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NEW HIRES

DANIEL BLAKE

Senior Planning Engineer / Phoenix

I first became interested in the water and wastewater industries in
high school when I completed science fair projects at my local water
treatment plant. While using the lab there and meeting with operators,
I determined that I wanted to study civil engineering in college so I
could go into the industry.
My early exposure to this field of work has set me on a very fulfilling
and gratifying path. Understanding how water and wastewater
treatment plants and systems operate is very important to me as
an engineer. I benefited from working three summers in operations
while in college, which gave me an understanding of the day to day
challenges and demands operations staff face.

The New England Patriots head coach Bell Belichick spoke at my
sister’s high school graduation in Massachusetts. I recall him relating
the sentiment that what you know isn’t as important as who you know.
This seemed at the time to be ridiculous advice to give to graduating students. However, the more I
progress in my professional career, the importance of relationships and networking is reinforced to me.

YEN PHAM

Staff Professional / Orange County

Some areas in California don’t have a clean water to access
and global warming is one of the big ongoing issues. I want to
improve and provide reliable clean water and create a sustainable
environment to our communities.

During my internship with Los Angeles Sanitation and Environment,
I worked on developing a comprehensive stormwater infrastructure
concept report development manual. I recently graduated with a
Master’s in Civil Engineering with 4.0 GPA.

In my time outside of work, I have been trying to maintain my weekly
hiking despite my busy schedule with work and school. I normally
shorter distances of around 2-3 miles, but I finished a 12-mile hike
last summer – I couldn’t walk the next day but I was able to step out
of my comfort zone to challenge myself!