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Future Leaders of Waterpower (FLOW): A New Networking Group for Young Professionals pumped storage hydro, and marine energy technologies. We advocate for our members with Congress, and we also provide educational, networking, and other membership services. Hydro Leader: Would you give an overview of NHA’s professional development and training programs? Marycella Dumlao: We just launched a new career center (careers.hydro.org). It is user friendly for both job seekers and employers, and job seekers can post a résumé for free. There are also other resources there, such as résumé-writing resources and interview coaching. Employers can post internship listings for free. They pay a fee to post job listings, but doing so gives them access to a searchable database of résumés.
A FLOW meet-and-greet at the NHA Booth at Clean Currents 2021, attended by FLOW members, members of the NHA board of directors, and other waterpower industry leaders.
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he National Hydropower Association (NHA) started Future Leaders of Waterpower (FLOW) to attract and support diverse young professionals in the industry. From monthly calls to happy hours at conferences, the group hosts activities that provide a welcoming environment and a clear pathway for professional growth. In this interview, NHA’s FLOW leader Marycella Dumlao talks with Hydro Leader about how the group helps boost retention, transmits industry knowledge to the next generation of leaders, and gives young professionals a chance to make their voices heard. Hydro Leader: Please tell us about your background and how you came to be in your current position. Marycella Dumlao: My background is in international development. I have bachelor’s degrees in both economics and music. I started my career at a consulting firm, doing management consulting for the U.S. Agency for International Development and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency. Before I joined NHA in 2019, I worked at Maritz Global Events, a large event-management firm, where I planned everything from conferences as small as 30 people to trade shows with over 130,000 attendees.
Marycella Dumlao: NHA represents over 260 organizations in the waterpower industry across conventional hydro,
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Marycella Dumlao: We launched FLOW to address two problems within the industry: a lack of diversity (our industry is 70 percent white and 70 percent male) and the need to replace and retain workers as we face an oncoming large wave of retirement. FLOW seeks to facilitate the transfer of knowledge and give emerging leaders in the industry clear pathways for professional growth. One of the great things about the waterpower industry is that it is so close and tight knit; the people in it have known each other for decades. But for a newcomer, it is incredibly intimidating when you walk into a room where everybody knows each other. Although everyone in the industry is welcoming, you don’t always know that during your first event. With that in mind, we are helping to build a community by introducing members of FLOW to existing industry leaders in the hope that they start building those connections and those bridges and in the hope that they stay in the industry. There’s so much going on in waterpower, and there’s so much investment flowing into the industry, that it is vital for us to attract and retain the best talent. Hydro Leader: Is FLOW aimed primarily at young professionals who are already in the industry, or is it also aimed at college students who are considering careers in hydropower? Marycella Dumlao: When I was building this program, I wanted to make sure that it would be open to NHA members and nonmembers alike. That way, it’s accessible to students. We have had a few undergrads and graduate hydroleadermagazine.com
PHOTOS COURTESY OF NHA.
Hydro Leader: Please introduce NHA.
Hydro Leader: Please tell us about FLOW. What problem was NHA trying to solve by launching this new group for young professionals?
