BUFFALO, NEW YORK - The Erie County Water Authority (ECWA) today announced that Russell J. Stoll has been named its new executive director. Stoll, a licensed professional engineer (P.E.) who has been with ECWA since 2012 and has served as its executive engineer since 2016, was selected after an extensive national search over several months.

“We are very pleased to have Mr. Stoll as our new executive director,” said ECWA Chairman Jerome Schad. “After an exhaustive process led by a professional executive search firm, the board of commissioners felt very strongly that he was the best person for the job. There were several highly qualified candidates, but Mr. Stoll’s knowledge of ECWA’s operations and vast experience overseeing our significant infrastructure investment program put him well atop the pool of potential candidates.”

According to Schad, ECWA will complete $41 million in infrastructure upgrades in 2019 and expend well in excess of $200 million over the next five years, the largest infrastructure investment program in ECWA history.

ECWA used AP Professionals, an Amherst based executive search firm, to assist in finding a new executive director. Over the course of six months, the firm reviewed 26 resumes that met the new requirements of the executive director position. After an intensive interview process, the firm provided a list of six finalists to

ECWA who were then interviewed by senior management and the board of commissioners. Stoll was selected from two finalists.

As executive director, Stoll will be responsible for the overall management of ECWA’s day-to-day operations, including overseeing its treatment, distribution, and storage facilities and its infrastructure investment program. He will report directly to the board of commissioners.

“I’m honored to be named ECWA’s executive director and look forward to using my 38 years of private and public sector experience as a professional engineer and my seven years at ECWA to help lead the organization in the direction that has been set by the current board of commissioners,” said Stoll.

“Over the past year, this board of commissioners has taken very proactive measures to improve ECWA’s operations and is committed to strategic planning and system-wide infrastructure upgrades, which will directly benefit our customers.  I look forward to working with the commissioners in my new role to expand on their efforts.”

Prior to ECWA, Stoll was a professional engineer at several Western New York based engineering and environmental consulting firms and served as director of engineering at the NFTA.  He graduated from the University at Buffalo with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. He currently serves as an adjunct faculty member in Erie Community College’s Construction Management and Civil Technology departments.

Stoll resides in Amherst with his wife and has 2 children.

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