AWE Awards 2021 Water Star Award to Denise Schmidt

AWE's Water Star Award celebrates the “unsung hero”, the quiet water conservation practitioner working in the trenches who makes a huge difference by their dedication, passion, and progressive approaches to move forward our field. Water Star award winners receive this recognition not because they apply for the award, but because their peers around them recognize the value of their significant contribution and achievements over time and their quiet dedication to the cause.

The Alliance for Water Efficiency is proud to present its 2021 Water Star Award to Denise Schmidt.

Denise's conservation career began when she joined the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin in July of 2012 as a Water Policy Advisor. She is now a Division Administrator at the Commission, where Wisconsin is the only state in the country that regulates both private water companies and public water utilities. Policies that the Public Service Commission adopts are broad-ranging throughout the Wisconsin water utility sector. 

For her extraordinary contribution to regulated water conservation and efficiency policy in the state of Wisconsin and beyond, for her commitment to assisting water utilities with reducing their water losses and financial pressures, and for her teamwork spirit and consummate dedication to working together for common water efficiency goals, the Alliance for Water Efficiency is very proud to present this award to Denise Schmidt.

“On behalf of the AWE Board of Directors, I would like to congratulate Denise on earning the Water Star Award," AWE Board Chair Ron Voglewede said. "Denise has been the leading force for advancing Wisconsin’s water efficiency policies and programs and a national leader as well. She has been a true champion for sustainable water use whose work embodies AWE’s mission.”

Click here to learn more about Denise's career accomplishments and to view past winners of the Water Star Award.