Honoring Black History: Alumnus Feature-Cheryl Porter '02
Cheryl Porter '02 began her career as a chemist, but it wasn’t until she was in law school that she realized the impact the work she was doing had on her community. “I realized the work I did is what helped bring clean drinking water to my house, my friends’ and family’s houses, and my community. That’s when working in water went from a job to a career,” she explained.
Now serving as the Chief Operating Officer of Great Lakes Water Authority, Porter sees her role as building bridges and bringing teams together while advocating for everyone.
“I’ve been in leadership for a while now, and one thing you don’t learn on the technical side are the roles and responsibilities that come with leading people,” Porter said. “I can connect the technical aspects for our operation, the chemistry of it, with the regulations because of my law degree.
“The intersection of law and chemistry are constant in the water industry. Everything we do is first informed by laws, like the Safe Drinking Water Act or the Clean Water Act. The application of those laws is what we ask our chemists to do. I can build the bridges necessary to get clean water to our community by leveraging my skill set in both areas.”
When Porter originally decided to study chemistry, she thought she would go into medicine because she wanted to help others and her community. "I wanted to make a difference, and I wanted to contribute to society. And I realized: everyone needs water. The impact I'm able to have goes beyond what I originally would have thought when I started in water."
Porter is also making history as the first Black woman to serve as President of the American Water Works Association. “As an association, our goal is to bring attention to water issues facing different states and municipalities. There are challenges that come no matter where you are. We’re surrounded by abundance in Michigan, but there are areas in the rest of the country that must develop creative solutions to what they’re facing,” she said. “I am honored to be making history in this role and work with passionate individuals to bring this essential, life-sustaining resource to the public.
“My goal is to help us better tell our stories in water. It is a resource that is often overlooked until something goes wrong. I want to rebuild trust around what we do and help everyone understand the vital nature of what we do.”
“I’m proud of the fact that I’ve worked my way through the ranks and am able to bring people together,” Porter explained. “Whether it’s bringing together maintenance and engineering, or legal and communications, we’re all a team working towards the same goal. We need to advocate for one another and be proud of the work we’re doing to help our communities.”