Resume

Profile

Thinking outside the box is one of my greatest strengths. I believe there is an answer to every problem, with many paths to get to the solution. Where I go above and beyond is producing efficient solutions. My knowledge of water systems, with my experience working in an aging water system has given me the confidence to tackle any job in the field. My ability to manage people and problems comes from years of experience in hospitality and entertainment, where the customer is always right. I excel in communication, and pride myself on my ability to get my point across both eloquently and intelligibly. Finally, my passion to better myself is driven by my family and my upbringing. Failure is not an option, finding the solution together is the only option. 

Experience

Water Operator, Village of Franklin Park; Franklin Park, IL — August 2015 - Present

Day to day tasks include water and sewer line locates, sewer lift station and pump station general maintenance and water quality samples. Our department handles all water main break repairs for the municipal water system, with all members of the crew responsible for the safe operation of machines and tools used for the repair. The most important part of every job is the safety of everyone working on it. I also help out with meters when needed. When I first began at the village, we were in the process of switching to a new Neptune MIU system and moving on from our old STAR MTU’s. This upgrade in communications was integral to streamline the process of collecting billing information, and a great opportunity to further understand the metering and billing systems. I have participate and placed in the Illinois Sectional AWWA meter challenge, taking third place in 2018 and second place in 2022. Also in 2022, I teamed up with two coworkers to win the Water Tower Building competition at the same conference. 

I have been an integral part of the GIS Mapping process as we update our maps that were last updated in 1999. Working directly with our in house engineering firm (Smith Lasalle) and outside consulting engineers (ME Simpson), the project was completed in under 1 year. I also participate in the yearly hydrant flushing program, as we flush and do regular maintenances on 1/3 of our village hydrants yearly in early spring. 

With the recent boom in development in Franklin Park, many new large truck bay facilities have been constructed. I have worked directly with the contractors on removing the demolished buildings old water and sewer services. Then working with them as we work to spec on installing the new water and sewer systems for the future buildings. Included in this is assisting in all water taps (live or cut in), over seeing pressure testing the system and line disinfection (super-chlorinate) to engineers specs and finally putting service into operation after all water quality  standards are met. 

Contracted Worker, Village of Schiller Park; Schiller Park, IL — 

May 2020 - September 2020

During the Summer of 2020, the Village of Schiller Park had to take their overhead water tower out of service to remove lead based paint and upgrade the tower to current standards. During this time the villages water supply was ran by pump 24/7. I was hired to man the SCADA system overnights and on weekends, monitoring the systems pressure, operating the pumps as needed and informing the proper authorities if there was any issues. 

Operations Manager, Grand Sports Arena; Hoffman Estates, IL — 

2010 - 2015

Oversaw all the day to day operations of an over 80,000 square foot indoor sports complex. This included facility operations, business operations and all necessary staffing. We hosted multiple tournaments, leagues and clinics in soccer, football, cricket, lacrosse and softball. Our facility was the practice home for The Chicago Rush and Slaughter arena football teams, Chicago Mustangs and Storm Arena Soccer Teams and Chicago Outlaws Box Lacrosse team. Between dealing with other professional organizations, and our daily field rentals I spent time building a team to help implement our growth plan. The facility saw many major upgrades under my watch, including all brand new turf fields, a structural integrity repair to the building and an RPZ issue that required a re-engineered water room for the facility. 

Owner, Pozzillo’s Pizza, Schiller Park, IL — 2005 - 2010

As the full time owner and operator of my own business, I learned early in my professional life what carrying the weight of responsibility is. Making decisions that not only effect my life, but the collective lives of the business and  all the employees that work for it. Day to day my tasks ran the gamut, from cooking in the kitchen, to delivering pizzas when needed, or even fixing a broken oven or deep fryer when they went down. Behind the scenes, I handled all the daily accounting, ordering, inventory, marketing and any other task that was needed to keep the business running.  

Education

Triton College, River Grove, IL — AS in Business and Financial Accounting, 2004 - 2005 (unfinished)

Certificates

Illinois EPA Drinking Water Operator - Class C #278889999

US Soccer Coaches License USSF ID: 1000-0000-0196-1938

CDL Class A license and Clean Driving History

ISA Arborist in Training - expecting to get license in 2023

REFERENCES AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST - JUST SEND ME AN EMAIL - NRafidia@gmail.com