Welcome to Tap Talk Season 8! To kick off this new season, we welcome Courtney Lee to the show, who is the Director of Workforce Development at The Water Tower. The Water Tower is a nonprofit innovation hub striving to transform the future of water with research, workforce development, and industry collaboration programs. Courtney talks with Steve and Jennifer the unique approaches the organization is using to cultivate the next generation of water professionals.
Topics Discussed
- Meet Courtney Lee | LinkedIn
- Courtney’s Water Hero: Maddie Christensen of Water Professional International; who is collaborating with Courtney and The Water Tower to build the Excellence in Training Certificate Program.
- How do the two organization under The Water Tower umbrella function and how do they serve the water industry?
- History of The Water Tower
- Lab and demo spaces & capabilities at The Water Tower
- The importance of collaborating with experts in other utility fields
- Criteria to become a tenant at The Water Tower campus
- Programs developed under the US EPA’s workforce grant funding
- WaterNeedsYou.org
- Water Innovation and Leadership Summit for high school students; local interest from children in the water industry
- Connect with The Water Tower
“We want to build a water workforce that’s reflective of the communities they serve. So let’s go to the communities, figure out who’s in our community, and bring them to water.”Courtney Lee
Go Further
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About the Guest
Courtney Lee is the Director of Workforce Development at The Water Tower. Before joining The Water Tower in 2023, she was a chemistry teacher at Gwinnett County Public Schools, where she developed expertise in working in curriculum design, science instruction, and community engagement. In her current role, Courtney directs continuing education courses and coordinates training events with key partners, collaborators, and members of the community. Her expertise also involves developing and executing outreach programming to engage and recruit the next generation of water workers.
Courtney holds a BS in Chemistry from Appalachian State University and an MEd in Curriculum & Instruction from Georgia Southern University.