Little Rock Water Reclamation Authority
Since 2019, Little Rock Water Reclamation Authority has used Women’s History Month to salute women leaders who we call ‘Women of Water,’ or ‘WOW’. These women are an integral part of what makes LRWRA an industry leader. This year, we salute Women of Water and their Allies! LRWRA recognizes that numerous male colleagues within and associated with the utility actively support Women of Water. Together, we are building a stronger utility.
View past honorees.
Tammy is a North Little Rock native who began her career with Little Rock Water Reclamation Authority (LRWRA) in 2013 as a Secretary for Environmental Affairs at the Fourche Creek Water Reclamation Facility.
During her tenure, she completed her Class II Wastewater Operators License. In 2017, Tammy became an Accounts Receivable Specialist III at the LRWRA Clearwater Administration Building where she obtained her Accounts Receivable Specialist Certification through the Institute of Finance and Management program and received a certificate from the "Dale Carnegie Course: Skills for Success” course. As an Accounts Receivable Specialist, Tammy performs bank reconciliations, analyzes billing data for quality assurance, prepares financial and billing reports, coordinates with Central Arkansas Water on customer account inquiries along with various other tasks.
Tammy is also a business owner who launched a cleaning business in 2013 and a local North Little Rock boutique in 2020. She is a member of the North Little Rock Chamber of Commerce where she enjoys after-hour networking with other small businesses. To relax in her downtime, she enjoys boating, camping, traveling, shopping, and taking care of her two dogs. Tammy recently became a first-time grandmother to a handsome little boy.
Female Empowerment Quote(s)
“If you truly pour your heart into what you believe in, even if it makes you vulnerable, amazing things can and will happen.” — Emma Watson
Alexandria started her journey with Little Rock Water Reclamation Authority in 2019, as a communications intern, two days after she graduated from college with her bachelor’s degree in communications.
After interning with LRWRA for seven months, she was offered a full-time position as a communications assistant. With a background in audio & video production, she creates videos and graphics for both the utility and externally. Alexandria believes women have a voice and should always be heard no matter the circumstances, and she loves that LRWRA believes in that. She is a native of Little Rock who enjoys traveling, spending time with her family and friends, and cooking.
Female Empowerment Quote(s)
Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and, above all, confidence in ourselves. We must believe we are gifted for something, and that this thing must be attained.” — Marie Curie
Schawnee Hightower is the Director of Business Sales – Verizon Arkansas. In this role, he is responsible for sales, operations, and financial performance for the enterprise and business sales team in the state of Arkansas.
Prior to this position, Hightower held several positions in leadership roles for the South Central region. He was the former President, Vice President, and General Manager for ALLTEL Corporation. In this role, he was responsible for sales, operations, and marketing for the wireless and wireline operations in Arkansas. Hightower has more than 25 years of experience in the telecommunications industry. Schawnee Hightower graduated from Little Rock Central High and attended the University of Arkansas, where he majored in Political Science.
He is President of the Positive Atmosphere Reaching Kids P.A.R.K Inc. board, serves on the Little Rock Chamber of Commerce executive board, and Club 99 of the Little Rock Rotary Club. He has served on several community projects and boards in his business career. He is currently chairman of the Little Rock Water Reclamation Commission. My life has been blessed by tremendous women however none more impactful than my mother Aleen Hightower. I watched her display a work ethic that was second to none and an attitude that was all about empowerment. She stressed to be present and accountable which have been pillars in my career.
Female Empowerment Quote(s)
“Every day, you have the power to choose our better history—by opening your hearts and minds, by speaking up for what you know is right.” — Michelle Obama
We celebrate decades of Women of Water!
Check out the history of women who have taken great strides and made major contributions in water reclamation, water processing, water conservation and water overall!
Anna Thynne was a British marine zoologist. She built the first stable and sustained marine aquarium in 1846 and maintained corals and sponges for over three years.
Ellen H. Swallow Richards is best known for pioneering the field of sanitary engineering. Richards performed an unprecedented survey in 1890 that led to the first state water-quality standards in the nation. She is credited for making important contributions to the understanding of environmental systems.
Mabel MacFerran Rockwell was one of the first woman aeronautical engineers in the United States and is known for demonstrating the greater effectiveness and efficiency of spot welding as opposed to riveting. She also designed underwater propulsion systems and submarine guidance mechanisms.
Kathleen E. Carpenter was a British freshwater ecologist. She is best known for her early studies of the effects of metal pollution on Welsh rivers and their biota, as well as her book, Life in Inland Waters, the first English-language textbook devoted to freshwater ecology.
Katsuko Saruhashi was a Japanese geochemist who created tools that let her take some of the first measurements of carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in seawater. She later showed evidence of the dangers of radioactive fallout and how far it can travel. Along with this focus on safety, she also researched peaceful uses of nuclear power.
Rachel Carson authored Silent Spring, a book published in 1962 about the impacts of pesticides on the ecosystem and credited with beginning the modern environmental movement. Before becoming a full-time writer, she worked at the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries, renamed the Fish and Wildlife Service, from 1935-1952 as a biologist and then editor-in-chief of publications.
Anne J. Schneider is acknowledged as one of the first women to become well-known and well-respected in the field of California and Western water law. Her legal specialization was the field of water law, with a practice that focused on water rights issues as they pertain to the protection of existing rights and the establishment and acquisition of appropriative, riparian and groundwater rights.
Using satellite imagery, Egyptian geomorphologist Eman Ghoneim discovered traces of an 11,000-year-old mega lake in the Sahara Desert. The discovery shed light on the origins of the largest modern groundwater reservoir in the world.
Dorothy Wanja Nyingi is a Kenyan ichthyologist and recipient of the Ordre des Palmes académiques (Order of Academic Palms) for her work on Fish Biodiversity and Aquatic Ecology. She is the author of the first guide to fresh water fish in Kenya, Guide to the Common Freshwater Fishes of Kenya.
Dr. Na’Taki Osborne Jelks, a community activist and an assistant professor of environmental and health sciences, helped to start West Atlanta Watershed Alliance (WAWA), an organization in West Atlanta that has helped protect an entire community watershed from sewer overflows that affected one of the area’s oldest black neighborhoods.