Malmberg another graduate demonstrating UW-Green Bay and NEW Water ‘Partnership in Action’

Phoenix graduate Hannah Malmberg continues to shine, long after her 2019 graduation from UW-Green Bay.

Her work embodies a great example of a “partnership in action” between the University and community. As the public information technician at NEW Water, the brand of the Green Bay Metropolitan Sewerage District, Malmberg writes for internal and external audiences, creates social media posts and edits videos about wastewater and the environment.

Many in the campus community became familiar with Malmberg when she was selected Student Commencement Speaker in December of 2019. Her bio included a long list of achievements and accomplishments, but only after struggling for a bit, persevering, and finding her way back to UW-Green Bay, graduation and finally to NEW Water, where she started as an intern and now works proudly as its public information technician.

Hannah Malmberg

Working remotely, Malmberg makes sure her website is ADA compliant and creates content that can educate and inspire. Outside of COVID, she would be giving tours of the facility, plan and attend community events, and give talks at schools about what NEW Water is, and what it does for each of us.

In her Commencement Speech in December of 2019, Malmberg charged her peers with having the courage to start anew. One of her latest projects is a video to challenge public perception regarding “essential workers”… who they are and what they do, including her co-workers and peers at NEW Water. Watch the video.

“When you think of essential workers, wastewater workers likely don’t come to mind right away,” she says. “However, they provide an essential service to our community 24-7-365. NEW Water is a water resource utility serving Northeast Wisconsin through pollution prevention, operational innovation, and community outreach. We collect and treat approximately 38 million gallons of wastewater a day before returning it to the environment. We have a wonderful staff who are out there in the field, and on site, who keep our plant running and our sewer system clear even during a pandemic. We wanted to highlight these awesome people and their hard work that unfortunately can go unrecognized,” she said.

Her works often brings her back to her alma mater, out recently to work with CSET Dean John Katers on a video project. The University has a long-standing partnership with NEW Water that dates to the earliest days of the University. Together, the institutions work on education, research, water reclamation, resource recovery, and watershed management. Initiatives include collaborating on watershed improvement efforts, and helping Wisconsin Girl Scouts earn “Wonders of Water” badges.

Like Malmberg, many UW-Green Bay students started their careers in wastewater management and related fields with an internship at NEW Water. Malmberg said her job was the perfect combination of skills she learned via her double major in Political Science and Communication.

“I really enjoy the various ways that we help educate our community about wastewater and the environment via community outreach. We do this via educational campaigns, videos, writing, events and sometimes these all combine into one! It’s been a great way to combine everything I studied in school and I love being able to provide something to my community,” said Malmberg.

Story by Marketing and University Communication student assistant Charlotte Berg.

Photos submitted.