Harish Rao, Rao & Associates, awarded the Charles W. Gruber Association Leadership Award by A&WMA
Posted by [email protected] on Oct. 24, 2022
Harish Rao was selected for A&WMA’s 2022 Charles W. Gruber Association Leadership Award. This award, established by resolution of the Board of Directors on May 2, 2003, is for an individual who has provided outstanding service to A&WMA by serving in leadership positions at both national/international and local levels and who has contributed to the achievement of the mission and objectives of the Association.
Harish first became involved with A&WMA with the presentation of a paper at the 1985 Annual Conference and Exhibition (ACE) and started as a member of the Northern Ohio Chapter/East Central Section from 1984-1987. From that start, A&WMA has become an active part of his professional life and considers it a privilege to be a part of this professional organization to be able to contribute and also receive much from the interaction with others in the profession. After moving to the Chicago area, he joined the Lake Michigan States Section (LMSS) of A&WMA serving on the Board and as the Section’s Treasurer, and Vice Chair in the early 1990s. He was the LMSS Section Chair during 1995-96 and outgoing Chair the following year. During this period, he organized two annual 2-day Air Conferences. In the last couple of years, Dr. Rao rejoined the LMSS Board and is currently the Treasurer, assists with the Section’s annual Air and Waste Conference planning committees, and serves on the mentorship program.
Dr. Rao has had a long history with Technical Council activities, participating as a member or officer of a number of technical coordinating committees (TCCs), over many years, related to chemistry, modeling, regulatory compliance, environmental remediation, waste management, air toxics, risk assessment, auditing, climate change and sustainability. For at least the last 15 years, Dr. Rao has been active in the Technical Council’s planning process for organizing the ACE technical programs, attending and scheduling sessions, reviewing papers, presenting papers as well as chairing sessions. He continues to look for additional opportunities to volunteer his time to improve and make A&WMA the go-to organization for environmental professionals.
Dr. Rao is a licensed Professional Engineer in Illinois and a Qualified Environmental Professional (QEP) since 1994 and works as a private consultant providing environmental engineering and carbon management project services under Rao Consulting Services (RCS) since 2012 and under BalanceCO2 since 2007, where he is the founder and principal.
