Great things are happening at the Urban Drainage and Flood Control District.

November 20, 2017

UDFCD is proud to announce some modifications to our organizational structure aimed at improving our effectiveness and positioning ourselves for long-term success. The key organizational moves we are making to help prepare us for the opportunities and challenges ahead include:
Creation of the Operations and Development Services Program. Led by David Bennetts, this new program will oversee a wide array of functions related to UDFCD’s operations and development of special projects to meet organizational goals. With over 34 years of experience at UDFCD, David, along with Laura Kroeger, played a vital role in the success of our Stream Services Program. Under their leadership, the Stream Services team has thrived and delivered many innovative award-winning projects.
David’s combination of strong business acumen, depth of UDFCD knowledge, and solid leadership skills made him the right choice for leading this critical new program. Working across multiple service areas, David will be responsible for developing and integrating special projects that achieve UDFCD’s strategic objectives. David will also play a key role in the near future as we increase efforts to implement mitigation, preservation, and education projects.
Joining David’s team are Holly Piza and Julia Bailey. Holly Piza’s role as Standards Development Manager will be to oversee various engineering functions related to research and development of criteria and technical standards to advance stormwater quality practices that better support our local government partners. Information Services Specialist, Julia Bailey, manages UDFCD’s GIS activities as well as our enterprise records management software. I am confident that our new Operations and Development Services program will thrive and excel in the coming years.
Promotion of Laura Kroeger to Stream Services Manager. I am also delighted to announce Laura’s new leadership position. In her prior role as Assistant Program Manager for Stream Services, Laura made numerous contributions to the success and growth of the program, including leading the development of Project Partners, a qualification-based selection process for engaging the best consultants and contractors to collaborate on delivering UDFCD projects. Laura’s foresight and skills were also instrumental in a recent collaborative effort among many stakeholders that resulted in “River Run,” a beautiful stream restoration/park project and Colorado’s premier river surfing destination on the South Platte River.
For as long as I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Laura, she has always had big vision, an eye for recognizing and developing talent, and a passion for fostering relationships within our community. I am confident that Laura will continue to enhance what she has already helped develop into a solid program. As part of these new organizational modifications, we have streamlined the Stream Services operations and thus, eliminated the need for an assistant manager position.
More Changes on the Horizon. Over the past couple of years, we have challenged ourselves to think outside the box by revisiting our mission-vision and articulating our core values. With the launching of an all-staff retreat followed by the implementation of a new Strategic Plan, it has led to some exciting new concepts, one of them being the Watershed Approach to Stream Management. The goal of this approach is to deliver broader system-wide improvements to how we manage our stream systems, producing significant gains in the overall quality of mitigation projects. You will hear more about this in the coming weeks as we continue to develop the process.
Our Best Days Lie Ahead. UDFCD has outstanding leadership at all levels of our agency. With their drive, focus, experience, and will to succeed, we are moving forward from a position of strength. These changes have already sparked tremendous energy and creativity, not just amongst our management team, but our entire staff. I am certain that with our new structure and renewed energy, our best days lie ahead.