ALEXANDRIA, Va.�The Water Environment Federation (WEF) announces the promotion of Eileen O'Neill, Ph.D., to the position of Deputy Executive Director.
O'Neill's prior position was that of Managing Director for Technical and Educational Services where she managed WEF staff with responsibility for the technical content of WEFTEC, specialty conferences, web casts, workshops, and training courses; surveys of municipal and industrial practice; training materials including in print, video, CD-ROM, and web formats.
O'Neill has held a number of other positions with WEF including Director of WEF's International Program (1993-1997) and Director of WEF's Industrial Program (1991-1993). She will remain responsible for the technical profile and activities of the Federation while taking on additional responsibility in a number of strategic areas.
"Eileen has earned this promotion through tireless efforts on the behalf of the Federation and a strong and consistent record of solid accomplishments," said Bill Bertera, executive director of WEF.
O'Neill has been involved extensively in the international water field. She has participated with WEF's work with the United Nations (UN) since 1993, including leading WEF's application for consultative status with the Economic and Social Council. WEF has provided technical information to specific UN program offices and provided independent peer review of a UN Environmental Programme (UNEP) policy paper.
For six years, O'Neill directed WEF's collaboration with the US-Asia Environmental Partnership Program (US-AEP) to promote the development of environmental professional associations in India, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand and to provide training and technical assistance in the areas of water reuse; operation and management of wastewater collection and treatment infrastructure; public involvement and outreach; and development of certification and continuing education programs for environmental professionals.
She also directed WEF's seven-year collaboration with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to provide technical assistance and training in Central and Eastern Europe. The focus included municipal environmental infrastructure development, funding, and operation; source water protection and watershed management; certification and training; pollution prevention; biosolids management; and public participation/stakeholder involvement.
O'Neill has more than 25 years of academic, consulting, and association experience. She has a B.S. in Soil Science from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne (UK) and a Ph.D. in Soil Science from the University of Aberdeen (UK) and undertook a postdoctoral traineeship in Environmental Toxicology at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.
Her area of expertise is the fate and transport of contaminants in the environment. She is the author of more than 25 book chapters, magazine articles, conference papers, and peer-reviewed scientific papers.
