Employee Spotlight: Paul Howard

Employee Spotlight #6: We are excited to shine this week’s employee spotlight on Senior Vice President, Paul Howard. Paul co-founded Tata & Howard nearly 30 years ago with the late Donald J. Tata, and has been dedicated to the company since day one, October 19, 1992.

Coming from a long line of engineers, Paul’s father, grandfather, and great-grandfather owned Whitman & Howard, Inc., a prominent New England civil engineering firm founded in 1867. Growing up around engineers provided Paul the opportunity to be exposed to the field at a young age, and as early as 5-years-old, he could be found on construction sites with his father. By 14 he was working on a survey crew gaining even more experience before entering Worcester Polytechnic Institute to obtain a degree in civil engineering.

Paul’s favorite types of projects involve water treatment plants and water supply development. The most memorable project worked on, and the second official T&H project, was the Elm Bank Pump Station job, no. 1002. The Elm Bank Pump Station was the culmination of approximately 10 years of work to develop the water supply for the Towns of Natick, Wellesley, Needham, and Dover. Natick was the only Town to move forward with developing the source. At the time, the pump test for the supply was the largest pump test ever conducted in the state of Massachusetts. Four wells were pumped at 4 million gallons per day.  Seven thousand feet of discharge piping was used. The permitting for the project was extensive and in the end limited the Town to 2.2 mgd out of an approval yield of 7.0 mgd.

When he’s not at one of the T&H offices, Paul enjoys golfing and snowboarding, traveling, and spending time with family. A fond travel memory dates back to childhood when he went fishing at the Arctic Circle and the Northwest Territory of Canada. On this special trip he caught a 31.5 pound lake trout, an 11 pound arctic char, saw an albino wolverine, and piloted a six passenger airplane.

Employee Spotlight: Karen Gracey

Employee Spotlight #5: Karen Gracey. Over the last 25 years, she has held each role at the company, starting first as a summer intern, and working her way up to Co-President.

With a degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Vermont, Karen is passionate about environmental engineering and fixing problems to make a positive impact with each project she is a part of. She enjoys hydraulic modeling and system analysis as each project offers an opportunity to figure out why certain issues are happening with a water system.

Karen’s favorite project at T&H to date was the company’s first Capital Efficiency Plan completed for the Connecticut Water Company for the Unionville System. Conducting research, collaborating on the various sections of the report, and then writing it from scratch was a fun and fulfilling task.

When she isn’t at T&H, Karen enjoys cooking, skiing, and relaxing at the beach. A trip to Napa Valley with her brother and sister a few years ago is one of her favorite travel memories. Driving in a limo to small vineyards in Sonoma Valley and Russian River provided lots of delicious wine, beautiful landscapes, and spending time with family.

Fun Fact: During the summer of her internship at T&H, Karen dove headfirst into hydraulic modeling and water main design. In addition, she also learned a lot about blueline machines. For those who are not familiar, blueline machines use black lights and ammonia to copy a drawing printed on vellum onto special paper. Copying one drawing would take a minute or two, so imagine making multiple copies of water treatment plant drawings! 

Thanks for all you do, Karen!

Patrick S. O’Neale, P.E. named President of MWWA

MARLBOROUGH, MA, NOVEMBER 06, 2019

The Massachusetts Water Works Association (MWWA) announced that Patrick S. O’Neale, P.E. has been appointed as President of the Association, effective November 1, 2019. Patrick is a Senior Vice President at Tata & Howard, Inc., a Northeast leader in water engineering and consulting.

O’Neale is a seasoned engineer with more than 38 years of consulting experience with specialized expertise in water treatment, water distribution system analysis, design, and construction. Patrick has served on the MWWA Board of Directors since 2015 and has been a member of the Program Committee since 2010 where he most recently served as co-chair. He is looking forward to serving as President and assisting in MWWA’s commitment to the drinking water profession. Patrick’s Presidency will promote the new MWWA Vision Statement of professionalism, stewardship, and confidence in every drop.

“Tata & Howard has a longstanding relationship with the MWWA, and we are pleased to see Patrick take on this exciting new role with the organization,” says Paul Howard, Co-Founder and Senior Vice President of Tata & Howard. “Patrick’s passion and unwavering commitment to promoting clean and safe drinking water to the Massachusetts community will be a true asset as he assumes this position.”

The Massachusetts Water Works Association, Inc. is a membership organization dedicated to the advancement of the drinking water profession. Through education and advocacy, MWWA is committed to public health by promoting a safe and sufficient supply of drinking water to Massachusetts consumers.

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Founded in 1992, Tata & Howard, Inc. is a 100% employee-owned water, wastewater, and stormwater consulting engineering firm dedicated to consistently delivering innovative, cost-effective solutions in the water environment. Tata & Howard has gained a solid reputation as an industry leader in the Northeast by bringing knowledge, integrity, and dedicated service to all-sized markets, both public and private. The firm has offices in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Arizona. For more information, visit http://www.tataandhoward.com.

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