On October 25th, NOAA GLERL Director Deborah Lee received The Ohio State University’s Distinguished Alumni Award for Career Achievement! This award recognizes alumni for significant achievement in business or institutional leadership and professional accomplishments. 

Over Deborah Lee’s 39-year career with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), she has driven innovative federal water resources management and research, preserving vital infrastructure, preventing billions of dollars in flood damages, protecting drinking water for millions of people, preventing invasive species, and restoring, connecting and conserving lands and waters. She has also fostered new environmental prediction services and led the way for women and underrepresented and disadvantaged people in science and engineering. 

Her eminence in the field of water resources has not only been well-employed within NOAA and USACE, but she has been sought out for binational transboundary water issues with Canada and the International Joint Commission (IJC) and leadership within the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), a global organization representing the civil engineering profession.

Lee was nominated for this award by Eminence to the American Academy of Water Resources Engineers and designated a Fellow of the ASCE. Her numerous recognitions include the ASCE President’s Medal, the Environmental Water Resources Institute’s Lifetime Achievement Award and three Army Superior Civilian Service Awards. She is a registered professional engineer in Ohio and Michigan, and a member of the federal Senior Executive Service. Lee earned her bachelor’s (’84) and master’s (’86) in civil engineering from Ohio State.

Thank you for all you’ve done for water resources management, Director Lee, and congratulations on this well-deserved recognition!