The 2006 Trendsetters List

As APWA director-at-large (public works leadership and management), she was a first responder to testify before Congress about the State of Interoperable Communications: Perspectives from the Field. Now director of urban infrastructure and development services for Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, she advocates change in transportation policy at the local and state levels.

The Pennsylvania State University environmental engineering professor developed an environmentally friendly method of producing energy while cleaning wastewater.

Executive director of the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio, which won a 2006 Excellence Award (Silver–Marketing Award) from the Solid Waste Association of North America. This summer, he initiated the Partnership for Industrial Ecology in Central Ohio, which seeks cost-effective ways of reducing municipal and industrial waste through sustainability programs. He hopes his initiative will provide a model for implementing industrial ecology through public-private collaboration.

The Orange County (Fla.) Water Reclamation Division plant manager worked with the Boy Scouts to increase awareness of water and wastewater infrastructure, watershed-based approach to pollution control, beneficial use of biosolids, and prevention of oil and fat-oil-grease blockages to control sewer system overflows, winning a number of regional and national awards.

This APWA board member (transportation) and chief administrative officer for the Port of Seattle met with Congressional staff to discuss public works needs, infrastructure issues, security challenges, global competition, and port efficiency. He proposes road and railway improvements to be the main priority. He also won the National Management Association's Silver Knight of Leadership award for excellence in leadership in 2005.

The Wisconsin landfill is supplying Ocean Spray's Wisconsin Rapids plant with energy through a mile-long pipeline that carries methane gas from the landfill to the plant's steam boilers. This reduces greenhouse emissions from the landfill by 7000 tons a year, and cuts Ocean Spray's annual fuel costs by 25%.

Nominated as undersecretary for FEMA at the Department of Homeland Security. He has been acting director of the agency since September 2005.

Leader of the Sowing Green Collaborative, which proposes green reconstruction (energy efficiency, storm-resistant design, etc.) of Mississippi's Gulf Coast to decrease long-term reconstruction costs in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Tim Pawlenty

The Minnesota governor signed legislation requiring 2% of diesel fuel to contain biodiesel, making his state the first to mandate the sale of biodiesel. With three biodiesel plants producing 63 million gallons a year, the state is the nation's leading producer.

This recently named Secretary of Transportation has spent more than 20 years crafting solutions to our nation's toughest transportation challenges. Most recently Federal Highway Administration administrator, she found new ways to invest in road and bridge construction, and advocated for public-private partnerships and new technologies.

As state equipment manager with the Virginia DOT, he developed the VDOT TRUCKS (Training Rewards Us with Competencies, Knowledge, and Skills) program. In 10 years, the program increased the number of ASCE-certified VDOT technicians from 300 to 3000. Potter received the 2006 Larry Goill Award from the National Association of Fleet Administrators Inc.

Owned and operated by the Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County, the $35 million facility was designed to extract and divert recyclables from the 4000 tons of garbage it processes every day. It has significantly reduced the amount of material going to the area's nearly filled landfills since it opened in July 2005. Received a Solid Waste Association of North America 2006 Excellence Award (Gold–Transfer Station Award).

Public works director of Gulfport, Miss. His fast work made Gulfport the first city in the region to restore city services after Hurricane Katrina.

Its Victory Over Vandalism program won the Graffiti Hurts National Award in December. In just one year, the outreach and enforcement program reduced the city's vandalism costs from $50,000 to $2500.

A professor of civil and environmental engineering at University of California, Berkeley, he was team leader of the Independent Levee Investigation Team (sponsored by the National Science Foundation), which studied the failure of New Orleans's flood protection system during Hurricane Katrina.

An associate professor of chemical engineering at the University of Missouri-Columbia, he is a 2006 EPA Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award recipient. He created a process for converting natural glycerin into propylene glycol that can be used to make antifreeze. The propylene glycol may eventually replace a toxic chemical currently used in antifreeze.

This U.S. Senator (R-Mo.) secured $1.5 million in federal funding for a biodiesel engine testing program through the Energy and Water Appropriations bill. He also secured more than $150 million for energy development, flood control, environmental restoration, navigation improvements, and water transportation modernization projects in Missouri.

The son of a local politician, he was fired from the Suffolk County (N.Y.) Water Authority for fouling up routine drinking water tests, costing the agency $100,000 in overtime, bottled water, ice, and other costs. His mistake prompted cities to closely question hiring procedures for city positions.