Summer 2013 - Public Documents - NC AWWA-WEA

Member PortraitPortrait ofLisa Edwards:Defying Convention,Embracing ChallengeLisa Edwards became involvedwith the NC AWWA-WEA as aState Level Association Member(SLAM) in 2007. Around the same time,in preparation for eventually becomingthe Regional Engineer for the Departmentof Environment and Natural Resources’Public Water Supply Section out of theWinston-Salem Regional offi ce, shecompleted her chemistry degree and herengineering examinations. “I do like achallenge,” says Edwards, who was alsovolunteering as a Girl Scout Leader andraising her two daughters at the time. “Ikeep a full plate.”Working a lot and volunteering a lottranslates into being involved which isexactly what Edwards wanted to be.As a member of NC AWWA-WEA, shewas in her element. In fact, it was at the2006 Annual Conference in Greensborothat she first learned about a cause thathas now become her passion: the WorldWater Corps ® .Julie Hellmann was giving a presentationon the corps, a new volunteer armof Water For People that was poised tosend people out into the field. “I said tomyself, wow, I have to be part of that,”recalls Edwards.She threw her name into the hat withoutknowing if she even had a chance at beingchosen. In 2007, Edwards was selectedto be a member of Water For People’s firstWorld Water Corps ® to Malawi, Africa.But volunteers for the corps are expectedto spend their own vacation timeand resources to participate. For Edwards,who had two young children at home, thiswas a challenge. “I said to myself, if it wasmeant to be it will work out,” she recalls.“And it did.”Taking time out in the field to pose with some curious school children in West Bengal, Indiawhile on a Water For People World Water Corps assignment.As the two-week assignment meantbeing away from her children longer thanshe had ever been, she was relieved whenfriends and family immediately steppedup to help her. The Association also cameforward with financial support.“After all, another reason for takingthis trip was to be a good role model formy children,” recalls Edwards. “In NorthAmerica, not only do we have everythingwe need, we have more than what weneed. It is an important message.”In Malawi, she was part of a team thatconducted a baseline needs assessment,going into villages to collect data from theinhabitants about their access to drinkingwater and adequate sanitation. Later thatyear, she was asked to return, replacingone of her colleagues at Water For Peoplewho was pregnant and could not travel.In total, she would eventually takesix trips with Water For People. “Beforetaking that first trip, I did not even knowthere was a Water For People Committeein North Carolina,” says Edwards. “After Icame back, I joined the committee.”Then in 2011, wishing to connect withher peers from across Water For People,26 NC Currents Summer 2013Click Hereto return to Table of Contents