2026 Alumni Achievement Award
Elin Warn Betanzo has dedicated her career to one mission: improving access to safe drinking water. She is an expert on the topic with more than 25 years of experience in drinking water science, engineering, policy and public health protection.
Her advocacy work has helped shape drinking water policies at the state and federal level. She participated in the Environmental Protection Agency’s response to the Washington, D.C., lead crisis in 2004; played a pivotal role in uncovering the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, in 2015; and provided critical technical analysis that helped trigger the state and federal response to the Benton Harbor, Michigan, lead crisis in 2021.
Her work helped shape stronger lead-in-water protections, including Michigan’s 2018 Lead and Copper Rule revisions, which made the state the first to require replacement of all lead service lines, and the federal Lead and Copper Rule improvements in 2024, which required lead service line replacement nationwide. She also helped Michigan become the first state to pass Filter First requirements for schools and childcare facilities, ensuring that students have access to lead-free drinking water at school.
Elin currently supports communities across the country in Michigan, Illinois and Hawaii in their efforts to secure safe drinking water. She continues to raise awareness about lead in drinking water and helps water utilities comply with the Safe Drinking Water Act.
Her leadership and advocacy have been recognized at the national level, where she was invited to serve two terms on the National Drinking Water Advisory Council, the premier national committee that advises the EPA on drinking water matters.
Elin is also the president and founder of Safe Water Engineering LLC, a small consulting firm that works to improve access to safe drinking water through engineering and policy consulting. She has worked at the Environmental Protection Agency, the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission and the Northeast-Midwest Institute. She is also a professional engineer in Michigan, Virginia and Maryland and a certified operator in Michigan.
Elin earned bachelor’s degrees in piano performance and environmental science from Carnegie Mellon University and a master’s degree in environmental engineering from Virginia Tech.
Carnegie Mellon University gave me the foundation to thrive in both music and science, a dual perspective that continues to shape the humanity I bring to my work in drinking water. I’m grateful for the skills and sense of purpose I developed there, and for the enduring belief that opportunity should be used to make the world better for everyone.
Elin Warn Betanzo