Clarkson University Hires Business Development Manager for its New York State Center of Excellence in Healthy Water Solutions

• Home >
• News & Events >

January 16, 2025

The New York State (NYS) Center of Excellence (CoE) in Healthy Water Solutions, led by Clarkson University and SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry (ESF), has hired Courtney Johnson-Woods as its new Business Development Manager.

"Our CoE staff and faculty are excited Courtney is joining our team in this role," said Stefan Grimberg, Clarkson Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Co-Director of the NYS CoE in Healthy Water Solutions. "We believe her well-rounded technical and partnership skills will help the CoE expand business development opportunities to accelerate growth and impact to benefit not only our partnering institutions, but in keeping with the mission of the CoE, will collectively contribute long-term to economic development objectives across the state."

Johnson-Woods is not new to Clarkson, having spent 17 years as a faculty member in the Communications, Media & Design department. In addition to teaching, her research focused on shoreline community decision-making along the St. Lawrence as well as additional grant projects centering around water challenges. She also has a deep connection with CoE partner ESF, from which she received her MS and more recently her PhD, and has worked with several ESF faculty members on collaborative projects over the years.

Bookending her academic career, Johnson-Woods worked in economic development and planning in Central New York focused on groundwater protection, and in business development for a state agency in Arkansas. It was there she began working in the forest products industry, where she focused on sustainability and best practices for water conservation in a formal role and for the last three decades remotely as a consultant.

Most recently, Johnson-Woods worked at a global consulting firm in international development, providing expertise on cross-sector partnerships in water and fisheries, sustainable tourism in Greenland, and private sector open innovation models and environmental, social and governance (ESG) roadmaps.

Taking advantage of this announcement, Johnson-Woods invites Clarkson faculty who might have research and development interests that intersect with diverse water challenges and opportunities to contact her. She will be meeting with faculty to better understand Clarkson's strengths and potentials, as well as those of ESF, as a critical step in exploring opportunities to collaborate with other organizations, industry, and municipalities across the state on healthy water solutions at all stages of research, development and commercialization.

She can be reached by email at [email protected] or phone at 315-268-2001.

To learn more about the NYS CoE in Healthy Water Solutions, visit www.healthywaters.org.