On Giving Back: Meet Andy Kricun

Andy Kricun, our resident Subject Matter Expert, takes inspiration for PRESERVE from his long experience both in leadership positions with municipal utilities as the Executive Director of the Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority, and in national water initiatives. His key areas include wastewater facility and collection system optimization, CSO and LTCP expertise, community engagement and clean energy.  

Andy says that utilities can often feel siloed and is excited for membership in PRESERVE to interrupt that feeling. “In general, I’ve seen throughout my experience on the NACWA Board and various water associations just how much I benefited personally from learning the best practices of other communities,” says Andy. “No one is the best at everything, and no one has tried everything. Even the best resourced utilities can still learn from each other.”  

Andy has lived out the idea of doing more together than separately and is excited to see that idea play out in PRESERVE. “Because of outside pressures and regulations, it can be tough for utilities to find a trusted group to talk with, seek support, and identify solutions,” he says. “It would be great to talk to a trusted utility members/colleague that has dealt with that problem.” These connections brought on by PRESERVE, he feels, can provide utilities with information on how to do better, try new things, and improve performance.  

In terms of longevity for PRESERVE, Andy hopes to make the idea of continuity a long-standing priority for the Moonshot team and PRESERVE members alike. He feels that the most successful aspect of PRESERVE can be identifying opportunities to help improve something, identifying the partners that could work together to do the work, and then carefully tracking progress. “A year from now, I’d like to see PRESERVE continued because there’s been value seen by the members. I’d love to see tangible examples of how supporting each other has helped them,” he says.  

To make the most of this opportunity for new PRESERVE members, Andy recommends living by his own personal philosophy. “The purpose of life is to appreciate what is given to you and give as much back,” he says. “Bring that philosophy to this. Bring your best ideas so you can share. Bring your challenges and find help. The more you put into it, the more you’ll get out of it. Nothing could be more rewarding than seeing the good idea that benefits your community also benefiting dozens of other communities because you shared your success story!