Welcome Steve Keith to Sweet Water!
We have a new Regional Community Liaison here at Sweet Water! Steve is joining out team and told us a little about his personal and professional experiences that led him to working with Sweet Water.
SWWT: Where do you hail from?
Steve: There’s not a simple answer to that question. I was born in Cambridge, England while my father was serving in the U.S. Air Force. My mom was a college professor and we moved around a lot as she searched for better teaching opportunities. I’ve lived in over a dozen different cities, in the states of Ohio, West Virginia, Michigan, Illinois and now Wisconsin. So, I guess the best answer is - I’m from the Midwest.
How did you end up in Wisconsin?
My first job out of college was with a consulting engineering firm in Chicago. While there I had the opportunity to get familiarized with Wisconsin via weekend excursions and camping trips. After completing my masters degree at Illinois, I looked for job opportunities in the Milwaukee area and made the move shortly after I got married. I worked for consulting engineering firms here for 14 years before joining Milwaukee County’s environmental engineering section, where I worked for over 20 years.
What in particular will you be doing at Sweet Water?
I will be working towards strengthening our relationships with existing partners and develop relationships with new partners to implement Sweet Water programs and to develop and improve outreach and training programs. I expect to apply my past experience working for Milwaukee County to gain a better understanding of the needs of our municipal partners and how we can assist them meet their permit compliance requirements.
Have you always been interested in water studies and management?
As an environmental engineer, I’ve always been interested in applying technical approaches to understand and resolve environmental challenges. My college education was largely focused on water quality issues, both groundwater and surface water, as well as solid waste management/recycling. My master’s thesis work was related to pollutant transport modeling and for a short period I worked as a research assistant developing phosphorous transport models at the Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab in Ann Arbor. While working for Milwaukee County I was involved in a wide range of water quality studies, restoration plans, and designs of green infrastructure projects. The section I managed was responsible for compliance with Milwaukee County’s MS4 stormwater permit.
What hobbies and interests do you have outside of work?
I enjoy getting outside and love camping, hiking, biking, backpacking, cross-country skiing, kayaking, and golf. My other interests include bagpiping and the sport of curling. I am a member of a bagpipe band that performs locally and I serve on the board of directors of the Milwaukee Curling Club where I play in several curling leagues there. Makes the winters go by pretty fast.
In keeping with the holiday, we are so thankful to have Steve joining the team! Steve has been a great partner of Sweet Water for several years and we are grateful for the chance to work even more closely with him in his new role!