Advisory Board
Cathy Bernardino Bailey
Assistant City Manager (City of Cincinnati), former Executive Director of Greater Cincinnati Water Works
Cathy Bernardino Bailey is an Assistant City Manager for the City of Cincinnati. She previously served as Executive Director of Greater Cincinnati Water Works—the first woman and first African-American woman to lead the 200-year-old utility. Cathy began her GCWW career in 1992 as a chemist and went on to hold roles in water quality, IT, strategic planning, performance management, and project management before her appointment as Executive Director in 2015.
She holds a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Cincinnati and spent 28 years with GCWW. Cathy is a frequent speaker at AWWA, AMWA, ELGL, and other national water conferences, sharing expertise on strategy, workforce, and organizational improvement. She serves as Policy Committee Chair for AMWA and is a Director on the Water Research Foundation Board.
Cathy has been widely recognized for her leadership, including honors from the YWCA, Venue Magazine, and listings of influential African-American leaders in Cincinnati. She also serves on boards including the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and Leadership Cincinnati, and is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
Chris Hornback
Deputy CEO of National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA)
Chris Hornback joined the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) in April 2001 and is currently the Deputy Chief Executive Officer. His primary areas of responsibility are overseeing the operations of the Association, including Board governance, meetings and conferences, marketing, and information technology management.
Prior to joining NACWA, Mr. Hornback worked as a Senior Associate with Booz Allen Hamilton, specializing in the areas of solid and hazardous waste management. Mr. Hornback has a B.A. in Environmental Science from the University of Virginia.
Ralph Exton
Executive Director at the Water Environment Federation (WEF)
Ralph Exton is the Executive Director at the Water Environment Federation (WEF), a WEF Fellow, and has been serving in this role since July 2024. Prior to joining WEF, Ralph held various senior executive positions at GE Water, SUEZ, Veolia, and Grundfos. He has extensive experience in strategic marketing, business development, M&A, Digital IOT, and Board-level leadership within the water and environmental sectors, including 5 years on the Board of WEF, 3 of those years as treasurer. With over 38 years of experience, he has dedicated his career to protecting the environment and ensuring the sustainability of water, our most precious natural resource.
David LaFrance
CEO of the American Water Works Association (AWWA)
Mr. LaFrance leads American Water Works Association, the world’s largest and oldest association of water professionals, with 50,000 members worldwide. Overseeing a staff of approximately 150 in Denver and Washington D.C., LaFrance guides AWWA’s extensive scientific, educational, and public policy work to build a better world through better water. Prior to joining AWWA, he was the CFO for Denver Water.
David Rager
Rager Management Consulting, Past President, American Water Works Association
David has over 40 years of experience in local government services including 17 years as the CEO of the Greater Cincinnati Water Works, and five years as CEO of SD1, a wastewater and storm water utility serving Northern Kentucky. He has focused on creating high performance organizations using strategic business planning processes, regular customer feedback, and tactical use of technology.
David has served on a number of water industry boards and committees including Chair of AWWA’s Water Utility Council, Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Water Research Foundation, President of the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies, Board member and Presidential officer of the American Water Works Association.
As principal of Rager Management Consulting, LLC, he continues his work with water utilities and organizations developing strategic plans, financial plans, and service contracts. Through the American Water Works Association and the World Bank, he assists international organizations with expertise and training in the United States and abroad.
David received his BS from the University of Cincinnati and his MBA from Xavier University.
Lindsey Rechtin
President/CEO at Northern Kentucky Water District, Treasurer of Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies
Lindsey Rechtin is the President/CEO at the Northern Kentucky Water District (NKWD). She began her career at NKWD as Finance Manager in 2013. From 2016 to 2022, she served as Vice President of Finance and Support Services where she oversaw the financial and customer support services of NKWD and its annual budget of more than $60 million.
As President/CEO, Lindsey’s responsibilities include overseeing all the managerial and operational functions of NKWD and leading and managing NKWD in the accomplishment of reaching the vision, fulfilling the mission, and accomplishing the key goals established in cooperation with the Board of Commissioners...
Andrew Walters
CEO of H2O America
Andrew Walters is the chief executive officer of H2O America (NASDAQ:HTO). He has over 26 years of experience in leadership, finance, banking, private equity, operations, and strategy roles. Before being named CEO, Walters served as the company’s chief financial officer and treasurer for 3 years.
Andrew first joined H2O America in 2015 to oversee human resources, information technology, business development and strategy. He also assisted with the management of regional operations and investor relations...
Andrew holds a B.S. in Business Management and Operations from Colorado State University.