Career Advice: Addressing Barriers to Women Joining the California Water Profession

Live Webinar:  Free to members and non-members

Contact Hours:  No contact hours offered

More women are joining the California water sector than ever before and moving-up to leadership roles. Major barriers and challenges still remain when it comes to recruiting and joining our profession.

A diverse panel of women will share their experiences and insights on the barriers women face entering the water sector.

The panel will discuss key topics for women entering our profession. From available jobs, social norms and biases to the lack of mentoring programs. Hear from women working on the front lines and share your ideas.

BAYWORK and CWEA invite you to show support for women in water and join our conversation on strategies to remove those barriers.

Learn about CWEA at www.cwea.org 
Learn about BAYWORK at www.baywork.org
Learn about California water careers and view job openings at www.cawaterjobs.org

ABOUT THE PANELISTS
Panel facilitator Karoline Terraza is the Organizational Performance Manger at Union Sanitary District. USD is a wastewater treatment plant that serves over 350,000 customers in Union City, Fremont, Newark. She provides oversight to the Districts’ strategic planning, continuous improvement, emergency, and training programs. She holds a Master’s degree in Adult Education and has over 20 years of organizational development and training experience. Karoline is Chair of BAYWORK’s Women in the Trades Committee and a CWEA member.

Marjorie Del Toro is the President of ehs International, Inc. The firm is a nationally recognized company specializing in environmental health and safety. Del Toro has extensive knowledge of the construction, water and wastewater industries. She has positively impacted many small and large public agencies and companies in the manufacturing, construction and water/wastewater industry. Her work in safety has been featured in the OC Business Journal, Entrepreneur Magazine, Oprah Magazine, California Constructor, and the Critical Mass for Business Radio Show. Marjorie is Past Chair of CWEA’s Safety Committee.

Jessica Sierra is a student in LA Trade Tech’s Supply Water Technology and Wastewater Technology program. She is planning to graduate in June and get her water career started. In 2020, she participated in an 11 month internship with OC San.

Tyrese Powell-Slotterbeck is a Reclamation Plant operator a Otay Water District. Currently she holds a Wastewater grade 3 certification. As an operator her main focus is to produce reclaim water for the City of Chula Vista. Tyrese has experience in bio solids, activated sludge, maintenance, UV disinfection and sewer systems.

Margo Schueler is a retired Water Superintendent for EBMUD. From welder in the shipyards in the 1970s, she became a Civil Engineer. She earned my D-4 and became a Distribution System Superintendent responsible for maintaining and expanding the water distribution network, able to apply all my skills from trade to engineering to operations before retiring in 2017. Loving to learn, work with others and joy in providing the most essential service – water and sanitation – has afforded me a long and rewarding career and meaningful life.

Dr. Violet Renick is a Senior Scientist in the analytical chemistry laboratory at OC San, where she develops methods and special studies for emerging contaminants such as microplastics in wastewater. Violet holds a PhD in Ecology and a BSc in Biology. Violet is a Board member for the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC), SoCal Chapter.

No contact hours will be awarded for this webinar.