Top 10 Public Works Leaders

Each year, the Kansas City, Mo.-based American Public Works Association (APWA) recognizes outstanding leadership in the Public Works field. The association’s 2003 Public Works Leaders of the Year are:

John Farnan
General Superintendent
Metropolitan Water Reclamation
District of Greater Chicago

Under his tenure, the district has completed some of the largest and most complex public works projects in the country. They include the creation of a Tunnel and Reservoir Plan to solve the region’s combined sewer overflow problems and the construction of sidestream elevated pool aeration stations, which are “urban waterfalls” that aerate the water in local waterways to enhance the aquatic environment, improve and protect fish populations, and eliminate odors.

Rhonda Faught
Cabinet Secretary
New Mexico State Highway and Transportation Department

Faught has worked for the department for 15 years. When she was technical support engineer in Albuquerque, she created the first automated highway design squad, which is now the standard for all districts in the state. She also established the department’s Local Government Assistance Bureau to help city and county governments through the federal aid processes related to ISTEA legislation.

Thomas Kirkwood
Industry Consultant
Kansas City, Mo.

Retired as director of public works for Jackson County, Mo., Kirkwood continues to advise and participate in public works developments in the Kansas City metropolitan area. He has had a 52-year career in consulting engineering and is an active member of several professional and civic associations.

Tony Leffin
Director of Public Works
Maitland, Fla.

Under Leffin’s direction, the department established one of the first successful newspaper recycling programs in central Florida. It also implemented a water conservation program that produced high reduction results and increased community awareness of water conservation. The department implemented the first comprehensive Citywide Stormwater Lakes Management Plan in the state and set up a public/private partnership with one of the premier office parks in the southeast.

Diane Linderman
Director of Public Works
Richmond, Va.

Linderman led an initiative to increase maintenance funding for city streets from the Virginia Department of Transportation, as well as other legislation to promote local control of transportation funding. She created the Virginia Public Works Alliance of the VA/MD/DC Chapter of APWA, and, in leadership positions for APWA, she actively promoted the organization’s involvement in public rights-of-way management.

Tim Madhanagopal
Plant Manager
Orange County, Fla., Utilities Department

Madhanagopal is one of the founding members of the Industrial Pretreatment Voluntary Certification Program in Florida. The team developed and implemented the first certification program for pre-treatment professionals, which has trained and certified hundreds of professionals and serves as a model for other state programs.

Jack McCorkell
Commissioner of Works
Regional Municipality of Durham Works Department Whitby, Ontario, Canada

McCorkell has been responsible for implementing a work measurement system for the department that uses industrial engineering principles to set work standards and measure performance of field crews. He also developed performance standards for maintenance activities, and he introduced a computerized maintenance management systems in Ontario for regional roads, water and sewerage systems to track expenditures, accomplishments, productivity and unit costs.

Richard Stinson
Director of Public Works
Wakefield, Mass.

Under Stinson’s direction, the department has constructed a $2.8 million water treatment facility, rebuilt the town’s largest sewer pumping station (a $1.3 million project), constructed a $300,000 park on Lake Quannapowitt and rebuilt the town hall parking lot. He also started an annual snow-and-ice staff training program and created a five-year capital plan.

L. Scott Tucker
Executive Director
Urban Drainage and Flood Control District, Denver

Tucker worked with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to create the first Cooperating Technical Partnership agreement in the country. As part of the agreement, the district works with FEMA to create and maintain accurate, up-to-date flood hazard data for the 32 communities in the district that participate in the National Flood Insurance Program.

James Wood
Director of Maintenance
North Texas Tollway Authority
Plano, Texas

Wood managed the authority’s Asset Management Program, creating an Ice and Snow Sanding Plan using GIS, and managed a five-year $47.5 million Capital Improvement Program for Bedford, Texas. He also developed and implemented an asset management program for Bedford’s street system that resulted in $22.7 million in more funding for street resurfacing and reconstruction.