New base environmental coordinator assigned at former Williams AFB, Ariz.

  • Published
  • By Scott Johnston
  • AFCEC Public Affairs Office
MESA, Ariz. --  In her two decades of service with the Air Force Civil Engineer Center, Cathy Jerrard has crisscrossed the country countless times.

Her latest destination is here in Mesa where she takes over as the top environmental engineer in charge of the remaining cleanup at the redeveloped Williams AFB. Her duties include Base Realignment and Closure environmental coordinator, program manager and Restoration Advisory Board co-chair at the former air force base.

Part of her job for Williams is to answer questions and make sure the public receives the information they need to better understand the remediation process taking place at the former base.

To date, the Air Force has spent more than $93 million on cleanup at the base which closed in 1993. As a result of these cleanup activities, the Air Force has transferred 3,892 of the former base's 4,043 acres to state and private ownership.

From New York to Louisiana to South Carolina, Jerrard's work has included environmental cleanup on both soil and groundwater cleanup projects. She started her Air Force career in 1993 in upstate New York at the former Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome, where she is still involved with the environmental program.

In addition, Jerrard is also the project manager at the former England AFB in Alexandria, La., and the previous project manager at the former Myrtle Beach AFB, S.C.

"I'm really looking forward to coordinating with the members of the community as well as stakeholders and regulators," said Jerrard, who holds a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from Cornell University. "The redevelopment taking place at Williams is among the best I've seen at all the former bases I've worked at. The Arizona State University campus and the Mesa Gateway Airport are impressive examples of the successful transformation of a former base to a viable public asset. It's all very interesting and I'm looking forward to assisting any way I can."

Jerrard's predecessor, Michelle Lewis, continues serving the Air Force in a position in Germany.

"We have a great team at Williams," Lewis said, before her departure for Europe. "A lot of the process is about remediation, but it's also about partnerships and relationships and that's something I'm definitely going to miss. It's kind of bittersweet because we've got the ball rolling, the momentum is going and I can't wait to see what's going to happen."

The Air Force Civil Engineer Center, headquartered at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, is a 1,600-person civil engineer field operating agency responsible for providing responsive, flexible full-spectrum installation engineering services.

AFCEC missions include facility investment planning, design and construction, operations support, real property management, readiness, energy support, environmental compliance and restoration, and audit assertions, acquisition and program management. The unit conducts its operations at more than 75 locations worldwide.

The next Williams Restoration Advisory Board meeting is scheduled for May 14. For more information, visit http://www.afcec.af.mil/brac/williams/index.asp.