Marla Waters

Supported NTIA’s administration of the IIJA and CAA broadband infrastructure grant program across 50+ states and territories. Created risk frameworks and revised SOPs for post-award monitoring, enabling faster, more consistent grantee assessments. Reviewed environmental compliance submissions across 30+ grantees and seven programs, reducing reporting errors and delays. Trained federal field officers and contractors in corrective action protocols, Uniform Guidance, and lifecycle compliance readiness. Mentored junior consultants, ensuring quality, clarity, and on-time delivery of NTIA technical assistance.

Oversaw administration of 50+ infrastructure grants valued at $110M+ (FEMA’s FMA and TWDB FIF funded), guiding full grant lifecycles from planning through closeout. Directed end-to-end execution for flood mitigation and infrastructure grant projects, managing timelines, resources, and cross-functional deliverables Authored and implemented SOP’s for procurement review, QA/QC of pre-award and post-award grant administration documents, reporting submission, closeout processing and reimbursement requests, using Uniform Guidance for Federal Awards (2 CFR 200) and federal guidance, resulting in a streamlined approach to grant management within the program Drafted and negotiated grant contracts, ensuring regulatory alignment with state procurement laws Developed reimbursement tracking system to ensure timely and accurate payments that align to the project budgets. Tracked grant expenditures and invoices to ensure Uniform Guidance met and accurate financial reporting Led quarterly reporting for Texas FMA program, developed a database for tracking and monitoring project milestones to ensure projects remained on schedule and within the project scope resulting in zero corrective actions over a four year period Spearheaded outreach strategy for underrepresented communities through media campaigns and conference presentations, unlocking $550M+ in additional funding through effective stakeholder engagement. Managed contractor relationships, resource allocation, and performance tracking; ensured deliverables met quality, cost, and schedule metrics Supervised associate grant coordinates providing task delegation, quality assurance checks, grant administration trainings and professional development

Researched non-compliance allegations, and prepares specific materials to support routine enforcement actions. Examined state and federal drinking water laws to develop appropriate state-level responses to non-compliance through monetary penalties and technical compliance actions. Assisted the regulated community, the public and others regarding enforcement actions, or agency rules and policies.

As the Outreach and Communication intern at Oregon Wild I was responsible for working on outreach programs, assisting in conservation programs and supporting outdoor programs. I represented Oregon Wild in the community to advance understanding of conservation and build support for campaigns at tabling events, by organizing volunteers at community events and distributing materials throughout Eugene. I developed informational brochures that contained information about our summer hike programs. Brochures included information about the trail, history of the area, and detailed species identification. Additionally I provided support to OW staff in monitoring and responding to projects that threaten environmental laws, wildlife and public lands. I updated projects database, attended field tours and worked to mobilize grassroots pressure on federal and state agencies. I organized a film screening of movies about grassroots organization around the issues of forestry management and practices in Oregon. Since my internship I have continued to volunteer with OW, recently I helped organize and coordinate volunteers for several events for Earth day including a river clean-up and a beerfest. The events were centered around educating community members about the importance of clean water within our watershed.

Initially I was hired as a student caterer who performed food and drink serving duties at dinners and special events while interacting with guests in a positive, friendly and efficient manner. As a caterer the main responsibilities were to set up for events by putting out tablecloths, place settings and arranging table placement or setting up the buffet. Additionally I was required to carry plates of food on trays and serve guests, anticipate guest needs, performing cleaning and breakdown duties and maintain high standards of safety and cleaning. After two months of being a student caterer I was promoted to experienced caterer. My role was to act as a liaison between event leaders and supervisors so that I am a point of contact for aiding caterers with their job duties. Other responsibilities for experienced caterer included doing deliveries alone, driving trucks and training new caterers. Additionally I took a bartending course and was one of the main bartenders at catering. Four months after that promotion, I was promoted to event leader. As an event leader I directly supervised events, ensuring high quality food and customer service under my supervision. I managed anywhere from 5-15 students per shift and was responsible for delegating tasks, organizing the set up of events and assigning duties during shifts to ensure that all tasks were completed.

The role of a Resident Assistant is to aid in the transition from high school to college and be a resource for students living in the residence halls. Resident Assistants are live in student leaders and mentors that work to build one-on-one relationships with my residents, help them become academically engaged and successful, and to help orient them into student life. My responsibilities included planning events and community development and occasionally managing sensitive and confidential issues. After a year of being a Resident Assistant, I was promoted to Mentor Resident Assistant where on top of normal RA duties, I was responsible for being a mentor to first year RAs. Additionally I was in charge of our residence halls monthly budget which was allocated to RAs for programs and community building. Part of the job was ensuring that the rules of the residence halls are followed which meant sometimes handling crises or high stress situations. Additionally, being a resource for my residence meant being able to mitigate delicate situations, aid in conflict resolution and handle confidential information.

As the Director of Student Membership, I designed and implemented a multi-tiered education and recruitment plan to stewart new members and engage our current member base. This included organizing tabling events throughout campus, creating partnerships with other student groups and hosting a diverse array of events for our members. The goal of the Student Membership Director was to engage current students and help in their transition from student members to alumni members. A large part of this job consisted of giving professional presentations to students and parents about student life and the benefits of being members of the alumni association. Additionally it required me to have strong interpersonal skills and the ability to communicate with a diverse group of people. In this job I worked with a group of four other directors, as well as lead a small team of interns who assisted me in my job responsibilities. For the first three months of my time employed at the Alumni Association I worked as a recruiter during the summer then was hired on as the Director of Student Membership for the remainder of the school year.

Processed standard teller transactions for members including processing loan payments, accessing safety deposit boxes, cashing checks, balancing cash drawers and correcting discrepancies. Assisted in running and training new student tellers at the high school branch of MaPS CU.

Throughout my education I was fascinated by the intersection of science in policy, specific how our environmental laws are influenced (or not) by the ever changing field of environmental science. I was able to observe the impacts of environmental laws during my experience in the Environmental Leadership Program where my team and I examined the implications of statewide use of aerial herbicide spray on private timberland. We documented the experiences of community members directly impacted by a helicopter herbicide spray and examined the history of the movement against federal herbicide use. This experience opened up the gate to my thesis project where I examined the growing relationship between community organization, industry and environmental policies. Specifically, I looked across state lines to see how the state-level forestry laws have evolved with respect to protecting riparian areas.