EPIC hires a Director for the Funding Navigator team

EPIC is ecstatic to welcome Denise Schmidt as the Director of the Funding Navigator team.

Together with our partners, Denise will lead the Funding Navigator—a team of experts that helps utilities serving overburdened communities seek and secure SRFs and other funds. The goal is to ensure more communities benefit from federal funds to invest in safe and climate-resilient drinking water, wastewater treatment, and stormwater management.

Denise brings over 30 years of experience working with utilities, local, state, and federal agencies, technical assistance providers, and nonprofits in the water sector. "I was extremely excited to see EPIC launch the Funding Navigator, as I believe it holds tremendous potential for ensuring the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law lives up to its promise to advance equity," said Denise.

During her most recent work as the Administrator of the Division of Water Utility Regulation and Analysis at the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, she initiated and helped grow multiple programs: the lead service line financial assistance approval program, the conservation and efficiency initiative, outreach to financially disadvantaged utilities, and a residential rates dashboard, among others. Her work has ensured that Wisconsin’s public water utilities have the capacity to provide safe, reliable, affordable, equitable, and environmentally responsible service.