great group of individuals!
Sweet Water Staff
Jake Fincher, Executive Director
fincher @ swwtwater .org
O: 414-382-1766
C: 262-716-2211
Jake is the Executive Director of Sweet Water and has been with the organization since 2015. Jake oversees each of the organization’s programs. He holds a B.S. from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in Integrated Science/Business, with an emphasis on water resources. He is extremely grateful to have the opportunity to combine his career and a passion for the outdoors.
Erin Povak, Watershed Program Director
povak @ swwtwater .org
O: 414-382-1766
Erin joined Sweet Water in 2021 as the Watershed Program Manager. She supports, designs and implements programs in collaboration with the local watershed community to help protect our water resources. She has a B.S. in Forest Ecology and Management from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and earned her MPA from Seattle University.
Brigid Meyers, Watershed Program Manager
meyers @ swwtwater .org
O: 414-382-1766
Brigid joined Sweet Water in 2022 as the Watershed Program Coordinator. She supports, designs, and implements organizational educational programs. She has a B.S in Environmental Sustainability from the State University of New York at Oneonta and a M.S in Freshwater Science & Technology from the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee.
Interested in joining our team?
Check our employment page to see if we have any openings!
Sweet Water 2023 - 2024 AmeriCorps Members
Claire Kiefer
americorps @ swwtwater .org
Claire is a member of the AmeriCorps Community Corps and Marshfield Clinics Health Care Services program for the 2023-2024 year. She has a B.S. in Conservation and Environmental Science from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She is passionate about protecting our natural resources using environmental education. She is very eager to work with Sweet Water to help improve watershed education across southeastern Wisconsin.
Liz Bolton
Projectstaff @ swwtwater .org
Liz is a member of the Americorps Community Corps and Marshfield Clinic’s Health Care Services program for the 2023-2024 year. She has a B.S. in Biological Sciences from UW-Stevens Point and an M.S. in Biological Sciences with an emphasis in microbiology and public health from UW-Milwaukee. She is thrilled to work with Sweet Water to help improve watershed education across southeastern Wisconsin.
Program Associates
Chris Magruder, Science Advisory Committee Coordinator
Christopher Magruder retired as the Community Environmental Liaison for the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) after 35 years of service, where he developed and coordinated the District’s environmental policies. He has over forty years of experience in water resources related environmental studies and has designed and implemented extensive water quality programs that include real-time remote monitoring, biotoxicity testing and evaluation, pathogen identification, and sediment/water quality interactions. He has provided consulting services to New York State, Environmental Protection Agency-Region II, Indiana Department of Natural Resources & Conservation, and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
Board of Directors
Sweet Water's work is guided by our Board of Directors. Members of the Board represent diverse stakeholders and include leaders of municipalities, businesses, utilities, and nongovernmental organizations. Board members serve three-year terms and meet on a bi-monthly basis.
2023 BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Alyssa Schmitt, (Co-Chair)
Elizabeth Hellman, (Vice Chair - Treasurer), WEC Energy Group
Marian Singer (Secretary), Wellntel, Inc.
Brent Brown, Jacobs Engineering Group
Brian Depies, Short Elliott Hendrickson, Inc.
Karen Sands, Greenprint Partners and UW-Milwaukee School of Continuing Education
Michelle Scott, (non-voting advisor), Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Andrew Struck, Ozaukee County Planning and Parks Department
Lauren Hill, MolsonCoors
Laura Herrick (non-voting advisor), Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission
Nancy Frank, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, School of Architecture & Urban Planning
Susan Coyle, Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District