Lisa Henthorne has been associated with International Desalination Association (IDA) for over a decade and served as President of the IDA from 2007-2009. Henthorne has more than 20 years of experience working in brackish, wastewater, and seawater membrane technology in the US and internationally and has published more than 50 technical papers in her career, in areas of expertise including membrane filtration pretreatment, hybrid desalination and large diameter reverse osmosis desalination. In the 2009-2011 Board of Directors, Henthorne serves as Treasurer & Editor. In a short chat with Samantha Keck, Henthorne reminisced about her association with IDA, her key achievements and concerns about the water sector in the Middle East.

Between the 2007 IDA Congress in Spain and the recently concluded Dubai congress, what has been some of the major initiatives undertaken by IDA to serve its members and the industry?

Lisa Henthorne

Lisa Henthorne

Over the last two years, in addition to preparing an exceptional technical and commercial conference, IDA took a hard look at how it serves its members – we conducted surveys and interviews, and also had a facilitated workshop with the IDA Board of Directors to begin a five-year Strategic Planning process. The initiatives that evolved from this process and our progress to date are listed below:

  1. Objective 1: Strengthen IDA’s Image
    IDA began addressing this objective by updating the IDA vision statement to guide our path. Following this, we implemented several major steps including development of a consistent brand identity, unveiling of a new website, redesign of our newsletter, and launch at the Dubai Congress of the IDA Journal on Desalination and Water Reuse.
  2. Objective 2: Enhance the Global Image of Desalination
    This objective has been assisted by the addition of a public relations firm to our team to help us develop tools to educate stakeholders about:

    1. the role of desalination as part of water solutions for the 21st century,
    2. our industry’s focus on environmental responsibility and sustainability, and
    3. addressing the misconceptions about desalination that arose in the previous absence of a proactive media outreach programme.
      An educational video was premiered at the Dubai Congress Gala Dinner as one example of these deliverables. This video has been added to the IDA website and onto YouTube. We’re also updating the ABCs of Desalination, and developing white papers on various desalination and water reuse topics.
  3. Objective 3: Grow IDA’s Membership
    IDA’s membership grew by more than 40% during the last two years. We’ve established a Young Leaders Programme to engage the next generation of industry leaders. The Young Leaders Programme members met for the first time at the World Congress to plan their new initiatives, which will include promotion of desalination as a career choice with tremendous potential.
  4. Objective 4: Enhance Affiliate Relations
    This year, for the first time, IDA hosted an Affiliates Programme on the day preceding the Dubai Congress, offering our 13 affiliate organisations a spotlight opportunity to network and to showcase their activities and ideas. We also added a staff member whose responsibilities include a dedicated focus on Affiliate Relations, and we are dedicating a regular feature in the IDA Newsletter to provide a forum to highlight our affiliates.
  5. Objective 5: Strengthen and Develop Strategic Alliances
    This includes entities both within the water community as well as stakeholder organisations focused on the environment and the health of our oceans. We’re continuing to ascertain and prioritise those organisations which will we will seek to establish strategic alliances.
  6. Objective 6: Strategically Enhance IDA’s Management Infrastructure
    As we look to continued growth, IDA has taken several steps to professionalise the IDA management function and strengthen our staff, putting in place key outsourced strategic partners, preparing written policies and procedures, and moving to new larger headquarters to accommodate future expansion.

Much has been achieved since you assumed office as IDA President in 2007. What are you most proud of?

I am most proud of our engagement with the young professionals in our industry, creating an entity and specific services to help attract and maintain their involvement in our industry, and to assist them to grow and prosper. Our Young Leaders Programme featured a number of special events at the Dubai Congress including a dedicated reception for them to network, a workshop to plan their programmes, and specific educational tours of desalination plants in the area.

Personally, if you had to highlight one issue about water in the MENA region, what would it be?

I would highlight its incredible value to the region. Nowhere else in the world does such a populace exist where the natural renewable water resources are so limited. Truly the desert has bloomed, but with that blooming we must understand the value it contributes to our lives and, as it is not renewable, we must use it wisely.