AC21 - Invisible Barriers - Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Water

Masood serves as the Chief Strategy Officer and Assistant General Manager of External Affairs for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, which provides water, power and sewer services to over 2.7 million people in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Previously, he served as SFPUC’s first Chief Equity and Innovation Officer, leading the agency’s racial equity work. Prior to that role, he was the Director of Workforce and Economic Program Services within SFPUC’s Infrastructure Division.

During his tenure in that role, Masood and his team have developed and delivered several nationally-recognized programs serving neurodiverse communities and centering the inclusion of women in construction through innovative childcare and early childhood development. Prior to joining the SFPUC,

Masood was the Deputy Director and Interim Executive Director of the City’s Human Rights Commission. And prior to his 13 years of public service, he was an attorney in private practice. He is a graduate of UC Berkeley and UC Hastings College of the Law.

Oluwole A. (OJ) McFoy is a passionate public servant and water sector executive with over two decades of leadership in advancing innovative strategies, delivering large scale multi-million dollar comprehensive plans and capital projects, and expanding equitable public health policies. A native of Buffalo, NY, McFoy was educated in the Buffalo Public School system. McFoy earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering from Clarkson University and a Certificate in Executive Management from the University at Buffalo. He is also a licensed Professional Engineer registered in the State of New York.

Since 2007, McFoy has served as Chairman of the Buffalo Water Board, championing regional water quality initiatives and overseeing a recently negotiated $75M 10-year public-private partnership to provide reliable and professional delivery of drinking water for the City. In his role, McFoy has initiated major programs such as Replace Old Lead Lines (ROLL) to combat lead poisoning, and the City’s Residential Affordable Water Program – focused on ensuring that water services are equitably delivered and are affordable for all residents.
McFoy received appointment as Buffalo Sewer’s General Manager in 2015. He facilitated producing the City’s National Award winning Raincheck 2.0 Green Infrastructure Plan, that details nature based solutions to the regional flooding and stormwater challenges due to climate change, while reimagining Buffalo’s resiliency efforts through an equity lens.

McFoy serves on National, State, and Regional Boards dedicated to promoting the value of water and changing the culture of the water sector, including the National Association of Clean Water Agencies, US Water Alliance, Water Agency Leaders’ Alliance, and New York Water and Environment Association. In addition, he holds board positions locally with Buffalo Erie Niagara Land Improvement Corporation and the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences, while being an active member of several organizations.

Nikita Lingenfelter is the current Speaker of the House of Delegates for WEF. She is the Staff Engineer for the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP), Bureau of Water PollutionControl. She has worked for NDEP since 2006 where she started her career with the Bureau of Air Pollution Control.A WEF Member since 2015, Nikita has been an active member of the Nevada Water Environment Association where she served as President in 2017-2018. Nikita has served on WEF Committees, NWEA Committees, and is currently the Vice-Chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Task Force for WEF.

Ifetayo Venner is vice president of the 2020-21 Board of Trustees for the Water Environment Federation (WEF)and a Vice President and Wastewater Service Line Leader for Arcadis North America.As a wastewater treatment expert she has been responsible for the management, planning, modeling, design and startup of municipal wastewater treatment and reuse facilities throughout the United States.
Ifetayo has been an active member of WEF since joining after college, participating in committees and task forces related to water resource recovery facility design, sustainability and WEF governance. She has been championing DEI efforts within Arcadis and WEF as Board Sponsor for theWorkforce DEI Task Force and DEI Board Subcommittee at WEF and Chair of the Black and Latinx Task Force at Arcadis.