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Ryan Smith

Wastewater Division Manager
City of Watsonville
WATSONVILLE, CA

Ryan Smith is the Chief Plant Operator and Wastewater Division Manager for the City of Watsonville, California. He has overall responsibility for the city’s wastewater conveyance, treatment, and reuse systems; and the city’s stormwater drainage systems. He previously served with the City of Richmond for five years. Smith is a graduate of the Naval Postgraduate School's Center for Homeland Defense and Security and holds a Master of Arts in Security Studies. His thesis, "Disasters, Finances, Nutrients, and Climate Change: a Case for Waterless Sanitation Systems," was nominated for the outstanding thesis award. Previously he graduated from the California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo and holds a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture. Smith began his professional career as a wastewater treatment plant operator-in-training with the City of Santa Rosa in 2005 and rapidly promoted to a senior level operator. He then accepted a similar position with the City of Petaluma for the construction and startup of the city’s new treatment facility. He later accepted a position as an operations supervisor with the Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District, and then as an operations superintendent and plant manager for the City of San Mateo. Ryan wants to do a little good for the world, and hopes to change it from the bottom up.

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