BELLEVILLE – Rhonda Carter Adams has joined Illinois American Water’s leadership team as Supplier Diversity Program Manager. In this role, Adams will enhance the company’s relationships with diverse organizations. She will focus on broadening the utilization of minority, women and veteran suppliers, and attracting diverse candidates to the company.
Adams will report to Illinois American Water President Bruce Hauk. Hauk said, “Our most valued assets are our people. Celebrating and fostering diversity and inclusion within our workforce and through our relationships with our contractors and suppliers is critical to our success.”
Hauk continued, “With a continued focus on diversity and inclusion, our team doubled our supplier diversity spend from 2015 to 2016. Also in 2016, about 40 percent of new hires were diverse. Bringing Rhonda on board in this new position will further support our commitment to diversity and inclusion.”
Adams comes to Illinois American Water from Mid-States Minority Development Council, where she served as executive director. In this role, she managed relationships with corporate members and recruited businesses in Central Illinois and Eastern Missouri to certify as Minority Business Enterprises (MEBs). Prior to that, Rhonda led the supplier diversity initiatives at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and Caterpillar Inc.
Adams has a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Jackson State University and Master of Business Administration from the University of Phoenix.
About Illinois American Water
Illinois American Water, a subsidiary of American Water (NYSE: AWK), is the largest investor-owned water utility in the state, providing high-quality and reliable water and/or wastewater services to approximately 1.3 million people. American Water also operates a customer service center in Alton and a quality control and research laboratory in Belleville.
With a history dating back to 1886, American Water is the largest and most geographically diverse U.S. publicly-traded water and wastewater utility company. The company employs more than 6,700 dedicated professionals who provide regulated and market-based drinking water, wastewater and other related services to an estimated 15 million people in 47 states and Ontario, Canada. More information can be found by visiting www.amwater.com.
