World Water Week Aug 26, 2022

Dr. Lanikque Howard is the director in the Office of Community Services. She provides leadership and oversight of over $12 billion annually in mandatory and discretionary grants through a multitude of social service and community development programs.

Mr. Rafael J. Elizalde is a successful ACF Program Manager, with various federal grant programs. Rafael is focused on serving the critical needs of economically depressed, diverse ethnic populations nation-wide. Mr. Elizalde holds bachelor’s in science (Business, Education) and master’s in public administration degrees, from highly regarded-US-accredited, chartered universities.

Olga is an accomplished and experienced leader on environmental justice and rural community development issues. She has been Assistant Director of Community and Environmental Programs at Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC) since 2018, where she led a team of 32 and managed an annual portfolio of nearly $10 million in grants and contracts. Olga also developed and led RCAC’s Regionalization Program and authored legislation that established the New Mexico Colonias Infrastructure Fund which has secured $144.6 million for 263 infrastructure projects since 2011. She also served on the EPA’s National Drinking Water Advisory Council (NDWAC) as an appointee of President George W. Bush, where she established strong working relationships with the agency while leading advisory efforts on issues such as climate change, hydraulic fracturing, carbon sequestration, and harmful algae blooms and cyanotoxins among others.

Jean Holloway began work for Southeast Rural Community Assistance Project, Inc. (SERCAP) in May of 2016 as State Manager for Delaware and Maryland’s Eastern Shore. She stepped back in June 2021 to a TAP position, but then returned to a State Manager position when the new Maryland office was established in March 2022. Prior to SERCAP she worked for Delaware Rural Water and served as Training Manager for the Environmental Finance Center at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Thomas A. “Tommy” Ricks, Director of Environmental Services based in Fayetteville, Arkansas, joined Communities Unlimited in 1997. He has worked with community development and community environmental management services for more than 32 years. He directly supports and directs staff in seven southern states in assisting more than 500 communities each year. He has been licensed by Mississippi as a certified water operator since 1990. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi, in 1993. He served in the U.S. Army and the Mississippi Army National Guard, obtaining the rank of Sergeant with 10 years of service before being honorably discharged in 1992.