MILWAUKEE – The Water Council has added new members to its Board of Directors representing a diverse range of expertise in industry and education from around the world.
- Dr. Kimo Ah Yun is president of Marquette University, a founding member of The Water Council and the first university to join its WAVE: Water Stewardship Verified program.
- Svenja Ahlburg is the regional chief sales officer Americas and vice president Latin America of Wilo Group, a global manufacturer of pumps and pumps systems based in Germany with U.S. headquarters just outside of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
- Karine Rougé is the CEO of Municipal Water for Veolia North America, which provides water, wastewater and biosolids management services to more than 20 million people in 35 states.
- Sanjiv Sinha is the CEO of CIS, a national leader in the development and implementation of resilient, distributed infrastructure solutions.
“We are proud to add global leaders with a broad range of experience and deep expertise in their respective fields,” said Scott Beightol, The Water Council board chairman. “They will help guide The Water Council as we continue to solve pressing water challenges through innovation and stewardship and grow our network at home and abroad.”
Read on for more detailed biographies of the new board members:
Dr. Kimo Ah Yun is Marquette University’s 25th president, elected in November 2024 after serving as dual acting president and provost. In 2016, he joined Marquette as dean of the Diederich College of Communication, and he was later named provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. Prior to joining Marquette, he was associate dean of the College of Arts and Letters, chair of the department of communications studies, director of the Center for Teaching and Learning, and a professor at California State University, Sacramento. A first-generation college student, President Ah Yun is committed to furthering the university’s mission of educational access and ensuring all students are successful from their first day to their first destination following graduation.
Svenja Ahlburg is the regional chief sales officer Americas of Wilo Group with over 10 years of experience in the pump industry as well as extensive knowledge in the restructuring and implementation of future-oriented business strategies. Previously, she worked as group director Latin America at Wilo based in Brazil. In 2019, as Wilo Group’s government and public affairs group director, Ahlburg established a reliable network to politics, NGOs and private companies in Eurasia, Middle East and Latin America.
Karine Rougé has been chief executive officer at Veolia North America’s Municipal Water division since 2022, providing water, wastewater and biosolids management services to almost 21 million people in 35 states. She also chaired NAWC (National Association of Water Companies) in 2024 and has been active as a representative of the industry as a whole, especially on issues involving workforce development, environmental resilience and adaptation. Rougé previously led strategic transformations for Suez in the digital, municipal and industrial water sectors and worked on acquisition and financing projects for the investment banking division of Goldman Sachs in London, Paris and Johannesburg.
Sanjiv Sinha, Ph.D., has been the chief executive officer at CIS since 2023 and is a well-known expert in resilient infrastructure. With extensive experience in financing/funding for infrastructure projects, he also serves on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Finance Advisory Board.
At CIS, Dr. Sinha’s strategic leadership has played a pivotal role in quadrupling the number of clients, nearly doubling the firm’s annual revenues, hiring much of CIS's staff, and expanding into new offices in Milwaukee, Seattle, Ann Arbor and Sacramento. Previously, Dr. Sinha founded Resilient Infrastructure for Sustainable Communities, a Great Lakes climate resiliency network. His substantial board experience includes roles as the chairman for the Delta Institute and the Alliance of the Great Lakes.
